Peter Zumthor 

After the French Nouvel, the Swiss Peter Zumthor was the 2009 laureate of the prestigious distinction granted annually by the Hyatt Foundation. The jury’s citation highlighted the timeless character of an oeuvre marked by the relevance of its phenomenological aspects, with buildings able to “masterfully assert their presence, engaging many of our senses, not just our sight but also our senses of touch, hearing and smell”. Zumthor, born in Basel and member of the Department for the Preservation of Monuments in the Canton of Graubünden between 1969 and 1979 – the year when he began his independent professional activity in the small town of Haldenstein –, has known how to make the most of his skills as cabinetmaker to create buildings of great tectonic density, impeccable finish and vibrant atmosphere; the Thermal Baths of Vals (1996), the Kunsthaus of Bregenz (1997), the Kolumba Museum in?Cologne (2007) or the Bruder Klaus Chapel in Wachendorf, Germany (2007), testify to this work method, which rediscovers local traditions and the intrinsic qualities of materials to endow his architecture with a transcendental value.