Peter Zumthor

The Basel architect Peter Zumthor received the Gold Medal that, since 1848, the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) awards in recognition of the professional career of professionals which have had a meaningful influence, directly or indirectly, in the promotion of architecture. An extraordinary creator with a language that combines formal abstraction with the haptic qualities of materials – especially stone, concrete and wood –, Zumthor is the author of some of the most widely acknowledged buildings of the last two decades, such as the Thermal Baths in Vals, the Kolumba Art Museum in Cologne, the Brüder Klaus Chapel in Mechernich or, more recently, the summer pavilion for London’s Serpentine Gallery, of 2011. Aside from the Gold Medal, the Swiss architect has merited important awards like the Mies van der Rohe in 1999 – for the Kunsthaus Bregenz –, the Praemium Imperiale in 2008, and one year later, the Pritzker. Upon accepting the RIBA award, Zumthor joins a list of prominent figures such as Herman Hertzberger (2012), David Chipperfield (2011) or I. M. Pei (2010).