William Smalley's Quiet Spaces celebrates atmosphere and place in modern architecture

Architect William Smalley is no stranger to the art of creating refined living spaces with just the right dose of decadence. Over the years, we’ve charted his projects from the Disco House in London, to a lavish Alpine attic and a meticulously restored and extended Mid-Century Modern courtyard house. 

Quiet Spaces: a book by William Smalley

Now Smalley has parlayed his approach into a monograph, choosing not just to focus on his own projects but consider a wide range of architect-designed spaces that align with his own values of simplicity and calm. Featuring photographs throughout by Harry Crowder and Hélène Binet, the book comes with an introduction by potter/philosopher Edmund de Waal, a master at focusing the mind of the delights to be found in details and craft.

Smalley’s own house is one of the projects, as are recent works in London, New York, Oxfordshire and France. Amongst the projects he cites as inspiration for such ‘interiors for introverts’ are Jim Ede’s Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, the Barbara Hepworth garden and studio in St Ives, and Peter Zumthor’s Secular Retreat, as well as the work of one of its inspirations, a 16th century villa by Andrea Palladio.

At the heart of the book is an emphasis on peace and sanctuary, rather than precision, perfection or clinical minimalism. Smalley recalls rebelling against his generation’s disdain for domesticity – ‘as architecture students, we weren’t supposed to like old limewashed rooms, or read World of Interiors, or, I think, be interested in comfort, in what it feels like to be in a space, to feel its pressures and presence,’ he writes.

Crowder’s photography mirrors this focus on feeling over form, eschewing the conventions of architectural photography in favour of atmospheric imagery that is both seductive and serene.

Quiet Spaces, William Smalley, Thames & Hudson, £50

ThamesandHudson.com