In a world of Skyscrapers and in-your-face buildings of spectacle and grandeur it is refreshing to see that Peter Zumthor has earned Architecture’s most coveted prize, the Pritzker Prize!(Architecture’s Nobel or Pulitzer)  Zumthor’s works are subtle, tactile, and timeless.  It seems that we praise – too often – current Architecture that delight’s our senses for improbability, and disregards works that reach for the bounds of the ineffable.  He is a craftsman and not a Magician.  And in an age of the Image emerges a sensibility for space that focuses on what can only be best described by “feeling.”  Congratulations, Mr. Zumthor!

That said, a few summers ago I had the pleasure of visiting Peter Zumthor’s Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland.  Without doubt it is one of the greatest spaces I’ve ever been in.  In a way, my first visit to Isla Palenque reminded me of my visit to the Baths in Vals.  It is true that they are both in completely different climates: Tropical vs. the Swiss Alps.  What was similar was that getting to both places were part of the fun, and when You get there you don’t stare up at some shiny white 40 storey tall skyscraper wondering which balcony yours will be.  You were – unintentionally – forced to enjoy the beautiful landscapes that surround the Island and the Bath respectively.  On one you rode small trolley’s weaving through a mountain valley along a river.  The other a small Panga boat expertly navigating around tiny island sculptures and the occasional manta-ray jumping in front of you.  When you get to the Baths you here the subtle rustle of the running stream, and to Isla Palenque it’s the Howling Monkeys, that let you know you’re already somewhere special!