The Analysis of Peter Zumthor's Emotional Architecture in Therme Vals

International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering Innovation
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021

http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijarei
The Analysis of Peter Zumthor’s Emotional Architecture in

Therme Vals
Chuloh Jung1*, Mohammed Sherzad1, Mohammad Arar1
1
Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Ajman University,
United Arab Emirates
*Corresponding Author: c.jung@ajman.ac.ae
Accepted: 15 October 2021 | Published: 1 November 2021

___________________________________________________________________________
Abstract: Peter Zumthor is a cult figure within the realm of architecture. His portfolio may be
relatively small, but his influence is beyond imagination. He is renowned for his authentic
approach to his design, his craftsmanship, and his innovative use of materials and light. The
Therme Vals in Switzerland, one of his best-known projects, shows Peter Zumthor’s own high
standards, with no apparent compromises. The objective of this study is to explore his design
methodology to design emotional architecture and discover new emotional design vocabulary.
As a methodology, Therme Vals’ emotional design method is to be investigated via literature
review, field study, and the opinions of not only Peter Zumthor himself, but also of previous
researchers. The Analysis result had shown that Peter Zumthor’s spatial approach is unique.
Compared to the existing emotional architecture that allows rapid entry into the core
attraction, it guides users into the space at a very secret and slow speed. Unlike most emotional
architecture that arouses curiosity through strong colors or unusual finishing material, Peter
Zumthor designed with the intrinsic characteristics of ordinary materials and human memories
of them. Regarding spatial experience, Peter Zumthor maintained a more natural continuity of
spatial experience, not the concept of continuity as a scenario with a beginning and an end.
Artificial direction is never given, and the users maintain continuity according to the movement
of individual emotions.
Keywords: Peter Zumthor, Therme Vals, Emotional Architecture, Vernacular Material,

Spatial Experience
__________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
The role of formative principles and aesthetic characteristics of design in 21st century design is
rapidly changing with the development of impressive services and creative ideas for customers
(Platt & Spier, 2010; Zumthor et al, 2006). The keyword ‘emotion’ at the center of this
revolutionary change is acting as a new competitive force, demanding changes in design
thinking, design activities, and design systems in areas that create emotion beyond emotion
(Sharr, 2007; Zumthor, 2006). Discussions on the value and importance of emotional design
have already started in the late 1990s and in the mid-2000s, various aspects of emotional
research have been conducted through a number of papers (Zumthor, 2008; Jodidio &
Altmeppen, 2001). During this period, there was a study on the emotional space expression
aspect of interior design to give a unique and active space experience through sensory
stimulation such as unique themes, symbols, unusual scales, dynamic forms, strong colors and
graphics, fantastic lighting effects, and digital media (Bertoni, 2002; Spier, 2001). In cases
where a pleasant and comfortable space experience is given through static natural elements
such as water space, plants, and stones, it can be found that active communion with space users
98
Copyright © 2021 ASIAN SCHOLARS NETWORK - All rights reserved
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
and a positive feeling are delivered (Ursprung, 2011; Temple, 2014). This study focuses on
Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals, an interesting case of how a small town became a world-famous
attraction by giving the impression of touching the soul beyond simple communion with
visitors through architectural design (Andersen, 2012; Vandenbulcke, 2011; Zumthor, 1996).
The objective of this study is to explore his design methodology to design emotional
architecture and discover new emotional design vocabulary.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Peter Zumthor’s Philosophy

Peter Zumthor was born in Basel, Switzerland and raised as the son of a cabinet maker (Labbé,
2012). He is an architect with deep craftsmanship by understanding many materials and
learning techniques to handle them from an early age (Böhme et al, 2014). Due to such a
background, his architecture has shown excellent ability to transform the original tactile
qualities of materials into the aesthetic language of space based on a deep understanding of the
material properties (Cho, 2017). Working at Chur's agency responsible for historical sites, he
understood the ancient architecture of Switzerland and laid the foundation for his architecture
(Teeraparbwong, 2016). Through historical restoration projects, he conducted interesting
spatial experiments where crude and old materials and modern architecture meet (Park et al,
2015). Peter Zumthor always emphasizes sensory aspects in his architectural experience, and
his detailed emotional thinking can be found in his book 'Thinking Architecture' (Park & Kim,
2016). He refers to his aunt's garden handle in memories of the past to illustrate the way he
remembers space. For him, the handle becomes “a special sign of entering a world of different
atmospheres and smells, and the sound of pebbles being stepped on under his feet, along with
the moist feeling, incense, and creak of an old oak staircase, becomes a sign that reminds him
of that space” (Leatherbarrow, 2009). In this way, for him, the material realm of material
becomes 'a tool that evokes personal experiences, recalls and touches places through memory'
(Jia et al, 2013). He regrets that only 'vision' (which is perceived the fastest) becomes a
communication tool for modern city dwellers who pursue a life of speed and argues that
architecture should be a tool that remembers experiences and emotions through all senses
(Barbara & Perliss, 2006).
2.2. Peter Zumthor’s Emotional Expression

Peter Zumthor's work is largely unpublished based on his philosophical beliefs (Mueller, 2013).
This is because, in his architecture, where the 'sensual quality' of a space is the most important,
not a flashy architectural appearance (Table 1), a space is a place that can be understood only
by being experienced directly (Roos, 2017). As a precedent study to understand Therme Vals,
the scope and method of selection of examples of Peter Zumthor's consideration of architectural
characteristics were selected from among the works that were introduced at the 2009 Pritzker
Prize and the 2008 Japan Art Association Premium Imperial Architecture Award (Zumthor,
2019). The classification system of emotional expression characteristics was divided into
spatial approach aspect, aesthetic aspect, and experiential aspect (Jia et al, 2013). This, as
mentioned earlier, focuses on Peter Zumthor’s definition of “my space is a place that must be
experienced directly to be understood (Xuelian, 2016)”, and divides the experience into space
and the process of approaching the space, and re-experiences the experience in the aesthetic
aspect (Kim, 2020; Moe, 2010). It is divided into the experience in the experience and the
experience in the experiential aspect. The characteristic seen in terms of spatial access refers
to the way in which his buildings, which emphasize Genius Loci, communicate with the
surrounding environment and users approaching the building (Peters, 1999). Peter Zumthor's
works are designed for approaching users to adapt the direction, height, and shape of the site
99
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
to the site, emphasize the existing landscape resources, and reduce the weight of time of
historical traces to spatial language (Jung & Lee, (2020). show enthusiasm. The aesthetic aspect
refers to his unique emotional thinking about materials and space construction (Choi, 2020). It
is nature-friendly, has traces of time, and can touch the user's sensibility. It expresses the beauty
of space through the texture, scent, and sound of the material (Song, 2010). You can see that it
is expressed through proportion, scale, and meticulous detail. The experiential aspect is a
measure of mutual understanding that exists between his building and space users, and a space
program that considers users (Wardah & Khalil, 2010). It refers to the creation of emotional
devices that create interaction that meets user expectations.
Year Project Location Emotional Expression

Name Space & Approach Aesthetics Experience
1986 Guagalun Gugalun,
House Versam,
Graubunden,
Switzerland
-Located on the hillside - Mixing existing wood -Visual experience

of the village. vs. new wood integrated with the
Approaching the space - Contrast to feel the surrounding
while experiencing the beauty of the traces of environment through the
slope of the hill time window
-Simultaneous experience
of space (buried in the
ground) and time (old
and new buildings)
1989 Shelters Chur,
for Graubunden,
Ruins Switzerland
-Preserving historical -Use of wood, metal and -Various noises, winds,

sites and stacking from glass showing signs of and ceiling lights in the
the edges time city become a window
-Access the place through that allows
a connecting passage communication between
away from the ground the present and the past,
historical sites and
visitors.
1994 St. Sumvtg-San
Benedict Bebedetg,
Chapel Graubunden,
Switzerland
-The tip of the leaf is -The roof, pieces of wood - Arrangement of high
connected to a high sliced like fish scales windows to create a
slope and naturally -The beauty of the sacred space
placed with the exterior harmonizes -Inducing the experience
surrounding terrain with the surrounding so that only the Alps
environment using local mountains and sky are
materials in sight, allowing
100
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
-Experience the slope of visitors to focus on

the hill and approach the prayer meditation
space
1996 Therme Vals,
Vals Graubunden,
Switzerland
-The whole building is -Using only local - Interpretation of bathing

buried in a sloping hill, materials such as stone as a sacred ritual
so you can access the and copper, it shows the -Provide a variety of
space by going up the beauty of extremely experience spaces to
hill. restrained materials. provide relaxation for
- Accessible through the the soul to visitors
connected hotel
underground passage
1997 Kunsthaus Bregenz,
Bregenx Austria
-Located by the river -Dematerializes etched -Experience various art

-Reflecting water and sky glass, steel, and concrete exhibitions in a gallery-
while revealing their to deliver ultra-minimal like platform with soft
existence beauty through a sense of light
-Walking along the river transparency -Experience in the square
or approaching through where users can
the plaza communicate
2006 Bruder Norhrhine
Klaus Westfalia,
Chapel Germany
-Located on the outskirts -Using unique materials - Wind and light naturally
of town such as concrete flow in through the
- Approach while looking (exterior), tree trunk perforated interior
at the building located (inside), and lead (floor) ceiling
on an oblique hill -Creates the unique -Experience that rain and
texture of the spatial wind flow into the room
surface as if rainwater enters
and flows naturally
along the inner wall
2007 Kolumba Cologne
museum (Köln),
Germany
-Historical site located in -Exposed concrete -Experience of light

the heart of the city, -Use of old materials seeping through a hole
recognizing its unusual with traces of time
101
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
appearance and easily without throwing them in the brick surrounding

accessible from the away the historic site
street -Experience spatially the
temporal difference
between the ruins of the
past and the present
church museum
Table 1: Characteristics of Emotional Expression in Peter Zumthor's Architecture
3. Methodology
In this study, the primary literature review to examine the architectural design trends of Peter
Zumthor, the design-related background and architectural theory of Therme Vals was
conducted through books published since the 1990s, master's and doctoral thesis, and papers
related to the design and architecture association. Based on the contents summarized through
literature review, in July 2019, we conducted a field visit to the Therme Vals of Peter Zumthor
located in Vals, Switzerland. Through direct spatial experience, the space was analyzed by
comparing and examining the facts organized in the related literature. In describing Therme
Vals’ emotional design method through literature review and field visits, the opinions of not
only Peter Zumthor himself, but also of previous researchers and this researcher are quite
literary and descriptive. The contents are tabulated to organize observations and impressions.
4. Analysis
Therme Vals, a spa facility located in Vals, Switzerland, was commissioned by Peter Zumthor
in 1986 after the town of Vals bought the existing hotel that had filed for bankruptcy (Crisman,
2008). With Peter Zumthor's emotional space design directing, Therme Vals has become a
design marketing case that has revitalized the region by attracting numerous tourists as well as
locals from all over the world within two years of opening to the general public in 1996 (Lee,
2015). Therme Vals is a simple rectangular building built by stacking 60,000 locally quarried
Valser Gneis, sandwiched between a sloping hillside (Düchs & Vogt, 2020). Peter Zumthor
said that in determining the architectural image of Therme Vals, he interpreted the meaning of
bathing, an everyday act, as the liturgy of bathing (Clark & Pause, 2012). Through the space
construction method reminiscent of the meaning of purification and baptism of hot spring
bathing as a basic human experience, it is reminiscent of the early experiences of humans in a
primitive cave (Saieh, 2010). Therme Vals has a reputation among architects as a sequence of
spaces that evokes good memories and sensibility through meticulous architectural details. The
tactile, olfactory, and even taste elements of materials are meticulously and perfectly organized,
and through his architectural programs, the sensory potential of materials is constantly
connected with the experience of space (Woo, 2010).
4.1. The Characteristics of Emotional Design in Therme Vals

It is reasonable to observe the emotional evaluation of the space according to the user
experience process in defining the emotional design characteristics of Therme Vals. By visiting
the site in person, the researcher was able to document the process of experience that could not
be found in the previous literature (Murray, 2007). The classification system for this
consideration was first divided into the experience of approaching the space and the experience
in the space, as used in the emotional characteristics shown in Peter Zumthor's architecture
earlier, and the experience in the space was again divided into the aesthetic aspect and the
experiential aspect (Vandenbulcke, 2011). The emotional elements were analyzed from three
perspectives: the ‘space approach aspect’, which gives the interest of the approaching process,
102
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
the ‘esthetic aspect’, and the ‘experiential aspect’ which gives the pleasure of staying time
(Kim, 2020).
4.1.1. Spatial Approach

The spatial approach aspect refers to the observation of emotional encounters with spaces that
are sequentially obtained in the process of approaching architectural spaces (Brandt, 2010).
First of all, what is noteworthy about Therme Vals' building approach is that its architectural
appearance is almost invisible from the user's eyes in the distance, and it resembles the
materials and colors around the village without using prominent shapes or intense colors
(O'Grady, 2009). In a simple rectangular building that is half-buried in the ground, we discover
the 'sense of place' and the intention to be faithful to the atmosphere of the place, which we
saw in Peter's emotional architectural trend (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Access to the Building: An Inconspicuous Appearance with the Surrounding Environment
The next approach, the narrow slope approaching the entrance of the Therme Vals building,
becomes a device that slows down the user's walking speed (Lee & Kim, 2015). Looking up at
the building on the left, you can observe the users who pause or talk in response to the
surrounding auditory and olfactory elements (Durisch, 2014). In a separate indoor movement
for hotel guests, they walk through a narrow and long corridor with very low light levels,
wearing only red velvet robes. Light, the first visual element experienced when approaching
Therme Vals interior space, is mysterious and intense enough to be selected as the most
impressive element for most visitors as a result of the survey (Tasou, 2009). In the corridor
leading to the changing room through the ticket office, there is another emotional device of
Peter Zumthor, where the corrosive effect of the surface created by the flowing water from the
wall decorates the hallway in a line like an installation art (Ward, 2005). It is a design that
symbolically implies the meeting of stone, water, and light, which he uses as the main material
of the space, and at the same time, it is an aesthetic pattern of natural phenomena that makes
you feel the flow of time. The process of getting into the pool (the moment the user's naked
body meets the water) maximizes the emotional experience more than the previous spatial
approaches. Users experience the model of Baptism, a religious ritual that Peter Zumthor
originally intended when designing it (Jiaojiao & Songfu, 2013). All pools are designed to be
103
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
approached slowly in a low cascade, giving the body a symbolic experience of death as the
body slowly submerges, and a new life as it rises from the water again (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Access to the Pool: Water Maximizes the Emotional Experience
4.1.2. Aesthetics
The aesthetic aspect of space is observed through the meeting of light, stone, and water, which
is the most powerful spatial language of Therme Vals (Gilheney, 2016). Aesthetic stimulation
appears in a more dramatic effect as the three elements intertwine and meet light and stone,
light and water, stone and water, and light and stone and water. Since this phenomenon is dealt
with by discussing the experiential aspect, we focused on his architectural ideas to create such
an aesthetic sensibility in the aesthetic aspect (Drozd et al, 2009). Light, which is an element
that gives an emotional experience, is divided into four types, each with a different directing
effect. First, as for the influx of natural light, the brilliance coming in through the large window
in an indoor space that intentionally maintains low light intensity allows the user to experience
the light of a holy and sacred feeling. Second, the light entering through the architectural
structure (Figure 3) creates fantastic patterns of bluish ray of light on the stone wall and
becomes an element that impresses users (Jia & Liu, 2013).
104
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
Figure 3: Daylight Entering Through the Architectural Structure
As an architectural and structural solution for this, Peter Zumthor consists of 15 units in the
entire building, leaving an 8cm gap between each unit on the roof to let light in. Third, blue
light from the ceiling of the main pool (Figure 4) flows in through the glass of 16 Venice
Murano placed in the center of the grass roof and is reflected as if floating on the grass and
walls (Mindrup, 2016). As in the German romantic poet Novalis' Blue Flower, the blue light,
which symbolizes the boundary between dream and reality, and the inner and outer eyes, works
as a factor to maximize the experience in the pool, which Peter Zumthor intended for the
religious experience of death and resurrection. Fourth, the light that comes out through the
underwater lights installed in the pool gives the guests immersed in the water a comfortable
and cozy feeling like a mother's womb (Unwin, 2014).
Figure 4: Blue Light from the Ceiling of the Main Pool
The light in the water contrasting with the dark indoor illumination heightens the feeling that
the bubbles of the carbonated water used in the pool are tightened on the body, creating an
optical illusion as if water mist is rising over the dark background, creating a theatrical effect
of the space (De Klerk, 2015). According to the artist's intention to create an atmosphere like
105
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
a primitive cave or quarry, Therme Vals intended to design a space reminiscent of a pure,
mythical, and primal experience by using gneiss as the main material to meet light and water.
Peter Zumthor created three types of stone laminate samples at a height of 15 cm and arranged
them naturally in order to give a minimal but not artificial impression (Sahin, 2009). The thin
stone plates stacked one after another meet the light penetrating from the ceiling, creating a
sense of material as well as creating a one-point perspective effect that seems to be sucked into
the space (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Valser Gneis Wall
4.1.3. Spatial Experience

The experiential aspect was largely divided into spatial program experience and the experience
of the five senses (Abbas, 2019). First, looking at the programs of six different themed pools
from a spatial program point of view, Peter Zumthor designed four themed pools centered on
a square main pool to create a system that allows users to experience each room as if they were
traveling freely. made. At this time, users want to maintain low density in the six pools as a
will for personal rest, so they show free continuity because they are influenced by the
movement of other users (Pallasmaa, 2019). According to each theme, the designer helps the
emotional experience through meticulous architectural details. A warm lighting effect of
orange light is applied to the fire pool at 42 ℃, and a cool lighting effect with a blue light to
the ice pool at 14℃, providing visual stimulation. It was designed to maximize the tactile
stimulation of the body (Poerschke, 2013). The harmony pool, which gives the most interesting
auditory experience to the users, provides a sound experience in a narrow and high space with
a closed ceiling. Visitors return to their children's hearts and have fun making their own sounds
and creating Mars with the people next to them, reminding them of the image of a primitive
cave (Mallinson, 2011). In addition, the grass made of arnica petals, which has been used as a
universal medicine since ancient times in European folklore, not only relieves vasospasm of
users, but also leads customers to a more comfortable and restful atmosphere through the
olfactory experience. It is a program that controls the density of space users above all else to
help them enjoy these themed experiences in a relaxed and deep way. Since the number of
visitors is limited by time so that the number of visitors does not exceed 150, Peter Zumthor’s
space can always maintain a calm, serene and meditative feeling (Pallasmaa, 2016). In addition,
as a special consideration for hotel guests of Therme Vals, bathing is allowed from 7:00 a.m.
to 1:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. to give a more intimate and quiet experience of meeting nature. For
the night bathing experience, the effect of underwater lighting creates a situation in which water
mist rises against a pitch-black background, so the emotional stimulation of the users is much
106
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
doubled compared to the daytime experience. Another of the experiential aspects is the
experience of the five senses. The visual experience, which stood out in terms of aesthetics,
was tactile with the change of lighting color using color psychology and the landscape frame
that draws the surrounding mountains in the background through large windows, as well as the
walls and water spaces through which light flows to experience the sacred space (Low, 2019).
The auditory experience consists of the indoor main pool, which gives a mysterious feeling
through the sound of a primitive cave, and the outdoor pool where the sound of birds, bells,
and water pouring from the faucet touches the soul (Figure 6), and the sound stone composition
by Fritz Hauser ().
Figure 6: Experience of Outdoor Pool
It can be observed through the harmony pool, which allows you to experience a unique sound
space (Kim, 2011). The olfactory experience was found in the arnica pool with petals in
addition to the scent of wildflowers in the outdoor pool and massage room. Above all, the most
impressive sensory experience of Therme Vals is a tactile experience. According to Edward T.
Hall, touch is the most personally experienced of all senses, and the most intimate moments in
many people's lives are linked to the changing touch of the skin (Poon, 2018). Since it is a
space for bathing in a hot spring, body parts can come into direct contact with the space, and
since the hot spring water of Therme Vals is carbonated water, it is also noteworthy that the
tactile feeling of air bubbles constricting the body through the underwater lighting is doubled
(Abbas, 2019). It is observed that the greatest tactile experience experienced by users is not
caused by accidental contact with the body and physical properties but is made through the
voluntary and active participation of users. Watching the natural phenomenon where traces of
water are left on dry stones, users will soon observe that they use their bodies to perform
primitive art activities. It is easy to witness interesting sights of people taking pictures of their
body parts on stones, spraying water on the walls, writing their names or messages, and creating
graphics (Kim & Park, 2015).
5. Conclusion
Therme Vals is a space where the sensory potential of Peter Zumthor's architecture is realized
to the maximum. This study examines the emotional factors and essence of design by observing
the emotional design characteristics of Therme Vals, which has a reputation even among
architects for its meticulous spatial emotional devices and excellent architectural details, and
107
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
the public's reactions. The following is a summary of the emotional design value of Therme
Vals, which shows the differences from the existing emotional space.
1) Spatial Approach: It is not an emotional stimulus that is remarkably differentiated from the
surrounding environment to the extent that it is recognized even from an exaggerated scale or
a distance but is a design that is buried in the landscape and does not reveal the space so that it
is difficult to find it easily. Compared to the existing emotional design space that allows rapid
entry into the core attraction, it guides users into the space at a very secret and slow speed.
2) Aesthetic: Unlike the emotional space that arouses curiosity through strong colors or unusual
finishing materials in terms of physical properties, it communicates with the intrinsic
characteristics of ordinary materials and human memories of them. A space designed through
the pure aesthetic value of gneiss, natural light, and water, which are everyday materials of the
region, does not mobilize media or mechanical devices for aesthetic stimulation. program was
used.
3) Spatial Experience: It maintains a more natural continuity of spatial experience, not the
concept of continuity as a scenario with a beginning and an end and an introduction and a
conclusion. According to the rhythmic and free movement, artificial direction is never given,
and the user maintains continuity according to the movement of individual emotions. Even in
the development of the scene, it is not a cinematic scene production with a narrative
characteristic, but a secret and realistic high-level directing effect using architectural details
and natural phenomena, as seen in the fantastic background of light and water in the pool. Even
in the experience of the five senses, without using new media, lighting effects, background
sound effects, water jets, or any other devices or devices seen in water space, only natural light,
stones, and the properties of water, humans who play with the properties of Homo Ludens. The
primordial nature meets, and the experience of space is made. Through this study, it was found
that this spa gives its guests a spiritual, soul-touching impression as if it were a religious
experience. The rituals designed to allow visitors to rediscover and enjoy the value of bathing,
a human activity that has been enjoyed since ancient times, were meticulously guided through
the architectural details of Peter Zumthor. The fact that the emotional design approach through
the memory of human nature, material properties, and places becomes a much more powerful
emotion than technical devices, special themes, digital effects, and strong colors and shapes is
likely to have an important impact on the concept of emotional space design later.
References
Abbas, Y. (2019). Architecture as Landscape. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 64). EDP
Sciences.
Andersen, M. A. (2012). In Conversation: Peter Zumthor and Juhani Pallasmaa. Architectural
Design, 82(6), 22-25.
Barbara, A., & Perliss, A. (2006). Invisibile Architecure. Experiencing Places through the
Sense of Smell. Skira. 64-67.
Bertoni, F. (2002). Minimalist architecture. Birkhäuser. 34-42.
Böhme, G., Eliasson, O., & Pallasmaa, J. (2014). Architectural atmospheres: On the experience
and politics of architecture. Walter de Gruyter. 80-86.
Brandt, S. (2010). The Art of Memory Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals. Invitation to ArchiPhen,
51-52.
Cho, J. S. (2017). A Study on the Experiential Space Concept and the Expression Method in
Contemporary Architectural Space-Ando Tadao and Peter Zumthor. Journal of the
108
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design, 33(4), 21-30.

Choi, T. (2020). A Study on the Perter Zumthor's Architecture as a Construction of
Atmosphere. Journal of Urban Science, 9(1), 91-108.
Clark, R. H., & Pause, M. (2012). Precedents in architecture: analytic diagrams, formative
ideas, and partis. John Wiley & Sons. 101-112.
Crisman, P. (2008). THE MAGIC OF THE REAL: material and tactility in the work of Peter
Zumthor. Material Matters, 114-121.
De Klerk, S. (2015). An exploration of place: Towards an understanding of spatial character.
TD: The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 11(2), 85-103.
Drozd, C., Meunier, V., Simonnot, N., & Hégron, G. (2009, September). What tools and modes
of representation to reflect an architectural atmosphere?. In Conference on architectural
visualisation-9th international eaea conference.
Düchs, M., & Vogt, S. (2020). The House of the Senses: Experiencing Buildings with Peter
Zumthor and Pliny the Younger. In Architectural Space and the Imagination (pp. 53-65).
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Durisch, T. (Ed.). (2014). Peter Zumthor 2008-2013: Buildings and Projects. Verlag
Scheidegger & Spiess AG. 67-74.
Gilheney, D. J. (2016). The Relationship of Structure and Material Through the Lens of Three
Catholic Chapels (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech).
Jia, J. J., Liu, S. F., & He, X. J. (2013). Peter Zumthor Ideas of Architectural Creation. In
Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 423, pp. 1183-1186). Trans Tech Publications
Ltd.
Jia, J. J., Liu, S. F., & Yang, F. (2013). Exquisite Characteristic in Peter Zumthor's Architecture
Works. In Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 357, pp. 315-318). Trans Tech
Publications Ltd.
Jiaojiao, J., & Songfu, L. (2013, November). Study on Exquisite Methods of Architectural
Creation in Peter Zumthor's Works. In 2013 Fourth International Conference on
Intelligent Systems Design and Engineering Applications (pp. 579-582). IEEE.
Jodidio, P., & Altmeppen, S. (2001). Architecture now! (Vol. 2005). Cologne: Taschen. 102-
114.
Jung, C. H., & Lee, D. E. (2020). Deep Contextualism's Potentiality and Peter Zumthor's
Architecture. Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design, 36(1),
61-68.
Kim, J. S. (2020). A Study on the Sensory Experience Space Connected to Light, Material and
Five Senses in The Therme Vals of Peter Zumthor. Journal of the Architectural Institute
of Korea, 36(7), 47-56.
Kim, J. Y. (2011). A Study on the Spatial Effect of Material and Light: Focusing on Peter
Zumthor’s Projects: Bruder Klaus Chapel and Kolumba Museum. Korean Institute of
Interior Design Journal, 20(5), 87-95.
Kim, Y. J., & Park, C. I. (2015). The Meaning of Spatial Atmosphere as an Emotional Space
Experience Phenomenon and Spatial Design Implementation Methods-Focused on The
OF Bollnow's Space Theory and The Spatial Design of Peter Zumthor. Korean Institute
of Interior Design Journal, 24(2), 88-99.
Labbé, M. (2012). The Architectural Thought of Peter Zumthor: Lyricism Without Exaltation.
Nouvelle revue desthetique, (1), 107-117.
Leatherbarrow, D. (2009). Architecture oriented otherwise. Chronicle Books. 42-49.
Lee, M. K. (2015). Study on Characteristics of Body Sense in Contemporary Architectural
Design-Focused on Works of Herzog & de Meuron, Steven Holl, Peter Zumthor, Kuma
Kengo. Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal, 24(1), 82-92.
Lee, O. J., & Kim, M. D. (2015). A Study on Ontological Spatial Concept shown at Works of
109
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
Peter Zumthor. Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal, 24(2), 117-124.

Low, E. (2019). What I like about you. Green: sustainable architecture and landscape design,
(65), 98.
Mallinson, H. (2011). Zumthor's hairy paradise. Arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 15(4),
304.
Mindrup, M. (2016). The Resistance of Factures in Drawing-out Architectural Constructions.
In The Material Imagination (pp. 57-68). Routledge.
Moe, K. (2010). Thermally active surfaces in architecture. Princeton Architectural Press. 24-
29.
Murray, S. (2007). Material Experience: Peter Zumthor's Thermal Bath at Vals. The Senses
and Society, 2(3), 363-369.
O'Grady, E. (2009). The Therme Vals/Peter Zumthor. Retrieved, 5(2010), 2010.
Pallasmaa, J. (2016). The sixth sense: The meaning of atmosphere and mood. Architectural
Design, 86(6), 126-133.
Pallasmaa, J. (2019). Design for sensory reality: From visuality to existential experience.
Architectural Design, 89(6), 22-27.
Park, J. S., & Kim, D. J. (2016). Spatial characteristics of the Mise en scéne in Peter Zumthor's
Architecture. Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal, 25(3), 40-50.
Park, S., Chung, H. J., & Kim, K. H. (2015). A Study on the Haptic-Visual Phenomena in Peter
Zumthor's Architecture. Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning &
Design, 31(2), 193-204.
Peters, T. (1999). Thinking Architecture by Peter Zumthor Lars Müller Publishers, Baden,
199864 pp., 10 duotones ISBN 3-907044-61-4 Price 75.00 (hb)(available in North
America only). arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 3(1), 91-92.
Platt, C., & Spier, S. (2010). Seeking the real: the special case of Peter Zumthor. Architectural
Theory Review, 15(1), 30-42.
Poerschke, U. (2013). On concrete materiality in architecture. Arq: Architectural Research
Quarterly, 17(2), 149.
Poon, S. T. (2018, May). Examining the Phenomenology of Human Experience in Design
Process and Characteristics of Architectural Approaches. In IOP Conference Series:
Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 146, No. 1, p. 012079). IOP Publishing.
Roos, A. (2017). Peter Zumthor. In Sensibilité suisse (pp. 125-146). Birkhäuser.
Sahin, E. (2009). Exchange of forces: Environmental definition of materials in the works of
Vitruvius, Alberti, Le Corbusier, and Peter Zumthor. University of Pennsylvania. 48-54.
Saieh, N. (2010). Multiplicity and Memory: Talking About Architecture with Peter Zumthor.
Archidaily, Retrieved October, 2, 2019.
Sharr, A. (2007). Heidegger for architects. Routledge. 62-68.
Song, H. Y. (2010). Adjusted Techniques by Architects Trained as Craftsmen-Cases of Adolf
Loos, Mies van der Rohe, Peter Zumthor. Architectural research, 12(1), 33-38.
Spier, S. (2001). Place, authorship and the concrete: three conversations with Peter Zumthor.
Arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 5(1), 15-36.
Tasou, A. M. (2009). Architectural Representation: Analysing Hélène Binet's Photographs of
Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals from 2005-2006 (Doctoral dissertation, University of
Westminster).
Teeraparbwong, K. (2016). “Atmosphere: Architectural Environments-Surrounding Objects”
By Peter Zumthor. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, 3(2), 168-178.
Temple, N. (2014). Architecture as the Receptacle of Mitsein. In Intersections of Space and
Ethos (pp. 138-149). Routledge.
Unwin, S. (2014). Thermal Baths, Vals. In Twenty-Five Buildings Every Architect Should
Understand (pp. 215-222). Routledge.
110
e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021
Ursprung, P. (2011). Limits to Representation: Peter Zumthor and Hans Danuser. Visual
Resources, 27(2), 172-184.
Vandenbulcke, B. (2011). Concretion, abstraction: the place of materials in architectural design
processes. Case study: Peter Zumthor. In ARCC Conference Repository.
Ward, V. (2005). Architectonic Jewellery: An interrogation of the translation of ideas from
architecture to jewellery through the design and production of contemporary jewellery
(Doctoral dissertation, The Glasgow School of Art).
Woo, J. Y. (2010). A Study on the Emotional design approach in the Therme Vals designed by
Peter Zumthor. Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal, 19(3), 77-85.
Xuelian, R. (2016). Architecture Rooted in the Earth——Thoughts after Reading the Book
“Thinking Architecture” by Peter Zumthor. Furniture & Interior Design, 12.
Zumthor, P. (1996). The Therme Vals. 21-26.
Zumthor, P. (2006). Atmospheres: Architectural environments. surrounding objects.
Birkhäuser. 42-47.
Zumthor, P. (2008). Penser l'architecture. Springer Science & Business Media. 34-42.
Zumthor, P. (2019). Secular Retreat. A+ U-ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM, (587), 124-
133.
Zumthor, P., Oberli-Turner, M., Schelbert, C., & Binet, H. (2006). Thinking architecture (Vol.
113). Basel: Birkhäuser. 24-35.
111

The Analysis of Peter Zumthor's Emotional Architecture in Therme Vals

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Analysis of Peter Zumthor's Emotional Architecture in Therme Vals

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering Innovation

e-ISSN: 2682-8499 | Vol. 3, No. 3, 98-111, 2021

The Analysis of Peter Zumthor’s Emotional Architecture in

*Corresponding Author: c.jung@ajman.ac.ae

Accepted: 15 October 2021 | Published: 1 November 2021

Keywords: Peter Zumthor, Therme Vals, Emotional Architecture, Vernacular Material,

2.1. Peter Zumthor’s Philosophy

2.2. Peter Zumthor’s Emotional Expression

Year Project Location Emotional Expression

-Located on the hillside - Mixing existing wood -Visual experience

-Preserving historical -Use of wood, metal and -Various noises, winds,

-Experience the slope of visitors to focus on

-The whole building is -Using only local - Interpretation of bathing

-Located by the river -Dematerializes etched -Experience various art

-Historical site located in -Exposed concrete -Experience of light

appearance and easily without throwing them in the brick surrounding

4.1. The Characteristics of Emotional Design in Therme Vals

4.1.1. Spatial Approach

Figure 2: Access to the Pool: Water Maximizes the Emotional Experience

Figure 3: Daylight Entering Through the Architectural Structure

Figure 4: Blue Light from the Ceiling of the Main Pool

Figure 5: Valser Gneis Wall

4.1.3. Spatial Experience

Figure 6: Experience of Outdoor Pool

Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design, 33(4), 21-30.

Peter Zumthor. Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal, 24(2), 117-124.

You might also like