“It’s All About Emotion”: A Conversation With Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor is undoubtedly one of the world’s leading architects, having been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2009. But despite the admiration of his peers, Zumthor, 75, is hardly a household name. This may be because his work often reflects his quiet, considered nature. His designs, including museums, memorials, pavilions, and a spa-hotel in his native Switzerland—the 1996 Therme Vals—are contemplative rather than brash. Most recently, Zumthor ventured to England for his first permanent project in the country: a holiday rental in Devon called Secular Retreat, part of a series of ultra-high-design getaways commissioned by Living Architecture.