his writings are incredible as well....does anyone know what he has been up to for the pas 4 or 5 years? i have'nt heard of any new buildings that he has been working on.
i've been there, our school set up a 2 week architectural tour through Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria and one of our last stops was a 3 hour visit to the thermal bathes in Vals. That project pretty much defined architecture for me, and reasserted why I do what I do.
I think it was Eucalyptus??? I had a feeling that they were pumping the scent in from somewhere, but didn't see anything... you could hear a motor kick in and then you would smell the scent.... maybe the stirring of the flowers in the water that creates the aroma??? I distinctly felt the power of the smell come and go....
but j lotus hit it on the head, it truly reasserts why we do what we do..
be sure to stay there at least one night. the rooms in the adjoining building are cheaper and still give you unlimited access to the baths.
be critical: the entry to the baths from underneath is awful... what is with the blue neon? the brass fixtures were also a bit of a letdown.
but other than that... yes, a must and a wonderful experience. my favorite was the echo chamber. we were a bunch of strangers but somehow just started chanting, it was fantastic. but some administration or security person came and shut us up, which made them look like control freaks.
also notice on the ride to the baths the blueish quality of the stone in the river creeks [if you have the same bus driver i had, you may be distracted with visions of impending doom], similar or same as stone in the building.
and take the free tour of the actual functioning of the pumps, etc. gets boring towards the end but a good chance to see the other side of the building.
another converted one...
People cant understand and criticise when Zumthor decides not to speak about specific buildings just saying "go and visit it"
Well its true the buildings do the talking, and not all is about materials and sensuality, there is a lot of high tech stuff going on between the layers of stone wood or glass.
For those considering going there. Make sure you book on the internet otherwise you might not egt in, also if you are sleeping in the hotel find out what night of the week the baths are open. This is a hotel guest only privilege so the baths are pretty empty, make sure you stay in the hotel that particular night.
aml, I agree the entrance was weird. I felt like I had stumbled on the laundry room the way they have all the bath products and towels all stacked up, but once you go through the doors and begin your 'descent' into the baths, you quickly forget about all that.
the baths are open for hotel guests only from 7am - 11am and from 10pm - 12pm on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Other than that, it is open to the public (with reservations) from 11am - 8pm every day.
The 'behind the scenes' tour is only offered on Fridays
what i really enjoyed was that the amount of people allowed into the bathes at one time is regulated, which allows for personal exploration. i do wish we had stayed a night and had broke the bank a bit with some of the extra perks...
in addition we visited zumthor's chapel at sumvitg, another amazing project set within the swiss moutain hillside...even though we almost flipped the tour bus getting up there...
I find Zumthor's work fascinating, unfortunately I don't have the time or $ to visit any of his projects right now. Can one of you Zumthor fans recommend a book or monograph of his work?
peter zumthor 'works'...but its out of print, and the cheapest i have found it lately is around 400 dollars. i have his A+U special edition one, and it ison par with his works in terms of pictures, maybe a little better (more color) out of print to, so its a little more expensive as well, but not as bad as works. get thinking architecture by him if you can find it...again out of print...but wonderful writing. i believe he doesnt want to give permission to have his books reprinted..lars mueller does them...
i'll refrain from reiterating my spiritual experience similar to those described above...
for a consumer experience however, last time i checked william stout books in SF still had some reasonably priced copies of the A+U special edition. perhaps they won't after this suggestion.
Can someone tell me how 'Peter Zumthor Works: Buildings and Projects, 1979-1997' is now worth $825 US? atleast that's what amazon.com lists it at....that would be another great find...
I would sell my zumthor works book for a mere $800, slightly used.
anyone know the budget on the thermal vals project? I have never been, I know it is tremendous but, I think the budget was equal the architecture. how often does that come along?
that zumthor works book sits in our school library...hmmm..i wonder if they'd miss it.....has anyone taken a look at or own for that matter, the Swiss Sound Box book? any reviews?
I concur with the other threads: it was a road to Damascus experience so to speak....I remembered jotting down this note: "the power of architecture; when it is truly successful, it disappears...the conversion of materials into emotions"
I stayed there with my sister and two other companions during one of our backpacking trips. Walking into the town square of Vals for dinner was an experience in itself (the restaurant in house and next door were too expensive for our wallet). Vals is literally a "deadend town", surrounded on three sides of mountains.
I remembered those surveillance jocks that told us not to take photos. In the end, we still invented all kind of tricks to get some photos anyway. The threshold between the interior and the exterior pool is pretty awful...it seemed like an after thought. We went into the baths for a good three times! Once during our arrival, another one after dinner and one before we checked out. It is not that expensive when we were there in 1998...I think it was $120 for two in a room (you can't even check into the cheapest Holiday Inn in LA area for this price now). That included unlimited access into the baths, plus an extremely sumptuous breakfast, Swiss-continental style. I would break my bank to go again, though I choose to live there than to die!
Another Zumthor building we visited in 2000 was the pavilion at the Expo. It was wonderful, to see how it is built and the way it deflected sound. They played a Swiss horn in it and the sound just seems to filter through the stacks like piers in an unexplained magical way. I am not exaggerating here since most of the Expo ground was noisy but there seemed to be a tranquility there.
Great architect. My friend met him on the first day of the Expo and apparently, he was quite aloof, Swiss style!
Many people write about breaking the bank to visit this building. It must be evry expensive to go there all the way from the US but the whole canton of Graubunden is full of architecture worth visiting not only Zumthor's (Caminara, Maerkli, Meilli, Gigon Guyer, Conzett, Olgiati, Jüngling & Hagmann, Rudolph Fontana, etc...). It is a pretty architecture dense landscape.
And if you consider that crossing the whole country by train is quick, well forget about Graubunden you can get an overdose of all of Switzerland's french, german and italian architectures in a 12 day trip.
If you plan well a trip there would be a very good value for money.
A good place to start finding addresses (including the chapel and the baths) is http://www.galinsky.com/europe.htm#Switzerland
just have been there last weekend too, chilling in the steamy water in a light snowfall. was nice until a group of about 30 taiwanese came and made so much noise you could nearly hear them in the center of Vals..... the doors of my car were all frozen the next morning it was so damn cold, so i decided to go down to ticino for the rest of the day shopping.
room rates per person: main house (zumthor rooms) 220 sfr
connected house via walkway: 140
other houses: 110
and afterwards, just sit in the lounge, drink whatever you want and listen to the pianoplayer.
btw: as i know cost was twice the budget.....as in all of zumthors buildings
Ludwig: the story i heard was the other way around, she managed the baths before he got the commission, i guess is one of those things we'll never know the truth about...sensational building, nevertheless.
you must have came just after I was there. We were there for the first snow dumping of the season. I took pictures outside one day and the only snowflakes were way up high on the mountains. It started snowing during dinner and throughout the night. We woke up to a completely different looking mountain the next morning.
I went to Vals a few years back...wasnt too expensive seeing that I was already in Zurich. Be sure to wear sunscreen (sunburnt stomach on train isnt fun)
Zumthor A+U can still be found at most larger architecture bookstores
Zumthor Works...remeber all those people who paid $$$ for SMLXL before it was re-printed...
i wrote lars mueller (the publisher) and got an email back saying it wouldnt be reprinted...i have also heard the main reason is xumthor himself doesnt want it to be reprinted...he wants people to come and see his buildings and experience them. not look at the pictures in books. just what i heard though...
I hear an original copy of zumthor's "thinking architecture" (little red book) will auctioned on ebay in a couple of weeks for anyone interested. I wish I had the cash to afford it.
When at Vals, snuck in a bottle of wine and swam through with camera in hand (35mm slides) -- got some amazing shots, and the camera made it out alive...it was definitely worth the trip from Zurich. If you go check out the Guigon & Guyer work in the region.
Visited last spring with a couple friends. No words- simply perfect. Can anyone tell me what MArch programs would be most in tune with Zumthor's design theories. I'm obsessed with the writings of Juhani Pallasmaa and wish he was still teaching in Helsinki. I'll be graduating next Spring and am deciding which MArch programs to apply to.
Jul 31, 13 1:38 pm ·
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Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals
just go.....
I just got back. I now know where I'd like to die...
It's been a long time since I've had a spritual architectural experience. This was definitely a feeling to remember.
Anyone else been? There is nothing like swimming in the swiss alps, with snow falling on your face.....
his writings are incredible as well....does anyone know what he has been up to for the pas 4 or 5 years? i have'nt heard of any new buildings that he has been working on.
curtclay, i had a friend go last year. he was equally moved.
i've been there, our school set up a 2 week architectural tour through Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria and one of our last stops was a 3 hour visit to the thermal bathes in Vals. That project pretty much defined architecture for me, and reasserted why I do what I do.
.. and the flower bath!!!
I think it was Eucalyptus??? I had a feeling that they were pumping the scent in from somewhere, but didn't see anything... you could hear a motor kick in and then you would smell the scent.... maybe the stirring of the flowers in the water that creates the aroma??? I distinctly felt the power of the smell come and go....
but j lotus hit it on the head, it truly reasserts why we do what we do..
what an incredible place. thanks for the info!
I love this image.... and have added a vacation here to my xmas list.
you'll break the bank doing it, but it will be worth every penny...
be sure to stay there at least one night. the rooms in the adjoining building are cheaper and still give you unlimited access to the baths.
be critical: the entry to the baths from underneath is awful... what is with the blue neon? the brass fixtures were also a bit of a letdown.
but other than that... yes, a must and a wonderful experience. my favorite was the echo chamber. we were a bunch of strangers but somehow just started chanting, it was fantastic. but some administration or security person came and shut us up, which made them look like control freaks.
also notice on the ride to the baths the blueish quality of the stone in the river creeks [if you have the same bus driver i had, you may be distracted with visions of impending doom], similar or same as stone in the building.
and take the free tour of the actual functioning of the pumps, etc. gets boring towards the end but a good chance to see the other side of the building.
another converted one...
People cant understand and criticise when Zumthor decides not to speak about specific buildings just saying "go and visit it"
Well its true the buildings do the talking, and not all is about materials and sensuality, there is a lot of high tech stuff going on between the layers of stone wood or glass.
For those considering going there. Make sure you book on the internet otherwise you might not egt in, also if you are sleeping in the hotel find out what night of the week the baths are open. This is a hotel guest only privilege so the baths are pretty empty, make sure you stay in the hotel that particular night.
aml, I agree the entrance was weird. I felt like I had stumbled on the laundry room the way they have all the bath products and towels all stacked up, but once you go through the doors and begin your 'descent' into the baths, you quickly forget about all that.
the baths are open for hotel guests only from 7am - 11am and from 10pm - 12pm on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Other than that, it is open to the public (with reservations) from 11am - 8pm every day.
The 'behind the scenes' tour is only offered on Fridays
what i really enjoyed was that the amount of people allowed into the bathes at one time is regulated, which allows for personal exploration. i do wish we had stayed a night and had broke the bank a bit with some of the extra perks...
in addition we visited zumthor's chapel at sumvitg, another amazing project set within the swiss moutain hillside...even though we almost flipped the tour bus getting up there...
I find Zumthor's work fascinating, unfortunately I don't have the time or $ to visit any of his projects right now. Can one of you Zumthor fans recommend a book or monograph of his work?
peter zumthor 'works'...but its out of print, and the cheapest i have found it lately is around 400 dollars. i have his A+U special edition one, and it ison par with his works in terms of pictures, maybe a little better (more color) out of print to, so its a little more expensive as well, but not as bad as works. get thinking architecture by him if you can find it...again out of print...but wonderful writing. i believe he doesnt want to give permission to have his books reprinted..lars mueller does them...
probably your best bet is the extra edition put out by A&U. not sure how easy it is to get, certain architecture bookstores might have it.
if you are looking for a quick fix I suggest the small book put out by the Kunsthaus Bregenz which documents that project pretty well.
i'll refrain from reiterating my spiritual experience similar to those described above...
for a consumer experience however, last time i checked william stout books in SF still had some reasonably priced copies of the A+U special edition. perhaps they won't after this suggestion.
Can someone tell me how 'Peter Zumthor Works: Buildings and Projects, 1979-1997' is now worth $825 US? atleast that's what amazon.com lists it at....that would be another great find...
I would sell my zumthor works book for a mere $800, slightly used.
anyone know the budget on the thermal vals project? I have never been, I know it is tremendous but, I think the budget was equal the architecture. how often does that come along?
that zumthor works book sits in our school library...hmmm..i wonder if they'd miss it.....has anyone taken a look at or own for that matter, the Swiss Sound Box book? any reviews?
I concur with the other threads: it was a road to Damascus experience so to speak....I remembered jotting down this note: "the power of architecture; when it is truly successful, it disappears...the conversion of materials into emotions"
I stayed there with my sister and two other companions during one of our backpacking trips. Walking into the town square of Vals for dinner was an experience in itself (the restaurant in house and next door were too expensive for our wallet). Vals is literally a "deadend town", surrounded on three sides of mountains.
I remembered those surveillance jocks that told us not to take photos. In the end, we still invented all kind of tricks to get some photos anyway. The threshold between the interior and the exterior pool is pretty awful...it seemed like an after thought. We went into the baths for a good three times! Once during our arrival, another one after dinner and one before we checked out. It is not that expensive when we were there in 1998...I think it was $120 for two in a room (you can't even check into the cheapest Holiday Inn in LA area for this price now). That included unlimited access into the baths, plus an extremely sumptuous breakfast, Swiss-continental style. I would break my bank to go again, though I choose to live there than to die!
Another Zumthor building we visited in 2000 was the pavilion at the Expo. It was wonderful, to see how it is built and the way it deflected sound. They played a Swiss horn in it and the sound just seems to filter through the stacks like piers in an unexplained magical way. I am not exaggerating here since most of the Expo ground was noisy but there seemed to be a tranquility there.
Great architect. My friend met him on the first day of the Expo and apparently, he was quite aloof, Swiss style!
they are great.
i dunno if anyone mentoned it, but its funny to think he got the commission because his wife sits on the board of directors of the baths.
sometimes great architecture needs friends in high places.
anyone seen the chapel as well?
also, be sure to have a drink in the bar at the top of the hotel's tower, interiors by zumthor...
Richard, what if his wife manages the baths because Zumthor is so well respected in Graubunden?
Many people write about breaking the bank to visit this building. It must be evry expensive to go there all the way from the US but the whole canton of Graubunden is full of architecture worth visiting not only Zumthor's (Caminara, Maerkli, Meilli, Gigon Guyer, Conzett, Olgiati, Jüngling & Hagmann, Rudolph Fontana, etc...). It is a pretty architecture dense landscape.
And if you consider that crossing the whole country by train is quick, well forget about Graubunden you can get an overdose of all of Switzerland's french, german and italian architectures in a 12 day trip.
If you plan well a trip there would be a very good value for money.
A good place to start finding addresses (including the chapel and the baths) is http://www.galinsky.com/europe.htm#Switzerland
just have been there last weekend too, chilling in the steamy water in a light snowfall. was nice until a group of about 30 taiwanese came and made so much noise you could nearly hear them in the center of Vals..... the doors of my car were all frozen the next morning it was so damn cold, so i decided to go down to ticino for the rest of the day shopping.
room rates per person: main house (zumthor rooms) 220 sfr
connected house via walkway: 140
other houses: 110
and afterwards, just sit in the lounge, drink whatever you want and listen to the pianoplayer.
btw: as i know cost was twice the budget.....as in all of zumthors buildings
Ludwig: the story i heard was the other way around, she managed the baths before he got the commission, i guess is one of those things we'll never know the truth about...sensational building, nevertheless.
LA,
you must have came just after I was there. We were there for the first snow dumping of the season. I took pictures outside one day and the only snowflakes were way up high on the mountains. It started snowing during dinner and throughout the night. We woke up to a completely different looking mountain the next morning.
Id love to go, ive been a fan of Zumthors work since I first saw it a few years ago.
Few buildings have been a 'spiritual experience', but Jorn Utzons Bagsvaerd Church outside Copenhagen is awesome.
seems like it, curtclay
i have been there on friday afternoon and evening until saturday morning
I went to Vals a few years back...wasnt too expensive seeing that I was already in Zurich. Be sure to wear sunscreen (sunburnt stomach on train isnt fun)
Zumthor A+U can still be found at most larger architecture bookstores
Zumthor Works...remeber all those people who paid $$$ for SMLXL before it was re-printed...
i wrote lars mueller (the publisher) and got an email back saying it wouldnt be reprinted...i have also heard the main reason is xumthor himself doesnt want it to be reprinted...he wants people to come and see his buildings and experience them. not look at the pictures in books. just what i heard though...
I hear an original copy of zumthor's "thinking architecture" (little red book) will auctioned on ebay in a couple of weeks for anyone interested. I wish I had the cash to afford it.
enough with the pathetic plugs for what is most likely your own ebay auction...
…and the dark, steamy room full of sweaty, nearly naked German teenagers.
When at Vals, snuck in a bottle of wine and swam through with camera in hand (35mm slides) -- got some amazing shots, and the camera made it out alive...it was definitely worth the trip from Zurich. If you go check out the Guigon & Guyer work in the region.
Visited last spring with a couple friends. No words- simply perfect. Can anyone tell me what MArch programs would be most in tune with Zumthor's design theories. I'm obsessed with the writings of Juhani Pallasmaa and wish he was still teaching in Helsinki. I'll be graduating next Spring and am deciding which MArch programs to apply to.
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