peter zumthor one of my favorite living architects

don't miss the exhibit about peter zumthor at lacma
which i will try to see again before it ends on september 15

and view his design for their new building
and the largest structure in central la

see his fascinating film of some of his other buildings
i have admired and blogged about him before
but when i saw the film of his works and got a more in depth view of his conceptual thinking and his execution and acuity of light and materials-it's a must see!

take the bruder klaus field chapel for example
"a mystical and thought-proving interior is masked by a very rigid rectangular exterior" by samuel ludwig

floor is molten lead

 "Arguably the most interesting aspects of the church are found in the methods of construction, beginning with a wigwam made of 112 tree trunks. Upon completion of the frame, layers of concrete were poured and rammed atop the existing surface, each around 50cm thick. When the concrete of all 24 layers had set, the wooden frame was set on fire, leaving behind a hollowed blackened cavity and charred walls."

Thermal Bath Vals, Graubünden, Switzerland, 1996 

he was trained as a cabinet maker and that evidence is clearly noted in his work

swiss pavillion expo

all lumber was erected temporarily and recycled later for other use

a building i most want to see

kolomba museum cologne

"Part of the success in this fusion lies in the simplicity of form, color and material that embed these Gothic-style fragments' from architecturalmoleskine