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The 'Therme Vals', the exceptional building for a thermal bath in the Swiss mountain spa of Vals by the celebrated Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, became an icon of contemporary Swiss and international architecture within a very short time after its opening in 1996. Reduction to the essential is the leading principle behind the design. Visitors should experience the elemental nature of water, of different temperatures and various dimensions of basins and rooms. This book, the only available monograph on the Therme Vals, contains an essay by Sigrid Hauser, on subjects such as 'Artemis/Diana', 'Baptism', 'Entrance', 'Mikvah', 'Pilgrimage', 'Resources', 'Spring', etc., and comments by Peter Zumthor on his design concept and the construction, the building materials and process, and the realised project. It is illustrated with Zumthor's own sketches and plans and with photographs by Helene Binet, taken especially for this publication. AUTHOR: Peter Zumthor is one of Switzerland's foremost contemporary architects; he is also an architectural theorist and teacher. His built work includes the St. Benedict Chapel (Sumvitg, Switzerland), the Kunsthaus Bregenz (Austria), the Swiss Sound Box (EXPO 2000, Hannover, Germany), and the Kolumba Art Museum (Cologne, Germany). 87 colour, 37 b/w illustrations