John Pawson: Minimalist

Pawson House, London

Minimalism to the max. British architect John Pawson is a great minimalist, as we observed in this slideshow of his work.

Tilty Barn

Note how light and space take front row, excluding pretty much anything else. The result is not boring but exactly the opposite: breathtaking.

The slideshow highlights residential, institutional, and retail built work plus product design by Pawson.

Comments (9)

wow.

I'd love to go to a restaurant and sit on Hans Wegner chairs.

I have yet to check out Pawson's cookbooks which were recommended to me by someone on AT. Apparently he is a master of the kitchen as well.

I am so happy to see Pawson's work featured here. I love him. Art, I have been unable to find his cookbooks. Maybe used copies are available?

Pawson designed the Trappist monastery at Novy Dur. I've had contact with the monks over several years as they have labored to bring this vision to fruition.

Wow. That barn is stunning. Oh how I would love to wake to see that horse looking in at me. Just perfect.

Well, he got the commission for Novy Dvur based on the Calvin Klein store on Madison!

I was shopping in New York several years ago, and had wanted to check out Calvin Klein home products. When I walked into the store on Madison, it felt like a religious experience...

I had been reaching my maximum shopping tolerance limit at the time, and was sick of crowds, sick of consumerism, sick of all of it... Yet, when I walked into the store, I felt... I don't know how to describe it... the walls literally *glowed* (that is where my love of Donald Kaufman paints comes from) ... I was just conscious of the light everywhere... streaming in from the skylight... the *quietness* of the floor (and I don't mean with respect to sound, but a soothing quality of the stone) and the overall serenity of the space. I felt as if I had just meditated, done yoga, had a cup of tea... (and I don't do yoga or meditate!) It felt so good in that space, I just wanted to move in!

I've tried to incorporate what I can of his design into our home -- the paint on our walls is by Donald Kaufman, albeit not as ivory as the original in order to work with our light conditions... we have honed "neverending green" slate tiles on our bathroom floors (not his limestone, but a similar feeling), and so on.

Lucky monks. Wish we could go visit it (as we are planning a trip to Bohemia in August), but I gather they do not welcome visitors?

I love, love, love the way these spaces look (and, having recently flown in the US and suffered through airport public spaces that are on a par with Greyhound bus stations, I weep with envy at the Cathay Pacific lounge).

The staircases, though ... so beautiful, and yet don't most municipalities have building codes that mandate railings of some kind? As so often with minimalist design, there's that grinding sound where beauty rubs up against utility.

His work is absolutely stunning. Amazing, beautiful architecture.