vals [redux]

here's a clever little project that has found a place at the feet peter zumthor's thermal baths....



the dutch architect's[SeARCH] ask;
"shouldn’t it be possible to conceal a house in an alpine slope while still exploiting the wonderful views and allowing light to enter?"



the steep topography of the site provided opportunities for expansive views across the valley while views from the bath house remained unspoiled.


true to form [as we all learned in architectural history] the swiss required a timber frame model of the residence to be constructed at the site for neighbors and authorities to critique. the residence is a great example of pragmatic, unobtrusive development; neighbors were delighted.




photos © iwan baan

zumthor and the val baths

...video

what a Man. and what an Architect: cigar in one hand, stylish lead holder in the other.

a phenomenologist, speaking of a particular place, with particular materials, but with insight into what could be discerned as contemporary viewpoints, such as "all parts as a whole" and always experiencing the "imprint of the architect", "never escaping the presense of the architect." and those ideas which belong to both, perhaps: architecture of the 5 senses, architecture as instrument, materiality and comprehensive design.

oh, pete.