Peter Zumthor – Thinking Architecture

"Details, when they are successful, are not mere decoration. They
do not distract or entertain. They lead to an understanding of the
whole of which they are an inherent part."

"The design process is based on a constant interplay of feeling and
reason. The feelings, preferences, longings and desires that emerge
and demand to be given a form must be controlled by critical powers
of reasoning, but it is our feelings that tell us whether abstract considerations really ring true."

"In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a
resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its own language."

"When an architectural design draws solely from tradition and
only repeats the dictates of its site, I sense a lack of a genuine concern
with the world and emanations of contemporary life. If a
work of architecture speaks only of contemporary trends and
sophisticated visions without triggering vibrations in its place, this
work is not anchored in its site, and I miss the specific gravity of the ground it stands on." 

"To build houses like Kaurismaki makes films – that's what I would like to do."