Therme Vals: Peter Zumthor’s Architecture of Stillness and Stone

Perhaps Zumthor’s most famous work, Therme Vals, it's hard to tell where the ‘budiling’ really sits among the Swiss mountain ranges. The spa complex, completed in 1996 in Vals, Switzerland, seems to be built into the mountainside itself, yet is Zumthor's most studied and praised work of all time. The site itself is a monolithic composition of quartz, water and filtered light, embodying Zumthor's life long pursuit, to make architecture and material engender feelings. 

Context: Site and Origins

Commissioned by the municipality of Vals, the project aimed to replace an abandoned hotel near the valley’s natural hot springs. The goal was simple, a bath house that could help revitalize the local economy. Zumthor, who already made a name for himself as the material master, was selected to be the lead architect. He aimed to craft the site within its environmental context, rather than impose on it, similar to his own personal architectural beliefs. 

Vals, being a high alpine village in Graubunden, is isolated. Yet, Zumthor chose to use locally sourced materials. The Valser Quartzite was extracted from mountains to build the sites roofs and walls. He used locally sourced wood as well, grounding the site within its environmental and cultural context. 

“My buildings try to fit into their surroundings. I want to make buildings that are loved,”
— Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture

Design Intent: Architecture as Landscape

Rather than impose a new building on its natural landscape, Zumthor proposed an excavated mass within the landscape, a building that appears to be hidden. Using over 60,000 grey quartz slabs and 15 interlocking cubic volumes, zumthor created varying pools of varying temperature and light. These pools, dubbed as stone boxes, are praised as architectural and geological masterpieces. 

The building itself rises subtly from the slope, with its top covered by the lush green grass, and a sudden cantilever-like cut out of the quartz slab walls, revealing the building it self. This act of hidden-ness is emulated within the interiors itself, darkened corridors with dramatic light cut outs, shallow pools, yet for some reason it feels calming rather than imposing, proving Zumthor’s master of materiality. 

Philosophy in Practice: Phenomenology and Sensory Memory

As mentioned in the beginning, Therme Vals is often cited as the epitome of Zumthor’s  phenomenological approach, architecture that engages the lived experiences and senses. When interviewed in 2006, Zumthor said: 

“Architecture is not about making forms. It is about making space come alive.”

In Vals, this can be seen through every aspect of design. Starting with the pool,each offset a varying experience from 14 degree cold baths and hot 42 degree baths in the next room. Zumthor created deliberate light filters through narrow cuts in roof slabs, and accentuated the sound of dripping water, connecting materiality and design to nature. The locally sourced materials, quartzite walls are rough on the hand, while the stone emits warmth through the steam. Even the sound of footsteps and conversation blur into the background, creating a truly calm serene environment.

Construction and Material Mastery

Zumthor’s attention to construction can be described as obsession. He deliberately cut locally sourced quartz slabs into 15mm thick ones, assembling with a deliberate alternating layer format, creating unique texture and patterns. Looking even closer, we can see that each concrete slab rests upon each other with invisible joints, making the roof load-brearing and structurally innovative, yet aesthetically pleasing. 

“I’m interested in sensuous architecture, one that you can touch, smell, listen to — an architecture that has presence and dignity.”
— Zumthor, interview with Klat Magazine

The Experience: Ritual and Slowness

One’s journey through Therme Vals unfolds as individualistic stories. There are no obvious routes or dedicated path, instead one is encouraged to wander to where they want to go. Each chamber is dedicated to a different bodily or emotional state: the Flower Bath, the Cold Bath, the Sound Bath, the Fire Bath. This individualistic experience reflects Zumthor’s ideas that architecture should engender human experiences, and not be so fixated in function. He believes that by creating a unique architectural atmosphere, it can move the human experience. 

Therme Vals has not just become a site studied by architects, designers and visited by many, but a site that inspires people to think about craft, material and human experience through design. It not only became the symbol of Vals, but also Zumthor’s legendary work, and his insistence of meticulous control over every process of design. Critics often describe the building as sacred, almost as if it carried a deep religious value to the realm of architecture. 

Ultimately, Therme Vals stands as one of the late 20th century’s most profound architectural works. It demonstrates Zumthor’s conviction that architecture’s highest calling is to create presence, allowing people to feel rooted in the world through matter, memory, and light. To step inside is to enter not a design, but a state of being; it is a moment of stillness where architecture, nature, and human perception converge, embodying what Zumthor described as the feeling of "quiet joy" and completeness when a building is right.