Wim Wenders' 3D documentary on the architecture of Peter Zumthor

Wim Wenders has spent roughly fourteen years on From Inside Out – The Architecture of Peter Zumthor, a 3D documentary that grew out of a shorter film he made about the Swiss architect in 2012. Rather than a lecture, Wenders says the film offers "a sensual experience", with Zumthor as the guide. Its buildings are seen through the people who visit them, live in them or helped make them.

The film runs through a career. It starts with austere early Swiss work in timber and Vals quartzite, such as the shelter over Roman ruins in Chur and St Benedict's Chapel on a hill above Sumvitg. From there it moves to the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel in Wachendorf and the Steilneset Memorial to the victims of the witch trials in Vardø, Norway. The museums get their own chapter. Kunsthaus Bregenz has a diffused glass facade by Lake Constance, and Kolumba in Cologne is built around the ruins of a church. Two recent projects close the story: the curving David Geffen Galleries at LACMA and the Wyss Museum at Fondation Beyeler in Riehen.

designboom's piece gives no release date or cinema listings, so check locally. Nearly every building in it is open to the public, which makes the film a ready-made itinerary for anyone planning a Zumthor pilgrimage.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 10 October 2026. Read the original