The Secular Retreat by Peter Zumthor.

Peter Zumthor has been on a victory lap the last two years since his Pritzker win, though he would never admit it. He still thoughtfully considers his projects, working only on a few at a time. He still works out of his monastic-like studio with only a handful of recent graduates. He still insists that he is, above all, concerned with the making of architecture, and nothing — neither the rapidly changing world nor an impatient museum board — will hasten his pace.

But Zumthor can’t deny the number of high-profile clients who have recently entered into his coterie. He’ll be revealing his Serpentine Pavilion at the end of the month. He’s designed numerous pieces for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, including a collaboration with late artist Louise Bourgeois.  He’s been working with LACMA to establish an urban plan for its museum campus. And he’s accepted a commission to design a house for Tobey Maguire. That’s a lot of hyperlinks for a man who most consider to live outside of time, burrowed away in the mountains of Switzerland.

Click through to see more of the project.

Now, images of the architect’s next project have been released. The Secular Retreat is Zumthor’s contribution to pop philosopher Alain de Botton’s curated project “Living Architecture”, which asks several world-class architects, including MVRDV, to design a house in Britain which would be available to rent for holidays and be made open to the public.

De Botton began the project after lamenting the fact that the best of modernist and contemporary architecture was either in private hands or off limits: “The inspiration for Living Architecture came from a desire for people to be able to experience what it is like to live, eat and sleep in a space designed by an outstanding architectural practice,” and the project’s website promises a revolution in both “architecture and UK holiday rentals.” (Handy!)

Zumthor has designed a small mass of rammed concrete, recalling the robust materiality of ancient ecclesiastical architecture. Fitting, as Zumthor hopes that the house serve as a “haven from the pressures of modern life and [will] create a place for sustained work and reflection.” Sound familiar?

The Secular Retreat will be Zumthor’s first project in the UK.

Model images and renderings by Peter Zumthor via Theresa Simon & Partners Ltd.

by Samuel Medina

posted in Identities news

tagged alain de botton, living architecture, mvrdv, peter zumthor, The Secular Retreat

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