JOHN PAWSON PLAIN SPACEJohn Pawson is an architect and designer whose exceptional work combines
an essential simplicity with a keen attention to the details of everyday
life and human experience. His pared-down yet luxurious houses and art
galleries were his first projects to gain international attention, and
his work has since included Calvin Klein's flagship store in New York,
airport lounges for Cathay Pacific, and a kitchen for Obumex. In the
last decade, the scope of his designs has broadened from objects and
interiors to include houses, monasteries, pavilions and boats. This
change in scale has given his office the opportunity to refine its
minimalist aesthetic and further develop its ideas of a fundamental
architecture based on the qualities of space, proportion, light and
materials. Frequently these projects intervene in existing conditions to
create spaces that are simultaneously simple and complex, timeless and
contemporary: in the Novy Dvur Monastery in the Czech Republic, elements
of the original baroque complex are combined with entirely new
architecture to create a mysterious and beautiful sequence of spaces,
and in the Baron House in Sweden the vernacular language of the area is
refined and abstracted to create a truly modern home. In Plain Space,
author Alison Morris presents both this recent body of work and earlier
projects from the perspective of someone who has had unique access to
the work and archives of the office. In thematic essays and narrative
project descriptions she examines the firm's working processes,
relationship with clients, and approach to design. These insights into
how Pawson and his office approach all different kinds of projects,
including a cricket pavilion, a ballet stage set, apartment and boat
interiors, will be of interest to architects, students, and anyone
looking to simplify and beautify their own living space. Filled with
exquisite photographs and detailed drawings, Plain Space will be
the next must-have book for fans of John Pawson and a perfect
introduction to his work for anyone interested in the absolute best of
contemporary design. |
