From Inside Out: The Architecture of Peter Zumthor

DATE

01.09.2026

Light, materials, atmosphere, and scale play a central role in the new documentary directed by Wim Wenders, acclaimed director of Perfect Days (2023).

It will have its world premiere on September 6th at the Venice Open section.

Peter Zumthor (Basilea, 1943), winner of the Pritzker Prize in 2009, is the subject of a film proposal outside the competition of the 83rd edition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The film, shot over 14 years with Brad Pitt as executive producer, was created in 3D using depth as a tool for spatial understanding by the viewer. Through this three-dimensional format, the film explores Zumthor’s architecture from the experience of those who inhabit, traverse, or build it.

Swiss architect is recognized for a career marked by material precision and sensory approach to space. From his origins as a cabinetmaker, he developed a need for care and attention to detail, traits that have characterized his career as a designer and architect from the beginning.

His practice is characterized by a meticulous selection when building, resulting in a reduced number of projects due to the long periods of research and design he immerses himself in to create each one. Works such as the Vals Thermal Baths (Switzerland), the Kolumba Museum in Cologne (Germany) or the Bruder Klaus Chapel in Wachendorf (Germany) have consolidated an architecture that celebrates the physical experience of the place, the attention to constructive detail and the ability of buildings to generate atmospheres; concepts also reflected in his theoretical work, such as in the book Atmosphere.

The starting point of the project is a phrase from the architect himself: “Everyone comes from houses,” an idea that positions architecture as the fundamental framework of the human experience. On the other hand, the German filmmaker has dedicated part of his production to portraying prominent figures from various disciplines, exploring resources beyond conventional image methods to allow viewers to explore these spaces themselves.

Wenders demonstrates that architecture is about how buildings shape our emotions, memories, and understanding of the world, and he believes that the audience will leave the room with a new perspective on what architecture can mean for their lives.