Vorwort: Steven Spier
That the same adjectives can be used to describe Swiss architecture by those who admire it and those who don’t – namely minimal, uncompromising and well constructed – is a strange and noteworthy consensus. Transcending such characteristics is the work of Burkhalter Sumi, for it has as much sensuality as sense, opulence as rigour, and an architectural ambition tempered refreshingly with modesty. Even though Burkhalter Sumi are now working on larger scale problems and projects than before, their way of thinking and working shows a remarkable consistency over the 21 years since the office’s founding. Over years of obervations, mulling and simply following their personal tastes the architects had assembled a host of complicated and contradictory issues about timber architecture, such as tectonics, form and its perception, prefabrication, colour, ecology and hybrid structures. This issue of 2G magazine, devoted to Burkhalter Sumi, collects an illustrative selection of recent works by the Swiss team, including residential projects, urban planning, projects for the workplace and exhibitions.