Product news: Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has designed a collection of glass condiment containers for Italian design brand Alessi.

The five-piece set comprises a tall cruet for oils and vinegars and four smaller shakers for salt, pepper, sugar and spices. Each one has a frosted glass body and a stainless steel head.

Zumthor describes how he came up with the concept years earlier, when he made a drawing of a salt dispenser while having breakfast in a hotel. "I made a quick sketch of thin lines suggesting an object which could hold grains or liquids."

He explains that the sketch hung on the wall of his studio for many years until he could no longer remember what is was, and even mistook it for a skyscraper. "One day, the memory of my morning in the hotel came back to me and I recalled why I made the sketch," he said. "At once, I took the sketch down to my model workshop and asked Iris to produce a series of glycerine soap models according to the sketch, which should look like brothers and sisters, small and big but all members of the same family. She shaped a beautiful menagerie of glycerine soap objects resembling frosted glass."

Peter Zumthor is being awarded the Royal Gold Medal for architecture in a ceremony today at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. In a lecture last night, he told an audience that his architecture is not about form-making. Past projects by Zumthor include the Steilneset Memorial in Norway and the 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.

Alessi was founded outside Milan as a metal tableware producer the 1920s, became synonymous with designer kettles in the 1980s and now works with a host of international designers including the Campana Brothers, Karim Rashid and David Chipperfield. A selection of Alessi watches is available from Dezeen Watch Store.

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News: Swiss architect Peter Zumthor rejected architecture as form-making in his Royal Gold Medal lecture at the RIBA in London yesterday, explaining that he believes that light, materials and atmosphere are the most important aspects of architecture.

"Architecture is not about form, it is about many other things," he said. "The light and the use, and the structure, and the shadow, the smell and so on. I think form is the easiest to control, it can be done at the end."

Zumthor, who is best known for designing material-led projects such as the Therme Vals thermal baths in Switzerland and the Kunsthaus Bregenz gallery in Austria, told an audience that his ultimate goal is to "create emotional space". He insisted that the "condensation of emotion" can be created in any building, from a humble railway station in Berlin to a house in countryside. "For me, they should all have atmosphere," he said.

Above: Thermal Bath Vals, photographed by Hélène Binet

This notion of a "presence in architecture" provided the subject of the lecture, as Zumthor described his quest to find an architecture that is free from symbolism and all about experience.

Reflecting on a childhood recollection of running through a village in springtime, he said: "This is my first memory of something which I think was pure presence, with no meaning and no history." He then discussed how these ideas influenced the design of projects such as the Steilneset Memorial, a tribute to suspected witches who were burned at the stake. "Meaning of course can never be avoided," he said, "but I like to work as long as possible on use and structure and materials, to avoid premature meaning."

Above: Steilneset Memorial, photographed by Andrew Meredith

The architect recalled how he once asked students to design a house without form, while his latest project is a holiday retreat with rammed concrete walls, intended as a haven of calm and reflection. "It's about creating emotional space," he added. "If I can do that, if I can create a space which is just right for its purpose and for its place, I think that is the greatest achievement. That's my goal."

In a question and answer section, Zumthor described himself as more of an isolated artist than an architect; someone who is not inspired by other architecture but instead tries to do everything without precedent. "I start from scratch, I guess I work more like an artist," he explained. "I'm not a typological architect, I'm more of an architect of place. I always start completely anew."

But with this emotional and personal approach to architecture, how does he find the right team of architects and trainees to work with him? "When you work in my office, this is a big family - you are helping me." he said. "So this is not about your buildings, it is about my buildings!"

Above: Kunsthaus Bregenz, photographed by Hélène Binet

The Royal Gold Medal, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects, is presented annually to an architect in recognition of a lifetime's work. Previous recipients include Herman Hertzberger, David Chipperfield and I. M. Pei.

See more of Peter Zumthor's architecture, including his 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London. You can also hear more from the architect in an interview we filmed at the pavilion's opening.

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Zumthor, the most recent recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture, built two neighbouring timber houses in 2009 for himself and his wife and named them the Oberhus and the Unterhus. "Annalisa had always dreamed of living in a house built of wood," wrote the architect in the year of construction.

Both three-storey houses feature a similar vernacular design, with gabled roofs and large balcony windows, but it is the Unterhus that Peter and Annalisa Zumthor have made available to rent. Peter Zumthor has also designed a third house, named the Türmlihus, which is due to complete this year and will start accepting bookings in the autumn. "We are very much looking forward to having guests in our timber vacation homes in Leis," say the pair.

The Unterhus contains five rooms and sleeps 4-5, while the Türmlihus will contain four rooms and will accommodate a maximum of four people. The Türmlihus will also feature a sauna and a cross-shaped layout that offers views in four different directions.

Zumthor is best known for designing buildings such as the Therme Vals thermal baths in Switzerland and the Kunsthaus Bregenz gallery in Austria, but his more recent projects include a memorial to commemorate witches burned at the stake. See more stories about Peter Zumthor, including an interview we filmed with him at the opening of the 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.

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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."

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.

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.

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

Photos are by Hufton + Crow.

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News: Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has today been named as the recipient of this year’s Royal Gold Medal for architecture.

Awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the medal is presented annually to an architect in recognition of a lifetime's work and previous recipients include Herman Hertzberger, David Chipperfield and I. M. Pei.

Zumthor, who was also awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2009, is best known for designing the Therme Vals thermal baths in Switzerland and the Kunsthaus Bregenz gallery in Switzerland Austria, where he is currently showing an exhibition of his models.

His first project in the UK was the 2011 summer pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery in London and he is currently working on a hill-top retreat in Devon as part of Alain de Botton’s Living Architecture series.

Zumthor will receive the award from the Queen in a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London on 6 February 2013.

Hear more from Peter Zumthor in an interview we filmed with him at the opening of the Serpentine Pavilion, or click here to see a selection of his most famous projects.

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Here’s the announcement from the RIBA:

Peter Zumthor to receive the Royal Gold Medal for architecture

The world renowned Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been named today (Thursday 27 September 2012) as the recipient of one of the world’s most prestigious architecture prizes, the Royal Gold Medal.

Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Her Majesty the Queen and is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence “either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture”.

Known for running a small yet powerful and uncompromising practice, Peter Zumthor founded his award-winning firm in 1979 in Switzerland. His most celebrated projects include the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria, the Therme Vals (thermal baths) in Vals, Switzerland and the Kolumba Art Museum in Cologne. He designed London’s 2011 Serpentine Pavilion and is currently designing a house in Devon for philosopher Alain de Botton’s Living Architecture architect-designed holiday home scheme.

He is exceptionally talented at creating highly atmospheric spaces through his mastery of light and choice of materials. Zumthor’s buildings, such as his small rural chapels and the Thermal Baths at Vals, are an experience for all the senses, with every detail reinforcing the essence of the building and its surroundings.

RIBA President Angela Brady, who chaired the Honours Committee which selected the Royal Gold medal winner said,

“Peter Zumthor’s work renews the link with a tradition of modern architecture that emphasises place, community and material practice. His writings dwell upon the experience of designing, building and inhabitation while his buildings are engaged in a rich dialogue with architectural history. I will be delighted to present him with the Royal Gold Medal.”

Peter Zumthor will be presented with the Royal Gold Medal on Wednesday 6 February 2013 at a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, during which the 2013 RIBA International and Honorary Fellowships will also be presented.

This year’s RIBA Honours Committee was chaired by RIBA President Angela Brady with architects Peter Clegg, Yvonne Farrell, Professor Adrian Forty, Niall McLaughlin and Sarah Wigglesworth.

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