peter zumthor’s werkraum haus exhibition celebrates architecture born of craftsmanship

an exhibition inside a building designed by Peter Zumthor himself

Peter Zumthor-planned Werkraum Haus becomes home to an exhibition with architectural models of completed works designed by him. A decade ago, in 2013, the Werkraum Bregenzerwald association opened its Werkraum Haus in the bucolic village of Andelsbuch in Austria, as a center that honors traditional craftsmanship and culture, as well as a gathering place for the public. Its rich background makes it an ideal fitting venue for this exhibition, scheduled from 18 March to 16 September 2023. 

Forty large-scale models are set up within the venue, marking architectures dedicated to craftsmanship, where

materials, construction, and form become an integrated whole. Curated by the Finnish architect and exhibition designer Hannele Grönlund in collaboration with the acclaimed swiss architect, whose practice is characterized as uncompromising and minimalist, the interior showcases a wide variety of models without excessive explanations. The models visualize craftsmanship and let the textures, forms, and materials do the talking themselves, taking the viewer into each work‘s distinctive atmosphere — something that neither plans nor digital imaging methods could cover.

Zumthor models exemplify craftsmanship

Peter Zumthor’s beacon of craftsmanship in Austria will host architectural models displayed individually and in groups, occupying over 700 square meters of indoor and outdoor space. Among them are some very recent ones and others that have never been shown publicly. Materials, techniques, and aesthetics have perfectly collaborated, and this is depicted in the large-scale models that impressively convey each project’s atmosphere. 

The models are a great example of craftsmanship and, with honesty, unveil the power of handiwork and mastery in an era where everything evolves around digitalization. ‘They unfold as a response to the advent of computer-assisted drafting and designing that has made the design process abstract and put architecture in peril of losing touch with its essential materiality,’ shared the team.

Although the models are constructed with simplicity, this analogue way of working enhances a tangible experience, allowing the materials, colors, textures, volumes, and proportions to be visualized or imagined. ‘The Zumthor models are not presentation models; they are working models.’ With minimalistic gestures, the models are honest about their construction, communicating a sense of the scale and dimensions of a building‘s constituent parts. All the structures by the Atelier Peter Zumthor are handcrafted in the broadest sense of the term, which is demonstrated through the display.

Brother Klaus: models for the Brother Klaus Field Chapel Mechernich-Wachendorf, Germany © Atelier Peter Zumthor

project info:

name: An exhibition about architecture born of craftsmanship

architectural models: from the Atelier Peter Zumthor
venue: Werkraum Bregenzerwald, Andelsbuch | @werkraum.bregenzerwald

dates: 18 March – 16 September 2023
architect and curator of the exhibition: Hannele Grönlund
events curator: Renate Breuß
partners/in collaboration with: Land Vorarlberg; prohelvetia; Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture; the Civil Service and Sport; Bregenzerwald Tourismus; Werkraum Freunde