Dezeen Magazine

This week, Peter Zumthor spoke out about his "destroyed" Therme Vals and his mysterious reputation

This week on Dezeen, Swiss architect Peter Zumthor told Dezeen he is trying to change his reputation as a "reclusive mountain-dwelling hermit" and claimed his renowned thermal baths in Vals have been ruined.

Zumthor said his Therme Vals spa and hotel had been ruined by "egotistical" property developer Remo Stoffel, who won a battle with Zumthor to buy the complex in 2012.

Peter Zumthor said he was trying to change his mysterious reputation in an interview with Dezeen

He also told Dezeen he is trying to change his mysterious reputation, in an exclusive interview at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, where he is working on an extension for the Renzo Piano-designed gallery.

Meanwhile, Bjarke Ingels revealed the demands of being one of the world's most successful architects in the new documentary BIG Time – an intimate portrayal of the Danish architect's rise to stardom.

Tadao Ando's 152 Elizabeth Street apartment block interior
First apartment in Tadao Ando's 152 Elizabeth Street revealed

The Japanese government came under fire this week for allegedly using timber linked to deforestation and human-rights violations to build its Kengo Kuma-designed stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

MAD's mountain-shaped tower complex neared completion in Beijing and Tadao Ando offered a glimpse inside his first apartment building outside Asia.

The Mies van der Rohe Award 2017 was awarded to NL Architects and XVW Architectuur for a renovation of a dilapidated 1960s apartment block on the edge of Amsterdam.

Citymapper smartbus
Citymapper "redesigns the bus" with new London transport service based on demand

Transport app Citymapper revealed a real-life bus that drives an under-serviced London route found using crowdsourced data and Banksy took aim at Brexit with his latest mural.

With New York design month well underway, our coverage this week included a "deconstructed" wine bottle by Karim Rashid and an exhibition featuring American and Norwegian designers.

Mami house by NOArquitectos LDA
Mami House is a "mini bunker" built for a couple on a very tight budget

Nobu opened a Japanese-influenced hotel on the Malibu coast and UK architecture firm Michaelis Boyd's boutique hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, opened its doors.

Popular projects this week included an egg-shaped sauna in remote Sweden, a concrete cuboid house built on a very tight budget and a minimal mobile phone.