Fig 2: Sogn Benedetg church by Peter Zumthor, 1989 (Source: www.flickr.com, 2006)
Zumthor also draws the attention to the compatibility of materials and says about the endless combinations of them and the incredible number of options for treatment.
In contrast to the Zumthor, the world famous american architect-deconstructionists Daniel Libeskindin (whom I would like to be seen as the brightest representative from deconstructionists) in “17 words of architectural inspiration” he defines his attitude to the material: “Raw vs refined — Raw = untouched by luxury and expensive materials. I love this one and deeply believe in it. It is not about exotic woods. Architecture begins when you feel something special as you look at the naked structure on a construction site.” (Libeskind 2011)
Here it could be seen the fundamental difference in approach to the materials: intelligent, perfect balance with the place and purpose of building Zumthor’s materials are contrasted with insignificant functions of Libeskind’s material.
Another important aspect of the phenomenological approach is how things are made and exist as participants in their environment. In the topic “Architecture as Surroundings” Zumthor about how important that his buildings awake feelings, give rise to the emotions, keep people’s memories and give people love. In this Daniel Libeskind agrees with him: “Memory vs forgettable – “I rather play something completely unheard off, and even with flaws, then repeat the same thing over and over which has been hollowed by its meaningless.” Buildings that one remembers.” (Libeskind 2011)
Zumthor also pays an attention to a very critical, in my opinion, thing for the architecture, to the “Coherence”. I think it is extremely important that the buildings exist organically in their environment, do not argue with it, and become its extension. Zumthor has the same point of view, and even believes that: “…architecture attains its highest quality as an applied art. And it is at its most beautiful when things have come into their own, when they are coherent. That is when everything refers to everything else and is impossible to remove a single thing without destroying the whole. Place, use and form.” (Peter Zumthor 2006) The norwegian architect who shared with Zumthor his phenomenological approach Christian Norberg-Schulz agrees with the Zumthor’s words: “Norberg-Schulz further asserts that architecture interprets space and uncovers “the meanings potentially present in the given environment”; an uncovering that thereby reveals its genius loci, its spirit.” (Jessica Cullen 2009)
And in this phenomenon I find the most remarkable difference between the Zumthor’s and Libeskind’s approaches. Libeskind uses flashy, contending with the surrounding space, form. He did not implant their objects in a place, but skewer them by force, tearing them from the context. The main thing for him is: “Expressive vs neutral”(Libeskind 2011).