Dezeen Magazine

"I’m a passionate architect... I do not work for money" - Peter Zumthor

As Peter Zumthor has this week been named as the recipient of this year’s Royal Gold Medal for architecture, here's another chance to watch the movie interview Dezeen filmed with him last summer, in which he told us "I'm a passionate architect and I think it's a beautiful profession." Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 by Peter Zumthor  photographed by Hufton + Crow

Speaking at the opening of his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (pictured) in London, Zumthor said, "I do not work for money; I'm not going for commercial projects. I go for projects where I can put my heart into it and which I think are worthwhile."

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 by Peter Zumthor  photographed by Hufton + Crow

He also told us how he started out in his father's cabinet-making workshop, went to art school and "slowly, slowly" became an architect. "Now maybe soon I’ll become a landscape architect too," he added. The pavilion featured a black walled garden framing a strip of wild planting by Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 by Peter Zumthor  photographed by Hufton + Crow

Zumthor, who was also awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2009, will be presented with the Royal Gold Medal for architecture in a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London on 6 February 2013. Read more here. See all our stories about Peter Zumthor here.

Peter Zumthor

Read more about the pavilion in our earlier story and see more photos here and here.

Photos are by Hufton + Crow.