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hélène binet – architecture by peter zumthor

11 june – 12 july 2026

This online viewing room focuses on the work of Hélène Binet and her long-standing collaboration with Peter Zumthor. For over ten years, Binet has photographically recorded and artistically interpreted many of Zumthor’s key buildings, shaping how they are seen and understood today.

Her images of works such as the Therme Vals (Switzerland, 1996), the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel (Germany, 2005), the Kolumba Museum (Germany, 2007), and the Steilneset Witch Trial Memorial (Norway, 2011) do not simply document architecture, but distill its essence. Through her precise use of light, shadow, and framing, Binet captures the quintessence and nuance of Zumthor’s spaces, revealing their material intensity and emotional depth. In doing so, she also opens a new perspective on his architecture for a contemporary audience.

Selected works underline the significance of her photographic practice beyond documentation: ‘Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus (Bruder Klaus Field Chapel) 01, 02, 03 + 06’ are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Meanwhile, the ‘Therme Vals Diptychon’ is held in the permanent collection at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Together, these works affirm Binet’s role not only as an interpreter of architecture, but as an artist whose photographs define how Zumthor’s buildings are experienced, remembered, and understood.

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 01' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 01

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 02' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 02

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 03' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 03

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 03' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 03

year: 2007
material: digital b/w silver gelatin print
measurements: w 80 x h 102 cm
w 31.5 x h 40.2 inches
edition: 7 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 04' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 04

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 60 x h 50 cm
w 23.6 x h 19.7 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 05' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 05

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 06' courtesy ammann//gallery

Feldkapelle für den heiligen Bruder Klaus 06

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 60 x h 50 cm
w 23.6 x h 19.7 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

Therme Vals

© Hélène Binet 'Vals, Indoor Pool A' courtesy ammann//gallery

Vals, Indoor Pool A

year: 1997
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Therme Vals Diptychon' (Architecture by Peter Zumthor) courtesy ammann//gallery

Therme Vals Diptychon

year: 2006
material: digital c-type print and digital b/w silver gelatin print
measurements: w 127.5 x h 100 cm each
w 50.2 x h 39.4 inches each
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Therme Vals 01' courtesy ammann//gallery

Therme Vals 01

year: 2006
material: digital c-print
measurements: w 120 x h 153 cm
w 47.2 x h 60.2 inches
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Therme Vals 02' courtesy ammann//gallery

Therme Vals 02

year: 2006
material: digital c-print
measurements: w 80 x h 102 cm
w 31.5 x h 40.2 inches
edition: 10 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Therme Vals A' courtesy ammann//gallery

Therme Vals A

year: 2006
material: digital c-print
measurements: w 80 x h 102 cm
w 31.5 x h 40.2 inches
edition: 8 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Therme Vals Triptychon' courtesy ammann//gallery

Therme Vals Triptychon

year: 2006
material: digital c-type and digital b/w silver gelatin prints
measurements: w 100 x h 127.5 cm each
w 39.4 x h 50.2 inches each
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

Kolumba

© Hélène Binet 'Kolumba 01' courtesy ammann//gallery

Kolumba 01

year: 2007
material: hand printed b/w silver gelatin
measurements: w 50 x h 60 cm
w 19.7 x h 23.6 inches
edition: 8 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Kolumba 01' courtesy ammann//gallery

Kolumba 01

year: 2007
material: digital b/w silver gelatin print
measurements: w 120 x h 153 cm
w 47.2 x h 60.2 inches
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Kolumba B' courtesy ammann//gallery

Kolumba B

year: 2008/12
material: digital c-print
measurements: w 80 x h 102 cm
w 31.5 x h 40.2 inches
edition: 7 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Kolumba Triptychon' courtesy ammann//gallery

Kolumba Triptychon

year: 2008
material: digital c-type prints
measurements: w 100 x h 127.5 cm each
w 39.4 x h 50.2 inches each
edition: 3 + 2 a.p.

Steilneset Witch Trial Memorial

© Hélène Binet 'Vardo B' Architecture by Peter Zumthor courtesy ammann//gallery

Vardø – B

year: 2011
material: digital b/w silver gelatin print
measurements: w 127.5 x h 100 cm
w 50.2 x h 39.4 inches
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.

© Hélène Binet 'Vardo B' Architecture by Peter Zumthor courtesy ammann//gallery

Steilneset Witch Trial Memorial, Vardø, Norway, colour

year: 2011
material: digital c-print
measurements: w 127.5 x h 100 cm
w 50.2 x h 39.4 inches
edition: 5 + 2 a.p.