Peter zumthor

If I look at history, it seems that most wars and most cruel things have been done by men and not by women.

Small museums are great. Big museums are a drag.

The bottom line may be that my inventing buildings is, indeed, a very private kind of activity. But it's done to be shared. It is comforting and consoling. From the reactions I get I can see I'm not...

I think the chance of finding beauty is higher if you don't work on it directly. Beauty in architecture is driven by practicality. This is what you learn from studying the old townscapes of the Swiss...

Architecture has its place in the concrete world. This is where it exists. This is where it makes its statement.

I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated it.

I need a close contact to the client, whoever it is, and a commitment of the client to go out and do a process together. I want to do the best for him. I need his respect and his patience. I want to...

I design for the use of a building and the place and for the people who use it... the reputation for arrogance comes because when work is offered to me, I look whether I can find a genuine interest in...

If, early on, you know how things are put together, then you can build. The architect is in charge of making - he is not an artist.

Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough, it can assume a quality that bears witness to past life.