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Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor Quotes

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Famous Peter Zumthor Quotes

“The first 10 years of my professional life had only to do with running away from my father. He was a wonderful cabinet-maker, and me being the eldest son, I had to take over his shop, his profession and so on and so on. I tried to escape by going to art school and then going on to industrial design and then interior design.”

YearsFirstsArtRunningSchoolFatherWonderfulDesignSonProfessionShopsMakersRunning AwayInteriorsCabinetsInterior DesignArt SchoolProfessional LifeEldestIndustrial DesignEldest Son
Author:Peter Zumthor
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“You feel a certain way in a glass or concrete or limestone building. It has an effect on your skin - the same with plywood or veneer, or solid timber. Wood doesn't steal energy from your body the way glass and concrete steal heat. When it's hot, a wood house feels cooler than a concrete one, and when it's cold, the other way around.”

WayFeelsBodyCertainHouseEnergyEffectsBuildingColdSkinsHotGlassesWoodsYour BodyStealingHeatConcreteTimberVeneerLimestone
Author:Peter Zumthor
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“If you look at the Earth without architecture, its sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter in the broadest sense of the word, whether its a movie theater or a simple log cabin in the mountains. This is the core of architecture: To provide a space for human beings.”

IfsNeedsHumansLooksLittlesSometimesEarthBitsHuman BeingsSimpleSpaceMountainLittle BitTheaterArchitectureCoreShelterHuman NeedsCabinsMovie TheaterLog CabinsBasic Human Needs
Author:Peter Zumthor
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“Architecture has its own realm. It has a special physical relationship with life. I do not think of it primarily as either a message or symbol, but as an envelope and background for life which goes on in and around it, a sensitive container for the rhythm of footsteps on the floor, for the concentration of work, for the silence of sleep.”

ThinkingSleepSilenceSpecialGoes OnMessagesArchitectureBackgroundsRhythmSymbolsSensitiveRealmsConcentrationFootstepsEnvelopesContainers
Book:Peter Zumthor
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“In a fragment of a second you can understand: Things you know, things you don’t know, things you don’t know that you don’t know, conscious, unconscious, things which in a fragrant of a second you can react to: we can all imagine why this capacity was given to us as human beings - I guess to survive. Architecture to me has the same kind of capacity. It takes longer to capture, but the essence to me is the same. I call this atmosphere. When you experience a building and it gets to you. It sticks in your memory and your feelings. I guess thats what I am trying to do.”

KnowsTryingHumansKindFeelingsGivenMemoriesHuman BeingsImagineBuildingConsciousCapacityEssenceSticksArchitectureAtmosphereUnconsciousCaptureFragmentsOur Memories
Author:Peter Zumthor
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“Every time I imagine a garden in an architectural setting, it turns into a magical place. I think of gardens I have seen, that I believe I have seen, that I long to see, surrounded by simple walls, columns, arcades or the facades of buildings - sheltered places of great intimacy where I want to stay for a long time.”

ThinkingWantBelieveLongTurnsI BelieveSimpleImagineBuildingWallLong TimeGardenSettingSettingsIntimacyColumnsFacadeMagical PlacesArcades
Author:Peter Zumthor
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