The Therme Vals Architect: Peter Zumthor Location: Graubünden, Switzerland Date: 1996 Half buried in a Swiss hillside and built over a natural thermal spring, Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals are one with nature. Local Valser Quarzite slabs are the main inspiration and building material used in the design. Zumthor strived to combine “mountain, stone, [and] water” in order to have the feeling of “being inside the mountain”. The landscape and other natural elements surrounding the baths adds to the sense of tranquility and calm. Zumthor’s modern design enables the ancient tradition of public bathing to remain in the 20th and 21st centuries. The bathhouse includes two large pools, one of which is outdoor and the other indoor. Guests of Peter Zumthor’s creation range from Graubünden locals to hotel guests to travellers. They can roam throughout all 15 subsidiary volumes that make up the greater Therme Vals. Separations between said structures allow for gaps of 8 cm to let in light and the view of the Swiss countryside. In addition to gaps, expansive windows are also an important factor in Zumthor’s design because they blur the line between the outdoors and indoors. The light, clear windows juxtapose the strong, solid stone walls of the structure. Prior to the building of the Therme Vals, the thermal spring had ve hotels surrounding it. After the developer of the hotels went bankrupt, the village of Vals was able to reclaim the land and sell it to another investor who in turn commissioned Peter Zumthor. The nished structure took three years to complete and later won Zumthor the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2009. Zumthor is a Swiss-born architect who has won both the Pritzer Prize and a RIBA Royal Gold Medal (2009 and 2013 respectively). Other accolades include the Carls- burg Architectural Prize and the Praemium Imperiale. His education began in 1963 at the local Kunstgewerbe- schule and later went on to Pratt in 1966 in the elds of architecture and industrial design. Thirteen years later in 1979, Zumthor nally founded his own rm which he continues to run today. In addition to running his rm, Zumthor also taught as a professor at USC, the Techni- cal University of Munich, Tulane, Harvard, and the Accademia di Architecttura di Mendrisio. Floor Plan Vertical Section Private vs. Communal Responding to Context Spatial Order Structure Daylight Hierarchy.