Zumthor Pavilion

Serpentine pavilion 2011, planting design - walter herfst

Peter Zumthor spoke with Bloomberg's Farah Nayeri about his Serpentine Gallery pavilion in London, a temporary structure. He hopes his rectangular enclosure will send visitors into a state of quiet contemplation. " I do what I think would be beautiful. A building where the center is not given to the people, but to the plants, and you gather around it. Everything in the world at the moment has to do with economy, money, how do we perform, how do we put up a front and so on. This is meant to be the opposite: an island where we can be ourselves. Let’s see whether this works, huh? (...) My buildings should have an emotional core - a space which, in itself, has an emotional nice feeling. I think space, architectural space, is my thing. It’s not about facade, elevation, making image, making money. My passion is creating space. This is, of course, a beautiful space, where you come in and see the space opens again, up to the sky. What more do you want?"