Peter Zumthor is one of the most important architects in the last few decades. He was born in Basil, Switzerland in 1943, but he was educated in New York and started working straight away with different materials thanks to his cabinet-maker father and thanks to his experience in the field of restoration. His career moved at once on an international level, which gained him fame and great national and international prizes. Amongst his greatest successes are the 2009 Pritzker Prize and the Japanese Imperial Prize of 2008. For the renowned Italian brand Alessi, Peter Zumthor realised several objects such as the salt castor, the pepper castor, the spice castor, the sugar castor and the oil and vinegar cruet.