Peter Zumthor was selected to do the Beyeler Foundation expansion, which is located in Basel, Switzerland. Zumthor was chosen to add to the Beveler Foundation museum and is expected to add a minimalist approach similar to that of his Kunsthaus Bregenz museum work.

The approach taken for this work is similar to the Kunsthaus Bergen in the fact that the windows control the intake of the lighting, allowing only a certain amount of the natural lighting within the building, maintaining the relationship of the outside environment with the inside of the building. Peter Zumthor has become known for his ability of doing this, and taken as much time as he needs to complete his goal of this.

Peter Zumthor’s Kunsthaus is a museum that is located in Bregenz, Austria. The Kunsthaus is a minimalist building that is easily adaptive to all different types of art. It has a strong control of light as it is able to absorb, reflect, and filter light across the building for the art work.

The way the windows are that filters the light allows the museum to have a relationship with the outside conditions. The buildings floors are supported by only 3 concrete walls, which creates a sense of seclusion with in the building along with openness coming from the natural lighting. This minimalist building along with a previous building, the Therme Vals, put Peter Zumthor on the map as being a leading minimalist architect.

http://www.archdaily.com/107500/ad-classics-kunsthaus-bregenz-peter-zumthor

Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals is a hotel and spa located in Graubünden, Switzerland and was built over thermal springs, the only thermal springs in Graubünden. Zumthor made the place very natural as it is half built in the hillside with a grass roof over it. The place is built with layers of Valser Quarztile slabs, which became a major influence for the rest of the design.

The layout of the spa leads people to certain areas, predetermined by the paths and layout, which contain the natural thermal springs in which the hotel was built over. Peter Zumthor successfully preserved the natural surroundings that the hotel was built around to create a luxurious hotel and spa that brings the guest back to the rituals of bathing in springs.

http://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals

The Kolumba Museum is located in Cologne, Germany, which is a city almost completely destroyed by World War II. The site of the Museum used to be a late-gothic church in which he respected when making the museum by preserving its essence, and is described to make you feel its spiritual values in it.

On the inside of the building, the walls are grey bricks that are articulated with perforations so that light is diffused and only fills up specific spaces of the rooms.

Zumthor is known for taking his time when designing projects until he finds the perfect materials, and with this building he had special bricks made by Petersen Tegl of Denmark, and he fired the bricks with charcoal to put of the perfect shade of color for the building.

http://www.archdaily.com/72192/kolumba-musuem-peter-zumthor

Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel is located in Mechernich, Germany. The chapel is a beautiful building all the way from the interior to the exterior. The Bruder Klaus Field Chapel is in honor of patron saint Bruder Klaus of the 15th century, and was built by local farmers. The building is made with a wigwam of 112 tree trunks, then had concrete over the trunks that was about 50 cm thick. Then with a wood frame on the outside, it was set on fire to create black charred walls all the way up to the opening  to the sky in the interior of the building.

http://www.archdaily.com/106352/bruder-klaus-field-chapel-peter-zumthor

Peter Zumthor was the architect for the Zinc Mine Museum in Sauda, Norway. The museum consists of 3 unique buildings, the main museum, a cafe, and restrooms. The buildings are very different as they are made of 18 mm plywood sheets, jute burlap, and coated with a German Acrylic Material. The buildings are also supported by impregnated laminated wood. The unique buildings are supposed to represent the tough times that the miners went through, thats the reason the exteriors are painted dark.

The buildings had parts put together before hand in Saudasjøen and then was finished being put together in Allmannajuvet.

http://www.archdaily.com/796345/allmannajuvet-zinc-mine-museum-peter-zumthor

The Chesapeake Energy Arena which currently hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder,  in downtown Oklahoma City has played a major role in my life. Growing up my first memories of this building it was called the Ford Center. This arena was opened in 2002 after two years of construction. My first event at this building was a Oklahoma City Blazers hockey game. The arena was large and had a nice cool design on the outside. It is large made mostly of brick like most everything in downtown. I had an amazing time at the game which gave me good reflections on the building. My next visit was a monster jam event with master trucks and the time I had at that was just as great.

This building has a lot of meaning to me because of the good times that I have had there with a lot of different family members of mine. For me, a person who is a fan of all sports, this is the place where I attended my first ever sporting event, which means a lot for me. sports have had a major impact on my life, and although this arena isn’t where I’ve spent most of my time watching sports, it was what started me on sports.

The Jim Norick arena is named after the mayor at the time of its opening in 1965. This arena sits on the Oklahoma state fair grounds in Oklahoma City and is used for all kinds of events that take place at the fair and during other times. But the reason this building has special meaning to me is because I have gone so many horse shows and rodeos with my grandpa at this arena.

This arena means more and more to me each year as I grow older. As I grow older I learn to value my time and memories with my grandpa more. The first time I walked up to this arena I thought it was really plain on the outside, but it was kinda hidden simply because there were horse trailers surrounding the arena and my excitement for my first rodeo really took over. I didn’t really care what the building holding the event looked like on the outside. After I went to the rodeo here I went to many more events and I don’t remember a time that I have gone to an event here and not had a good time. The Jim Norick Arena has had a strong positive impact on me, and I hope it continues on

The Sam Noble Museum is a museum built right next to the University of Oklahoma campus. It was opened where it is now in 1999. I have spent a lot of time on field trips through my school years at the Sam Noble Museum. It was my first museum that I ever visited and I think that is why I think so much of it. This museum has an awesome set up on the outside entrance, but my favorite part has always been in the back with the mammoth statue. I like the curved staircase with all the windows surrounding the room, and how the light enters the room from the windows.

My first time visiting this museum I kinda thought it looked like a castle, just solely because it is a large building made of stone. Walking up you see the large stone pillars outside the front door. The way the inside is designed makes it feel large as well as everything is spread out and the ceilings are very high. The whole place is large and seems to be strongly built made out of the stone, and because it was my first museum experience, it has always been someplace that I thought was cool in Norman.

Dale Hall Tower had an effect on my life long before I ever went to the University of Oklahoma. When I was in the 3rd grade my reading skills were above most of the other kids in my classes. Because of this my teachers and parents made me take speed reading courses in the summer and we were forced to read certain books and from what I remember they were terrible.

The feeling I got when I entered the building was not a good one, it was so dark compared to what my classrooms were like in elementary school. The rooms had nothing on the walls like my classes did. Dale Hall Tower just seemed so plain with no excitement to it. Looking from the outside the building not much changes, its plain brick all though I do like the top part made out of the stone. But for me, Dale Hall Tower was where my excitement for reading left me.