Finding Intimacy in The Little Things

I’m going to preface this by saying I have never considered myself a die-hard Zumthor fan (as David believes many of us are) but reading his points on creating architectural atmospheres one aspect really struck a note with me. As he discusses <Level of Intimacy> and the very personal interaction he has with his projects he describes the conflict he faces when designing something as large in scale as a skyscraper… “I just can’t seem to get my head around the idea of me and that many people - 5,000 or whatever – in a single skyscraper: how I’d have to go about the design in order to feel happy with so many people in one of these high-rise buildings.” For me I’ve always said that the intimacy of architecture and designing for a select cliental as opposed to designing for the masses is something that has always inspired me as a designer. I’ve never had any interest in designing a skyscraper or other large corporate buildings for this very reason. To me zooming in the details allows the space to speak more to the user and individual experience, in contrast to the skyscraper which Zumthor describes as talking to the town. I appreciate the rest of this factors in creating these atmospheric spaces but I think that intimacy, and addressing things at the personal scale, is the key factor that allows the rest of the aspects he describes to work. Having the ability, the desire, and the attentiveness to look at all of these aspects at this micro, zoomed in scale has the potential to make for a very unique and in depth architectural experience.