Zumthor's water rooms...

After a day of self-defeating, crabs-in-a-barrel dysfunctionality at work, I came home to our living room flooded with water, with a fountain sprinkling down from the light bulb socket.

I have momentarily forgotten why we are living in Nigeria when we have the choice to live elsewhere. I wonder what percentage of Nigerians would choose to stay here if they had the option to emigrate. Any takers?

Anyway, positive thoughts of rooms filled with water put me in mind of Europe's finest living architect, Peter Zumthor, and his bagging of the prestigious Pritzker prize earlier this week. The picture is that of the Thermal Baths at Vals. As my archi-friend Le Mec says, "He is in a class by himself. The baths at Vals are an amazing place to become human again."

Is there any better way to appraise the work of an architect than by their propensity to make us human again?

Zumthor explains the design concept for Vals thus: "Mountain, stone, water - building in the stone, building with stone, into the mountain, building out of the mountain, being inside the mountain - how can the implications and the sensuality in the association of these words be interpreted, architecturally? The whole concept was designed by following up these questions; so that it all took form step by step."

Can you imagine an architecture in Nigeria that began with thoughts such as these? Can you imagine a city built out of thoughts such as these? In troubling times, there is always the realm of the imagination..