Atmosphere

“There is an exchange, a give and take, between Peter Zumthor’s buildings and their surroundings. An attentiveness. An enrichment. Words like atmosphere and mood inevitably come to mind… For Peter Zumthor atmosphere is an aesthetic category.” -Brigitte Labs-Ehlert

Something I like about Peter Zumthor’s work is its interaction with the surrounding environment or with nature in general. The first project that comes to mind with this is Thermes Vals. He kind of makes it a point to have a sensory experience in architecture. He speaks of the first impressions we get from people and I think that this is something we also experience in architecture… for example, how does the building make you feel?

Zumthor goes into great depth about the nine anecdotes to achieving atmosphere in a space and I think Thermes Vals is a great project to think about in relation to this idea. Between the light hitting the concrete between the slots in the ceiling, to the sounds of water in the baths… even the tension between the interior and exterior that he creates by cutting into the earth and continuing the greenery on the roof planes.