But why did Peter Zumthor, of all people, become the central architect in Wenders’s film? The answer, of course, is known only to the director. We can, however, try to find it in what makes Zumthor so emblematic: the artistry of his architecture, a unique approach to design—one marked by slowness and craftsmanship—and the narrative built around his figure, so far removed from that typically associated with contemporary architecture. These three elements make Zumthor not just an architect, but an auteur—almost an artist—and explain why he, of all people, could become a cinematic character.
One thing, then, already seems quite certain. With this film in Venice, a cultural shift is taking hold. That chasm that now separates “architects”—in their disciplinary esotericism—from the “rest of the world”—which includes, at most, the starchitects—seems to be starting to narrow a bit.