Swiss architect Peter Zumthor rejected architecture as form-making in his Royal Gold Medal lecture at the RIBA in London yesterday, explaining that he believes that light, materials and atmosphere are the most important aspects of architecture.
"Architecture is not about form, it is about many other things," he said. "The light and the use, and the structure, and the shadow, the smell and so on. I think form is the easiest to control, it can be done at the end."
Zumthor, who is best known for designing material-led projects such as the Therme Vals thermal baths in Switzerland and the Kunsthaus Bregenz gallery in Austria, told an audience that his ultimate goal is to "create emotional space". He insisted that the "condensation of emotion" can be created in any building, from a humble railway station in Berlin to a house in countryside. "For me, they should all have atmosphere," he said.