Kamakura sits on the Sagami Bay coastline, barely 50 kilometres southwest of Tokyo. It’s close enough for a day trip, yet Lulla House seems to exist in a different world altogether. The three-storey building sits directly on the beachfront, its sand-coloured plaster facade and rope-strung balustrades facing the bay, with Mount Fuji a whispery silhouette on the horizon on clear days. Recently completed, it is the work of Tokyo studio I IN, and unlike anything else in their portfolio.

Tour this minimalist Kamakura house by I IN

Founded in 2018 by partners Yohei Terui and Hiromu Yuyama – both alumni of the influential Tokyo studio Curiosity, where they worked under Gwenael Nicolas (who recently spoke to us about the future of retail architecture) – I IN has built its reputation on high-spec commercial interiors: the Japanese headquarters of Cartier, Tiffany's Tokyo office, Blue Bottle café, a Pokémon Centre. Lulla House represents a different kind of commission: a private residence for fashion and lifestyle designer Azusa Yamato, whose brand Lulla – which sells the furniture designed for this house alongside homeware and objects for daily life – uses the space as both home and showroom.

Yamato approached I IN after seeing their previous projects. What followed was a design process rooted in character rather than typology. 'They asked for something relaxed and personal, but also expressive and memorable. Like stepping into a world with its own character,’ says Yuyama who led the project. ‘Our first conversations focused more on lifestyle than architecture, how the family wanted to live, work, host people. The spatial concept developed naturally from there.’

The building is organised across three floors, each with a distinct identity. The ground floor, a palimpsest from the building's previous incarnation as a windsurfing school, still houses boards. The second floor opens dramatically to the bay: an uninterrupted living and dining space connected to a terrace via a sliding titanium volume that functions as both wall and entrance. When closed, it punctuates the rhythm of the sea-facing elevation; open, it dissolves the boundary between inside and out entirely.

Kitchen and closet doors are rattan – light, woven, and breathable, and chosen because I IN approached materials here the way a fashion designer approaches textiles. 'We treated the relationship between tiles and grout in the bathroom like fabric and thread,' says Yuyama. Those tiles – custom-made from sand sourced in Japan, in a dusty pink that is Yamato's signature colour, grouted in acid yellow – are the house's most exuberantly fashionable gesture: simultaneously playful and precise.

A newly installed spiral staircase in white plaster set against warm brushed timber anchors all three floors at the building's centre, drawing the eye upward through the full height of the house. The third floor closes around it intimately: an open wardrobe at the building's core, a bathroom occupying nearly half the floor plan, a bathtub oriented directly to Sagami Bay and Mount Fuji.

The exterior plaster was chosen to echo the colour of beach sand, so that the house, Yuyama says, feels as though it had simply risen from the sand. Yamato agrees. Her favourite spot is the living room, where the ocean fills the full width of the west-facing windows and light moves across the water in a way that makes time feel slower. 'Simply being here brings me back into balance,' she says, adding that Lulla House is ‘a place where I can quietly feel my core values of gentleness, grace, and inner strength’.

Which, it turns out, is also a fairly precise description of the house itself.

i-in.jp

There was a time when optimisation was a technical term – the language of engineers, logistics managers and software designers. Today, optimisation is an aesthetic. In our algorithmically determined world, clarity sells. Design, at least in the digital space, is now about frictionlessness and legibility – all modular layouts, sans-serif type and white space.

We can trace the origins of this mindset all the way back to industrialisation, whose standardising principles formed the backbone of modernism, which rejected ornamentation in favour of functional logic. Minimalism extended this ethos by stripping design down to its essential elements. In architecture, the likes of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Tadao Ando emphasised structural clarity and open space; in art, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin and Sol LeWitt stripped away gesture and symbolism in favour of repetition and spatial relationships.

The digital revolution and, with it, UX (user experience) design – which requires efficiency and intuition – inherited these principles, and the rise of touch interfaces – demanding absolute clarity – intensified them. Early computer systems were clunky and dense but, over time, just as modernism rejected visual richness in favour of flow, serifs disappeared from typefaces and skeuomorphism – apps and icons styled like leather-bound calendars, yellow legal pads or detailed rubbish bins – gave way to abstract, 'flat' design.

This logic has begun to seep into physical art, often designed to read at thumbnail scale, colour-calibrated for screens and staged around ‘shareable’ angles. Artists like Petra Cortright produce digitally native work that turns everyday online culture – webcams, GIFs and Photoshop layers – into fine art. Martine Syms examines how Black identity circulates through media systems, while working fluently within them, describing herself as a ‘conceptual entrepreneur’ and borrowing from marketing, branding and corporate language. The contemporary creative is no longer just an artist, but a coherent visual system.

Designing the self

This logic underpins what is perhaps the defining 'exhibition space' of our time: the Instagram grid. Clean, modular and infinitely scrollable, its three-column layout is carefully designed to maximise content density while maintaining visual order.

‘Platforms like Instagram don't merely display images, they impose a visual epistemology,’ says Lev Manovich, a professor of digital culture at the City University of New York and author of The Language of New Media. ‘The grid, the square crop, the algorithmic feed – these are not neutral containers. They train our perception and affect how we process information and experiences outside of screens.’

Marquard Smith, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Visual Culture and professor of artistic research at Vilnius Academy of Arts, agrees: ‘In the context of [UX culture’s] user-centricity, as consumers, it seems like we are getting what we want. But in actual fact, it’s more the case that our desires are being produced, designed and shaped by it.’

If modernism privileged functional coherence in objects, late capitalism extends those values to people. The individual becomes a design project: streamlined, curated and legible.

This performance of self-optimisation plays out vividly on social media, where influencers document 5am wake-ups, regular workouts and ‘clean’ eating. It even spawned the digital aesthetic trend known as the ‘clean girl’ (as of February 2026, the hashtag had been used over 1.2 million times on TikTok): a persona defined by exercise, skincare rituals and perfectly curated beige homes. ‘The pressure toward coherence – consistent palette, recognisable style, legible “brand” – is not vanity. It is a structural requirement of platforms that reward algorithmic legibility,’ explains Manovich. ‘What looks like an aesthetic choice is often a compliance strategy.’

During its heyday, a critique of modernism was that it risked turning design preference into moral prescription – that ‘restraint’ was promoted not merely as a stylistic choice, but as an ethically superior way of living. Adolf Loos’ 1908 essay, Ornament and Crime – considered one of modernism’s seminal texts – condemned decoration as wasteful and culturally backward.

Similarly, social media’s hyper-curated lifestyles – frictionless, calibrated, free of imperfections – become inextricably tied to ideas about self-worth. ‘There’s nothing inherently neutral about optimisation,’ argues Smith. ‘It’s all part of a “civilising process”. The pressure to optimise – to succeed, to conform, to be “liked” – is bad for personhood, for wellbeing, for the world.’

‘Less is a bore’: In praise of messiness

In 1972, architecture theorist Charles Jencks declared modernism symbolically ‘dead’, based on a common critique that its ultimate expression could feel sterile or inhuman. This backlash set the stage for the rise of postmodernism, encapsulated in architect Robert Venturi’s assertion that ‘less is a bore’.

Now, a counter-aesthetic to our new ‘digital modernism’ is emerging: messy, awkward and visibly human. It foregrounds friction over seamlessness: grids are disrupted, kerning misaligned, typography hand-drawn and layers overlapping. On social media, it shows up as ‘lo-fi’ or anti-aesthetic culture – flash-heavy photography, screenshots posted to the grid and Instagram ‘photo dumps’ of blurry selfies and half-eaten meals.

Contemporary artists such as Cecily Brown, Mark Bradford and Charline von Heyl use loose brushwork, collage, tears, smudges and drips – a lineage that draws on the fragmented, gestural traditions of Robert Rauschenberg and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This emphasis on making ‘the hand’ visible was pushed further in Laura Lima’s ‘The Drawing Drawing’ at London’s ICA earlier in 2026, which reimagined life drawing as a participatory, shifting experience in which models and viewers moved on mechanised platforms. The process itself became the spectacle.

‘In my own art practice, I make iPad paintings that take 45 to 60 hours each, using slow manual processes. The work is dense, nuanced and deliberately “overworked” by platform standards,’ says Manovich. ‘It maintains a different temporality – a refusal of the efficiency imperative.’ (In this spirit, people are actively opting out of UX-optimised tech in favour of intentionally limited devices that add friction and reduce engagement, as reflected in our edit of ‘lo-fi gadgets’).

Could it be that what we’re seeing today echoes the pendulum swing that followed modernism’s apex – that people are beginning to withdraw from the labour of self-branding? Perhaps, but, as Smith points out, ‘anti-design is still a design aesthetic’. The photo dump becomes a performance of nonchalance. Evidence of process in art and visual culture becomes a trend. Which raises the question: does authenticity always become a strategy?

The aesthetics of optimisation are not inherently shallow – UX principles emerged to make systems more accessible. But under late capitalism, ambiguity, slowness and difficulty – qualities central to art and, surely, happiness – risk marginalisation. The turn towards the unpolished signals a desire to reintroduce texture and imperfection into life – to resist the expectation that everything needs to ‘convert’.

A common misconception about minimalism is that it is about absence – a lack or emptiness. In truth, minimalism is not defined by what is missing, but by what remains. It is the deliberate removal of the unnecessary to bring essential form and function into focus – doing more with less, in other words.

Minimalist tableware, then, is not about plain crockery or unadorned cutlery. It is about pieces that are refined in proportion, purposeful in detail and confident in their restraint. Each piece listed below embodies this philosophy: simple yet impeccably formed.

This Tokyo home sits mysteriously behind a monolithic concrete façade, designed to hide a secret urban retreat. The new project, designed by Apollo Architects and aptly named ‘Stealth’. For all the boldness of its brutalist architecture exterior, inside, the house's Japanese minimalism and refined materiality make for a truly elevated, yet discreet private residence.

Tour this mysterious Tokyo home

‘True to the title, the initial inspiration was to create an urban hideaway where one can relax discreetly,’ says Satoshi Kurosaki, founder of Apollo Architects. ‘To ensure comfortable living amid [a busy lifestyle], the client requested an infinity pool and terrace adjoining the family living area; and an eight-car-sized built-in car lounge. However, the design had to conceal these features from the exterior at first glance.’

To respond to the wishlist, the closed-off façade prioritises security and privacy, while the interior opens up to reveal an urban villa with expansive views.

Challenges included overcoming ‘stringent urban regulations such as height restrictions’, and the size of that garage. ‘To accommodate eight parking spaces,’ says Kurosaki, ‘we created an unusually large garage by installing only the minimum-diameter steel bars [as structural supports] – a feat typically difficult to accomplish.’

Upon entering the property, visitors are greeted by the generous garage, showcasing the client’s impressive car collection. An open-tread staircase beyond the double-height entrance hall provides access to the upper and lower floors.

In the basement, there is a gym, a golf room and space for karaoke, all of which are filled with natural light from a sunken courtyard. The second floor of the residence hosts private bedrooms. The primary suite connects to a walk-in wardrobe and a family bathroom. From the study, a glass wall offers a view down into the entrance hall.

Kurosaki says: ‘The visitor's anticipation begins in the double-height entrance hall and the car museum-like garage.’ There follows the soothing space of the private rooms and bathrooms on the second floor, and then, ‘the top floor offers an exciting escape from the ordinary – a resort hotel-like space with a spacious terrace and pool. Here, I hope they can savour the feeling of a hideaway or retreat.’

The louvres positioned at the top of a double-height space are the architect's favourite feature. He says: ‘[They cast] beautiful patterns of light and shadow onto the north wall, [taking] changing forms throughout the day.

'The shadows and light that emerge depending on the weather lend the architecture diverse expressions while also imparting a sense of wonder to its inhabitants, as if the building itself were breathing like a living creature.'

apollo-aa.jp

If there’s anyone who can bring a chic refresh to corporate dressing, it is jeweller Jessica McCormack. The master of day diamonds, McCormack puts a modern spin on antique-inspired designs, bringing a cool wearability to traditional forms.

In new collection, Rush Hour, McCormack subverts office dressing – unadorned silhouettes, unfussy accessories – with an ode to modern minimalism. Clean, undulating curves of yellow and white gold snake around the neck or the fingers, while diamonds teeter on torques or stud a twisted torsion of rings. ‘In making this collection I knew that if I wanted the pieces to be bold and powerful there would have to be a simplicity to the silhouettes,’ McCormack says. ‘Finding this balance was important because I wanted the pieces to work in the context of a corporate lifestyle. In this way, the pieces are refined and wearable - most of them are technically designed to fit and sit well on the body - while also being striking and interesting.’

Paired with power suits or t-shirts, McCormack is keen for pieces to be wearable, eschewing the sense of occasion fine jewellery usually demands. In her hands, precious stones and metals are accessible and cool. ‘My aim with the Rush Hour Collection is to redefine the boundaries of corporate dressing. There are standard office jewellery dress codes for women, which frankly are quite dull, so I wanted to play with the idea of corporate dressing and transform it into something exciting, yet sophisticated. I want my clients to feel empowered when wearing their jewellery, and where is that more needed than in the workplace. With Rush Hour, I have designed pieces to make a statement as serve as a source of inspiration for their wearer.’

McCormack draws on her distinctive jewellery pieces, such as the Gypset earrings and torque which are both rethought here. ‘It has been a really fun process. Creating pieces that pay an acute attention to the various forms of the body has been very interesting as well, it was one of the most challenging aspects of the design process, but ultimately the most rewarding – because the end result is so great.’

jessicamccormack.com

A new minimalist, non-religious ceremony building, Spiritual Enclosure by architect Ruben Valdez, offers flexible space to foster serenity, contemplation and a connection with the dramatic landscape of the Baja California Desert. The structure, which makes its presence known only by a low, pink-hued wall that encircles its simple interior, is part of the region's popular Paradero Hotel - the dramatic resort known for its monolithic, sculptural volumes and arid nature references.

Be inspired by this minimalist, non-religious ceremony space

This spiritual space is similarly impactful – calm and quiet, yet powerful in its pared down design. The building, made of concrete, is formed by a simple circular wall. Within it, a series of benches provide seating to host a number of events and ceremonies - this is meant as an inclusive pavilion that can be adapted to any faith or requirement.

Valdez, the founder of Lausanne based studio Practice for Architecture, writes on his design: 'The shape of the structure carefully frames the surrounding landscape, with a semi-circular aperture providing views out onto the mountains beyond, while the skies above are framed within the circular walls. The structure is oriented along an east-west axis, allowing the movement of the sun to reflect both the passage of time and the ever-changing light of the desert.'

Purposefully open to the elements, Spiritual Enclosure has no roof and a bare earth floor. The goal? To connect users to the surrounding nature and place. Inside, a single black polished obsidian mirror is a subtle highlight - 'modelled after the traditional texcatl mirrors used for centuries in Mexican culture as objects of reflection and spiritual divination,' the architect writes.

A single entranceway, offset by 45 degrees from the interior axis, leads visitors inside the structure's heart. The angles and spatial procession mean the space is only gradually revealed, adding to the drama of this enclosure's experience.

rubenvaldez.com

The modern Japanese house is known for its calm minimalism – blending the country's revered contemporary style and respected, age-old traditions. Influenced by Zen and wabi-sabi aesthetics, these designs feature clean lines, open spaces and a connection to the outdoors. They may also incorporate natural light, materials such as wood and concrete, and sustainable practices, creating spaces that balance form, function and a reverence for the environment. Japanese architecture has also earned a reputation for being smart with space, navigating the nation's challenging planning regulations and tight urban plots to accommodate lifestyles ranging from minimalist to communal.

Here, we tour some of our favourite modern Japanese houses, from inventive interiors in Tokyo to clever constructions in Kyoto.

The Japanese houses showcasing native style

Yuputira by Mariko Mori

Yuputira House, architect Mariko Mori’s first residential project, is a studio and sanctuary located on Miyako Island. Named after an Egyptian sun god, the property is designed as a space for creativity, ritual and meditation. Sculptural, spherical and bleached white, the building – created in collaboration with Ring Architects and local craftsmen – is inspired by the island’s coral reefs, and symbolises the fragility of marine ecosystems. It’s organic shape means that the structure doesn’t jar with its environment, reenforcing Mori’s commitment to ecological harmony. Inside, the minimalist interior – consisting of the studio space plus guest rooms and a traditional tea room – is entirely clad in white.

Culvert Guesthouse by Nendo

A striking example of Japanese minimalism, the Culvert Guesthouse, designed by Nendo, serves as both a private residence and an archive for the studio’s furniture and artwork. Nestled in the forests of Nagano Prefecture, the building repurposes precast concrete box culverts – typically used ito channel water underground – into a visually compelling two-story structure that bridges infrastructure and design. Four stacked culverts form the core of the space, housing a 40-metre-long main archive, a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and study, while a fifth culvert provides additional storage. Inside, the minimalist, all-white interior features frameless glass, resin-hardened gravel floors and expansive windows.

Element House by Apollo Architects & Associates

Element House, designed by Apollo Architects & Associates in Uji City, Kyoto, blends contemporary architecture with traditional Japanese elements. Situated on an L-shaped plot, the home consists of two intersecting concrete volumes softened by cedar cladding and wooden eaves. The design integrates a series of courtyards – a characteristic of traditional Japanese homes – which enhance natural light, ventilation and a connection to nature. Architect Satoshi Kurosaki also addressed the challenge of inserting modern design into Kyoto's historic context by incorporating classic features like coffered ceilings and cedar plank patterns.

YMK House by Takeshi Hirobe Architects

Conceptualised by Takeshi Hirobe Architects, this serene Karuizawa retreat was designed for a client seeking respite from urban life, with large windows thoughtfully positioned to frame the forests and streams of Japan’s rural highlands. The two-storey, timber-framed structure features a central wood-truss shear wall that both reinforces the building and enhances its spatial character. It is also designed to withstand the region’s harsh winters, incorporating deep foundations, underfloor thermal energy storage and a wood-burning stove.

Fukumura Cottage by Mayumi Miyawaki

Mayumi Miyawaki, a lesser-known Japanese modernist, designed the Fukumura Cottage in 1974. A critic of the Metabolist movement – a futuristic, organic style that emerged in postwar Japan – Miyawaki instead championed an approach influenced by traditional forms and geometric abstraction. This wedge-shaped, elevated home, nestled in the forested countryside of Tochigi Prefecture, was originally built as a weekend retreat near Nasushiobara’s hot springs. The minimalist interior features a small living space, a tea room with tatami mats, and an attic bedroom accessed by a ladder, where raw concrete contrasts with warm wooden elements.

Kodomari Fuji by Terunobu Fujimori

Kodomari Fuji, a private guest house, exemplifies Japanese architect and architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori's signature offbeat style, placing nature at the forefront. The words 'playful' and 'whimsical' – both often associated with, and suitably descriptive of Fujimori's structures – are equally applicable to this project – his first accommodation facility design in Japan.

Situated on a former rice field that was left dormant for decades, the private villa occupies a 4,000-sq-m site offering undisturbed views of its surrounding landscape. Resembling a large wooden ship overlooking a 'sea' of rice paddies, the elongated building features the architect's handcrafted architectural elements of charred timber cladding, hand-battered copper roof plating and hand-plastered white walls. Along the roof sits a row of planted cherry trees inspired by the village's local icon, a 300-year-old weeping tree of the same species, located just metres away from the property.

Warehouse Villa in Isumi by Arii Irie Architects

Arii Irie Architects' Warehouse Villa in Isumi is admittedly more warehouse than villa. 'The client needed a simple warehouse for storage, but also wanted to be able to use the space as a weekend retreat for family and friends,' says the firm. With no specific need for climate control, the architects proposed an ultra-simple structure of a steel frame with 0.5mm-thin steel and polycarbonate corrugated sheets for the roof and walls. On the ground floor, there is a large open kitchen/living room, two toilets and a freestanding bathtub tucked away behind the corner of the main storage space and cordoned off with a full ceiling-height curtain. A steel staircase leads up to a mezzanine above the storage space, where visitors can camp for the night in sleeping bags.

Ikema House by 1100 Architect

On the secluded island of Ikema, part of the Okinawan archipelago in the East China Sea, 1100 Architect completed a cliff-top home looking out to sea. Made of concrete to withstand extreme weather, the architect detailed the home with traditional Japanese materials to soften its edges.

The couple who commissioned the house – an art dealer originally from Ikema and her husband, an engineering entrepreneur – resides permanently in Naha, Okinawa island, and had always dreamed of having a retreat in Ikema. 1100 Architect had previously completed another commission for the couple in Naha City, so they were familiar both with native construction methods, materials available and the traditional yet contemporary tastes of their clients. ‘They were primarily interested in a clean modern aesthetic, and the choice of cast concrete is a stereotypical construction method in Japan because of typhoon and earthquake requirements,' says Juergen Riehm, lead architect on the project and partner at 1100 Architect.

Kubomi Apartments by Organic Design Inc

Conceived as a 'pocket in the city', the Kubomi Apartments by Organic Design Inc are set in the sprawling Tokyo suburbs. The project was created as compact studios for the area, which has high demand for pied-a-terre homes due to its nearby hospital and nursing school. The minimalist, flowing design is centred on a main, shared courtyard, which serves as a place for meeting and socialising for the residents, as well as the wider community. 'As a strategy for encouraging community members to use the courtyard, we incorporated curved walls that invite passersby to slip into the concave “hollow”. We also visually integrated the courtyard and sidewalk by using the same asphalt to pave both, further encouraging people to gather in the “hollow",' the architect writes.

Kenzo House by Kengo Kuma

This building isn't technically located in Japan, but Kenzo House is still a fine example of Japanese architecture – as well as one of Paris' better kept secrets. The home of legendary fashion designer Kenzo Takada, it sits in the French capital’s 11th arrondissement. It was initially created by Takada himself in 1988, and thoroughly redesigned by Japanese architecture master Kengo Kuma in 2017, which brought the property to its current iteration: an architectural slice of Zen within Paris' bustling metropolis.

Takada work mixed Eastern and Western influences, as well as a passion for colour, light and nature; Kuma retained this spirit when reworking the house, blending traditional Japanese building materials such as ceramic, stone, bamboo, and wood in the Parisian setting.

SSH No.03 by Ryue Nishizawa

SSH No.03 is the third piece of architecture to open at Shishi-Iwa House Karuizawa, the ambitious Japanese hotel that taps into the potential of quality architecture to enhance wellbeing. The new addition comprises a scattering of minimalist black 'boxes', appearing to float in the forest, separate yet connected, with hovering walkways, corridors and hidden gardens just visible through the trees. An unfolding dialogue between nature and architecture takes centre stage.

Not A Hotel, by Shinji Hamauzu and Suppose Design Office

When Shinji Hamauzu quit working for Zozo Group, one of Japan’s leading fashion retailers, in early 2020, he told his friends he wanted to go into the hotel business. Everyone advised him against it, bit he wasn’t planning on simply building and running yet another hotel. He wanted to do things differently, and to highlight this, and partly in jest, he named his new venture ‘Not A Hotel’. The usual route to building a hotel is to secure funding, build, and then start selling rooms by the day and hope for a good occupancy rate, but instead, Hamauzu intended to treat each ‘room’ as a timeshare, selling it to 12 people, each getting 30 days’ worth of use. He selected the location for his project and enlisted Shinji Hamauzu and Suppose Design Office, and the rest is history.

Fishmarket for Hiraki Sawa by Ab Rogers

The origins of this brutalist artist's studio can be found in a Thai festival. Designer Ab Rogers and artist Hiraki Sawa met at the annual Wonderfruit gathering in Thailand in 2018 and bonded over fish (both are keen cooks). Sawa, who studied at Slade School of Art under British artist Phyllida Barlow and is best known for short films and collage-base animation, took over a raw, empty office space in 2019, initially planning to establish a small co-working space with a business partner. He then changed tack and set on creating something more adventurous and typology-busting, what he calls a ‘co-being’ space.

Tiny house by Schemata Architects

This tiny house, perched on a slope overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, is the perfect lookout point to take in the idyllic surroundings. Situated on one of the many small islands of the Japanese archipelago, the compact structure is a guest house – part of the grounds of a larger property, K Residence. The new building, along with a smaller dining pavilion next to it, are the latest additions to a universe of structures that compose K Residence, and have been designed by Tokyo-based Schemata Architects, headed by the studio's founder Jo Nagasaka. Conceived as a miniature house to host family members and friends, the guest house offers welcome isolation within minimalist architecture surrounds.

Esprit by APOLLO Architects & Associates 

This sleek home in a quiet residential corner of Tokyo's Shibuya district is defined by its blocky concrete volume, which appears opaque and mysterious on the lower levels, but becomes light and transparent as guests move upwards. Titled Esprit, and designed by architect Satoshi Kurosaki, who heads APOLLO Architects & Associates, the structure also features an airy two-car piloti garage that marks its entrance. The client – a family with children – can now enjoy a minimalist space that feels generous and open, while protecting their privacy through tricks of the trade such as one-way glass and semi-open in-between areas filled with plants.

Repository by Jun Igarashi Architects

Repository, built in 2012 and conceived by Jun Igarashi Architects, sits on the outskirts of Asahikawa, on northern Japan's Hokkaido island. The region sees a drastic temperature swing of 60°C between summer and winter, and so the house has been designed with this mind, featuring only small openings and plenty of insulation.

Home/Restaurant by Junya Ishigami 

When we first heard about Junya Ishigami’s idea for an unusual, cave-like house and restaurant design in Yamaguchi back in 2018, we knew we had to come back when the project was completed. This is one of those designs that push the envelope for what architecture can be. Despite being relatively small in size, the project was nine years in the making – three for the design phase and six for the actual construction. The result is a unique piece of Japanese architecture, and the product of a visionary mind, some hefty poured concrete and a painstaking, archeology-like excavation – a distinctive, earth-inspired space that serves both as an intimate restaurant and a home for the client's family.

Torus House by Noriaki Hanaoka Architecture

Its challenging, steeply-angled plot helped define the identity of this Japanese house in Chiba prefecture. Torus House, designed by Tomi City, Nagano-based Noriaki Hanaoka Architecture, is perched on its hillside site, gazing towards north-facing views of buildings and nature and the sea beyond. Made largely out of concrete, the house feels sturdy and solid, yet sits lightly on the slope, wrapped in swathes of glazing and glistening in the summer sun. Dramatic on the inside as it is on the outside, Torus House is composed internally of one big, flowing space. This open plan arrangement contains living, kitchen, dining and bedroom areas. The openness and the lightness rendered from the glass walls and expansive views, combined with the plot's incline, make the interior feel like it's floating above the landscape. At the same time, strong concrete pillars, braces and slabs anchor it firmly to the ground.

Kai Yufuin by Kengo Kuma

Built around a cascading valley of rice terraces that reflect the horizon’s play of colours, the Kai Yufuin hot spring ryokan by Hoshino Resorts is one of Kengo Kuma & Associates' most intriguing works. Composed of a public building, a bathhouse, guest rooms and separate villa suites, the project is defined by elements of traditional Japanese architecture and the region's farmhouse vernacular. Located on the island of Kyushu in the Ōita Prefecture, famous for its hot springs, the Yufuin valley basin has an abundant resource of mineral-rich water. Both these elements unite in this project to form the identity of Kengo Kuma's Japanese hospitality offering.

Aoyama House by Hitotomori Architects

The open plan of this home in Aoyama gives a bright and spacious feel to a compact 92-sq-m flat. The exposed concrete ceiling adds height, while a small alcove for reading creates cosiness. Materials are simple (plywood, mortar, pile carpet) but complement each other well in terms of colour and texture. Lighting design features work by New Light Pottery.

Hayama House by Case-Real

When escaping the urban sprawl becomes a priority, many Tokyoites look to the seaside town of Hayama. Facing the Sagami bay and within a fairly easy commute of the big city, but with a much slower pace, it’s easy to see this little town’s attraction. It is also the setting for the Hayama house, commissioned by a family who approached Japanese architecture studio Case-Real for the design. While the client, a family of four, had been living in the area for some time, they jumped at the opportunity to buy the neighbouring plot to their current home in order to expand their footprint. With most residential plots in Japan being modest in size, the norm is to build in two or three storeys to allow for the necessary square footage.

Uedayama House by Écrit Architects 

Established by Nobuyoshi Hayashi, Hiroshi Kaito and Eri Yabushita, Écrit Architects has an impressive portfolio of completed projects, with a strong focus on single-family houses. Yabushita was the lead architect on Uedayama House and has designed a simple yet generous home for a young couple and their two children in Nagoya. The narrow but tall upper floor dining and kitchen area in particular stands out with its exposed beams and feature triangle windows at both ends.

Scoop Landscape House by Not Architects Studio

The housing laboratory that is suburban Japan continues to delight. The Scoop Landscape House is a project by Not Architects Studio, a side project set up by Tetsushi Tominaga and Lisa Ono, together with Aoi Nahata. Ono’s concept design for this 101-sq-m Japanese house was to create a space that ‘scooped up’ the best views of thr cityscape surrounding the modest lot in Ota City, a district just south of Tokyo’s city centre.

The site conditions were typical of the area, with a compact plot hemmed in by other similarly-scaled houses. ‘Usually, when I walk around my neighbourhood, I see a very repetitive cityscape,’ says Ono. ‘However, when I squint, there are moments that touch my heart, such as trees planted in gardens, the weeds growing on the roadside, sunlight filtering through leaves or the sky seen from between buildings.’ The Scoop Landscape House has been shaped to make the most of these fleeting moments.

O House by Hideyuki Nakayama

This project, a design classic completed in 2009, is located in the beautiful, ancient city of Kyoto. Narrow and artfully placed across a gently curving footprint, the home sits within a constrained plot and exemplifies the urban challenges often found in Japanese cities – as well as the local architects' ingenious solutions to them.

F Residence by Go Fujita / Gosize

Situated in a quiet residential area in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyogo prefecture – a natural setting that is proudly counted among Japan’s top 100 sites for cherry blossom – F Residence is the work of local practice Gosize. This project, in fact, bears a special significance to the firm, being the home and office of the studio’s owner Go Fujita. A complex brief that combines life and work areas did not deter Fujita from employing his signature approach to architecture: creating contemporary interiors that draw on Japanese traditions. ‘Seeking to reflect a distinctive Japanese aesthetic that favours natural materials and finds beauty in simplicity, the design emphasises plainness and blank spaces in the interior', explains the architect.

Stone House by Hiroshi Sambuichi 

A cursory glance at Hiroshi Sambuichi’s oeuvre proves that the Japanese architect doesn’t do conventional. First, there was his Air House, an almost transparent sliver of glass and wood built on a spectacular castle moat in Hagi. Then there was Sloping North House, a family home perched on a vertiginous rise in Yamaguchi. This is Stone House, a family home built in the mountains on a bed of crushed river stones.

Daita by Ryuichi Sasaki / Sasaki Architecture

Set in the western part of Tokyo, among old trees and low mansions, Daita is a design-led housing development of 16 apartments. Its author, Sasaki Architecture, worked with a clean, monolithic concrete main body, creating highlights by inserting L-shaped stainless steel openings across the facade. This move was inspired by the surrounding foliage, creating a dialogue between architecture and its setting – the contemporary design plays with contrasts between soft and hard, natural and man-made. Inside, minimalist white-painted and exposed concrete and geometric openings punched into walls and roofs create a serene, minimalist environment.

Okayama House by Tsubasa Iwahashi

Japanese architect Tsubasa Iwahashi added a new timber house to an existing house in a forest in Okayama, Japan. The ‘hut’, as he calls it, is a comfortable house for two filled with daylight and connected to the surrounding nature with open-air spaces and wide windows. Iwahashi designed the hut for a couple who wanted to live closer to their family; there’s sufficient independence to the new space thanks to the surrounding forest, but also a beautiful connectivity between the two structures.

Bay Window Tower House by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

This new build home in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo is a project conceived for a couple and their two children. Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture made the most out of the tiny corner plot by building up and sculpting a dramatic shape featuring abstract bay windows over three levels. The structure, which combines a home and an office on the ground level for one of the clients, also involved sophisticated research of the surrounding microclimate 'in order to reduce reliance on mechanical devices such as air conditioning as much as possible', the team explains.

Extraordinary Ordinary House by Yukio Asari / Love Architecture

This home came with an unusual brief. It belongs to a client who has two houses in the same central Tokyo neighbourhood, occupying both of them and alternating. This building was the second of the two to be built, so the client's brief was simply for this house to do what the other one doesn't. As a result, the project fits neither the typical definition of a regular house – that is, a place to spend everyday life – nor that of a vacation home, a place to escape everyday life. Rather, it sits somewhere between the two, intended to 'expand ordinary life and cast it in a fresh light', the architecture team explains. Ribbed concrete on the outside contrasts the polished concrete and wood inside, creating a dramatic effect.

T3 by Hitoshi Saruta/CUBO Design Architect

A French/Japanese couple approached architect Hiroshi Saruta and his team with the commission of this home, which sits. atop a hill in the historic Japanese city of Kamakura. The design, while contemporary, draws on traditional Japanese gardens and tea ceremonies. It includes a main house and a distinct area for guests. The result is calming and finely-tuned, mixing modernity and heritage. 'We hope this hybrid of modern and traditional Japanese design will integrate seamlessly with the surrounding nature and facilitate deep and meaningful exchanges with visitors,' says the architect.

Terada House by Naoki Terada 

Even before entering Japanese architect Naoki Terada’s private home in Tokyo’s primarily residential Suginami ward, you get the feeling that this Japanese house is something special. An exact copy of the HAL 9000 interface from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey stares at you next to the entrance. It's been reprogrammed to function only as a benign video door phone, but the love of a 1960s 'future' aesthetic is evident throughout the Terada House.

Rokko House by Yo Shimada

Tato Architects designed the elevated Rokko House on a hillside in the town of Kobe in southern Japan. Set in a mountainous area, the two-storey house has a steel frame with glazed walls. At ground floor, transparent walls contain the kitchen and dining room. The first floor is used for entertaining, creating music or working, while upstairs on the second floor there is a bedroom and storage space.

Okinawa House by John Pawson Architects

Developed by Taishi Kanemura, an architect from Pawson’s London office, the execution of this house was led by the site’s catenary curve. 'The design traces the diagonal footprint of the plot, combining single and double-height spaces within a form that is closed and tapered to the rear, but to the front flares and opens like an eye over the headland, with the ground floor level raised to optimise sight lines to the ocean,’ explains the architect. The Okinawa house is a bright and open family home that showcases Pawson’s signature simple, uncluttered and natural style. Its clean and tranquil atmosphere and far-reaching ocean views provide a calming, meditative residential escape, away from the buzz of the metropole.

D House by Ron Arad

Created with the help of local firm Issho, which was the project’s collaborating architect, and located on a densely-built street of two- and three-storey detached homes, D House spans 180 sq m and three above-ground levels. The building’s relatively narrow profile is maximised by an expressive front façade made of a stack of patinated (on site) steel ribbons, which were fabricated locally, in a workshop just outside Tokyo. This adds dynamism to the house’s main concrete frame and creates a strong sense of movement and an interplay of light and shadow in the house.

Grigio House by Apollo Architects & Associates

An ode to concrete, Grigio House in Tokyo is designed by Japanese practice Apollo Architects & Associates, headed by Satoshi Kurosaki. One cut-out volume makes way for the ground floor entrance and garage (which provides shelter for two cars). Carefully placed windows punctuate the facades, while terraces and a central courtyard on one side of the building allow plenty of light into the interior. The home may appear closed off, but the architect has cleverly carved out parts to make it light and open inside.

Pony Garden by Atelier Bow-Wow

Built in 2008, this house is located in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan. Its timber structure compiled compartments, spaces and mezzanines in its interior, and also provides space for keeping a pony. Pony Garden overlooks a wide space for said pony to roam, and allows it to venture right up to the sheltered terrace.

The finest minimalist architecture puts life in the foreground. Elegance and simplicity pave the road for drama and high impact in this architectural movement that thrives in the unassuming and finds applications in all corners of the earth.

Minimalist architecture: what is it?

Simplicity runs at the core of this architecture genre. With roots in modernist architecture's experiments around the 'form follows function' mandate and the absence of added decor, in minimalism, material textures and surfaces' inherent features become the decorative patterns within a space. Clean shapes, legible geometries, a balanced flow, and openness, also are key features in this movement's DNA.

Aiming for clarity and clutter-free living, minimalist architecture is all about detail and effortless perfectionism. Less is more in this approach to spatial design, whose key proponents include seminal names in design and architecture across the planet, such as Tadao Ando and John Pawson. The pared-down, harmonious beauty of modern Japanese architecture, such as the work of SANAA (recent awardees of the RIBA Gold Medal 2025) and Junya Ishigam, is also a strong influence here.

Minimalist architecture: the homes

Elevating interiors to places of peace, these buildings created by design pioneers from across the globe help us to trace a recent history of minimalism in home design. Here, we explore some of the best examples of the genre, which creates serene settings for refined, pared down living. 

The best minimalist architecture homes

Liminal House by McLeod Bovell

Liminal House comes by its name honestly. Cascading over the sea wall between the city and the harbour, between dense metropolis and wilderness, land and sand, it occupies a spectacular threshold, and not just physically. The couple who live here were at a juncture in their working and family lives when they hired designers Lisa Bovell and Matt McLeod of Vancouver practice McLeod Bovell (also behind the spectacular Eaves House in West Vancouver). ‘Their lives are like waves on the ebb – they are retreating professionally and personally at a moment when their children are turning into teens,’ says Bovell. ‘This house is a threshold moment for them as well.’ As a result, every element of their collaboration responds to that in-between state. To understand the pivoted arrangement of concrete volumes, and their relationship to the contrasting oak interior, it helps to understand the untamed landscape of West Vancouver, where violent waves drag 10m logs onto the shore and a black bear might wander into your garden. ‘That shoreline changes on a daily basis,’ says Bovell. ‘To some degree, we’re simulating that motion within the house. It becomes a moment at the shoreline between the water and land.’ The environment, she says, has a way of seeping into the final product – not unlike the Dungeness crabs that creep along the beach. ‘It’s the shell and the belly,’ says McLeod. ‘The tough shell conceals a soft liner.’ 

Castle High by Hyde + Hyde Architects

Castle High brings together minimalist architecture and the needs of a contemporary working farmhouse. The project, a home designed in the Pembrokeshire National Park by Hyde + Hyde Architects, was a commission by a local family of farmers who were after an upgrade of their existing rural complex. The idea for Castle High was born in 2010, and the scheme has been some ten years in the making. The client approached Hyde + Hyde for a masterplan to update their farming estate. It was soon determined that a new farmhouse was required. The architects obliged and worked collaboratively with their clients to create a new home that is rooted in robustness and resilience, but at the same time remains open and thoroughly contemporary in its function and aesthetics. 

Pringiers House and Gallery by Glenn Sestig

The Pringiers family seems to have an affinity for minimalist concrete. The Belgian clan of entrepreneurs and art collectors is spread across several countries in two continents (Europe and Asia), with the parents, industrialist Pierre Pringiers and artist Saskia Pintelon, based in Sri Lanka since 1981. Pintelon’s studio is famously located within a specially commissioned Tadao Ando-designed house, nestled on a cliff edge in the southern part of the country. Between them, the couple and their three grown children – two sons, Jacob and Koenraad, and one daughter, Isolde – own a collection of design-led homes across the world, by architects such as Ando and Shigeru Ban. One thing that three of these have in common is their elegant contemporary minimalism. Another element they share is their architect, Belgian Glenn Sestig, who, hailing from the same part of the country as the Pringiers family, has known them for years.  

Esplanade House by of Architecture

Esplanade House by of Architecture is situated atop a cliff in picturesque Cornwall, elegantly placed among the plot's terraced gardens. The new-build home makes the most of its privileged position's views, while at the same time, spread across three levels, it serves as the clients' live-and-work space. In order to accommodate the structure's different needs and functions, Of Architecture worked with a minimalist architecture palette – in terms of form, colour and material. The house, consisting of simple rectangular volumes, is topped by a zinc roof, appearing 'monolithic and modest'. Its interiors take a similar approach, as textured lime render and silver-coloured metals dominate. A double-height living space is amply lit by a large opening towards the sea views, while the exposed soffit of long steel beams becomes a key interior feature. Above the living space are a screening room and a library. Bedrooms are nestled next to the living space, and underneath. 

Warehouse Villa in Isumi by Arii Irie

Arii Irie Architects' Warehouse Villa in Isumi is admittedly more warehouse than villa. 'The client needed a simple warehouse for storage, but also wanted to be able to use the space as a weekend retreat for family and friends.' With no specific need for climate control, the architects proposed an ultra-simple structure of a steel frame with 0.5mm-thin steel and polycarbonate corrugated sheets for the roof and walls.

On the ground floor, there is a large open kitchen/living room, two toilets and a freestanding bathtub tucked away behind the corner of the main storage space and cordoned off with a full ceiling-height curtain. A steel staircase leads up to a mezzanine above the storage space, where visitors can camp for the night in sleeping bags. 

White Patio House by Pashenko Works

Offering a new prototype for dense urban living, Pashenko Works’ White Patio House is a transformation of a traditional terrace into a patio house for the studio founders' family. The home is made up of five distinct parts; the original Victorian terrace, a glass atrium, new contemporary extensions on the ground and first level, a patio garden and a garden room at the end of the site. 

Daylight pours into the home’s central glass atrium, reducing the need for artificial light and conceptually serving as a 'bridge' that connects the new volume to the 'memory' of the old building. Inspired by Belgian brutalism, deliberately exposed blockwork, steel beams and columns 'delineate the whole perimeter of the site as a uniting theme’.

432 Park Avenue penthouse by Crina Arghirescu Rogard

The 432 Park Avenue penthouse has been designed to bridge fine art, contemporary minimalist architecture, and domestic space by architect Crina Arghirescu Rogard. The New York home celebrates the city's iconic skyline, alongside the owner's museum-quality art collection, which includes pieces by Richard Long, Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. When approached for the commission, Arghirescu Rogard instantly saw the project's opportunities. 'Stepping inside one of the top floors of the emblematic 432 Park Avenue building, peeking through its signature large square windows, I was drawn to a concept of geometrical shapes, lines and curbs, that would celebrate  the New York skyline, the dizzying proportions of the building, and respecting the clients’ unique taste for art. The bold shapes and primary colours of the bespoke furniture we designed for the project are undoubtedly influenced by the client’s love of Pop Art,' she says. 

Phillips House by Brisco Loran

Situated on the northern corner of Crystal Palace Park, Phillips House forms part of the celebrated Dulwich Wood Park estate. Built in the late 1950’s to the design of architects Austin Vernon & Partners, it features a wealth of generous modernist architecture homes, as well as green expanses and tree-filled corners. London architecture studio Brisco Loran worked on the renovation and extension of a local home, creating an elegant garden addition that would add much needed floorspace to the residence. Opening up the interior by removing four partitions, and creating a generous, pared down, flowing space, was key to the design. Clean surfaces, neutral colours and bespoke cabinetry fabricated by Constructive and Co to the designs of Brisco Loran, underscore this approach. 

Hampstead apartment by TYPE

A historical, red brick Hampstead home has been refreshed with a touch of minimalist architecture, blending a careful restoration of original features and clean, simple, contemporary surfaces that make the period features stand out more. The design, created by architecture studio TYPE, 'was inspired by the restrained palette, simplicity, and muted tones of domestic interiors depicted by Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi in the late 19th and early 20th century,' the team explains. 

House PLR by André Becker of ABPA

House PLR is an intriguing synthesis of 1970s classic Brazilian modernism and contemporary work, set within a short distance from São Paulo’s Alfredo Volpi Park. André Becker of ABPA was commissioned to renovate an existing house, originally designed by the architect Roberto Aflalo (1926-1992) for his own family back in the 1970s. ‘The house is a very special project to me,’ says Becker, ‘as an important part of my education was the time worked at Aflalo/Gasperini Architects, the firm set up by Plínio Croce, Roberto Aflalo and Gian Carlo Gasperini in 1962.’ By the time Becker arrived, he worked under surviving partner Gasperini and Aflalo’s son, Roberto Aflalo Filho, and Felipe Aflalo Hermann. 

Hermosa Beach house by XTEN

This Hermosa Beach house is a celebration of minimalist architecture simplicity and its seaside location. Titled Strandhouse and designed by Los Angeles architecture studio XTEN, the home was conceived by practice founder Monika Haefelfinger and partner Scott Utterstrom, as a model for beachside living for its coastal Southern California region. Located on an enviable spot on Hermosa Beach, right by the white sand and near its central pier, Strandhouse was orientated to make the most of its location. Large openings, clean geometries and pared-down decor work together to craft a house that feels expansive, opening up towards the vistas, and at the same time cocooning – the perfect viewpoint to relax and enjoy the live canvas of the ocean. 

L House by AD Architecture 

This Chinese island house in the country's Guangdong region blends minimalist architecture, contemporary luxury, and seaside living. L House by Shenzhen-based studio AD Architecture was designed to challenge perceptions of what modern urban living could look like, as the idyllic residence is located in a well-to-do neighbourhood of a town, a stone's throw from a river flowing out to the sea. L House was designed drawing on its context – both the natural landscape and the existing way of life and communities on the island. The architects, led by founder Xie Peihe, said: ‘The silent building, with the power of quietness and a pure white tone, makes everything around – the wind, water, trees, sunlight, birds, and fishing boats – become the beauty with sound.'

Casa Enso II by HW Studio Architects

Casa Enso II by HW Studio Architects is the result of a thorough historical investigation into Mexico’s Guanajuato region. The practice's research highlighted a distinct identity that is unique to the region, and which permeates everything from local architecture to household utensils and even the area's legendary tales. Well-versed in producing work that is harmonious with its environment, and using their findings, the architects created a residence that exemplifies their 'functional, meaningful, and inspiring architecture'. 'In this area of the country, stone is an element deeply rooted in any form of cultural expression,' reflect the architects. Stone was the natural material choice in the project, and became principal in the architecture of the residence. With accessible material banks and capable labour nearby, the studio was able to not only use the same material language as Guanajuato's rich, existing building fabric, but also local craftsmanship, engendering a culture of respect for and sensitivity to the existing landscape. 

The Arbor House by Brown & Brown

The Arbor House by Brown & Brown is a new residence designed as both a showcase of a low energy, crafts-inspired, liveable dwelling, and the home of a couple who relocated to the area from a rural village in the wider region. The result, a house nestled into its sloped site, feels sensitive and unobtrusive, yet at the same time, wonderfully contemporary, flying the flag for quiet, minimalist architecture. The Arbor House replaces a dilapidated stone structure on site. The stone elements, and even whole parts of it were reused in the new structure. The project, which was delivered by the architects in partnership with specialist contractor Coldwells Build, and craft workshop Angus & Mack, also features larch cladding and extensive glazing, ensuring that a sense of place, views and sunlight become key parts of the experience of living there. 

Seosaeng House by Studio Weave

Seosaeng House is nestled serenely on a clifftop, a five-hour drive south from the South Korean capital of Seoul. Here, lies a popular sunrise-watching spot: Cape Ganjeolgot, near the eastern coastal city of Ulsan, is where the sun first rises on the Korean peninsula. Named after the Old Korean word for ‘the brightening East’ or ‘new life’, the soft-coloured three-bedroom holiday home makes a striking contrast against the blue sea, yet blends perfectly with the sky’s tones as the sun rises and sets on the horizon. Seosaeng House’s unusual upward-slanted roofs are designed to allow in maximum sunlight, making extra room for generous windows below. Wide openings frame views of the sky and the water. ‘From anywhere in the house, if you look to the east, you see the sea,’ says British-Korean architect Je Ahn, co-founder of the London-based Studio Weave, who designed the house together with Architects Office DOMA. Its façade is clad in pink-tinted tiles whose gentle curves smartly conceal the streaks created on their surface by the region’s salt water during typhoon season, a result often visible on building façades here. Meanwhile, the house’s concrete frame makes it safe and durable in what is a designated earthquake zone. 

Spruce House by ao-ft

If Ao-ft co-founders Liz Tatarintseva and Zach Fluker describe parts of Spruce House, their newest project, as a Swiss army knife, they’ve got a point. The home’s extremely high standard for functionality and efficiency truly belies its small but perfectly formed physique. Spruce House and Studio – the name makes sense as soon as you set eyes on its timber-clad façade – is the pair’s joint home in east London’s Walthamstow. Not only has it been a personal labour of love, it’s also the first flagship project of their newly minted architecture practice.  

Kolberger 5 by David Chipperfield and Studio Mark Randel

Neighbours of this ‘contemporary palazzo’ by Munich’s Isar River will notice the quiet elegance of a David Chipperfield design. And for all intents and purposes, it is one. Commissioned by German developer Euroboden in 2012, the 12-unit block was developed in-house by the 2023 Pritzker laureate and his then-design director, Mark Randel. When Randel, after more than two decades with the practice, left to set up his own practice in Berlin, the Kolberger 5, as the housing is known, came along. The high-end residence represents a baton-passing from the established Chipperfield approach to Randel, who is slowly finding his own design language. 

Spanish House by Arquitecturia Camps Felip

The functions fulfilled by each of the six volumes in this Spanish house helped determine the whole's overall shape and arrangement. Designed by Girona-based architecture studio Arquitecturia Camps Felip, the house, located in the studio's home town, features a constellation of slanted roofs and bold geometries, alongside a distinctive sense of openness; the last is accentuated by the flowing relationship between inside and outside and the presence of a central courtyard in the domestic composition. 

The Saltings by Graeme Laughlan

Designed by architect Graeme Laughlan, now at David Chipperfield Architects, The Saltings is a piece of minimalist architecture designed to feel comfortable with the neighbouring buildings in its coastal village - and at the same time have a 'formal relationship with the adjacent Martello Tower, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.' Working with materials and shapes used in the local architecture vernacular, but giving them an ethereal quality that blends well with the region's climate, the private home conveys at once 'simplicity and coherence.' This creates in the words of the owner 'a feeling of the unexpected when you enter the house and as you spend more time there a feeling of stillness, of calm, that the rhythm of materials and detailing produce a transcendent quality.'

House in La Capite by Lacroix Chessex

A 17th century house in the Swiss town of La Capite, near Geneva, has been thoroughly renovated and extended into a contemporary minimalist home by local architecture practice Lacroix Chessex. The architects worked with the home's historic character and highlighted its heritage features through clean lines and surfaces; at the same time, opening up the interior towards long country and lake vistas. Adding new space on the second floor as well as the rear, expanding into the garden, allowed for the property to improve functionality and enhance a sense of generosity of space, especially within the communal areas of the house.

Casa Primitiva by Hanghar

Casa Primitiva, as its name suggests, is an unpretentious structure. The one-storey, 120 sq m building has a rectilinear footprint; its brick perimeter walls bear five identical steel trusses that support the gabled roof and divide the space underneath into four bays. The material palette is pared back (off-white mortar for the exterior walls, concrete for the flooring, natural wood for the countertops), and openings are reduced to rudimentary forms. The structure’s simplicity belies bold ambitions and a sophisticated design process. It was commissioned by a pair of brothers, Claudio and Bosco Sodi. Brooklyn-based Bosco is an internationally renowned painter and sculptor, and creator of Casa Wabi – a cultural destination on the coast of Puerto Escondido, Mexico, featuring architecture by the likes of Tadao Ando, Alberto Kalach, Álvaro Siza and Kengo Kuma; while Claudio is a prolific theatre producer in Madrid. 

Air House by Szczepaniak Teh

Air House is a project that transformed a dark Victorian London home into a contemporary space defined by elegant minimalist architecture and optimised functionality. The design, by emerging Soho-based architecture studio Szczepaniak Teh, headed by Nicholas Szczepaniak and Wen Ying Teh, draws on the building’s history; at the same time, it makes the most of the existing space, tailoring the interior to 21st-century life and opening the space to become a modern urban sanctuary. In developing the Air House's design, the architecture team was inspired ‘by the neighbourhood’s history of being owned by the Clothworkers’ Company’, as well as ‘the fabric architectural installations of artist Do Ho Suh.' Off the back of this mood board, the studio commissioned a centrepiece for the home: a staircase made from one sheet of metal, punctured with 3mm-diameter holes and folded 'like a piece of cloth'. This structure is minimally supported by 20 slim metal rods with a thickness of just 2 sq cm. 

Elizabeth Mews by Trewhela Williams

A compact mews house in North London has been transformed into a haven of minimalist architecture and calm by emerging practice Trewhela Williams. The project involved redesigning a ground floor garage space as part of the living area and creating a serene courtyard at the rear, which also acts as a lightwell, bathing the interiors with daylight. A bespoke, finely crafted oak-finned composition marks an elegant, contemporary frontage, while inside, clean lines, more timber and neutral colours compose an interior that soothes and relaxes. 

Turnhout home by Axel Vervoordt with Arjaan De Feyter

A chapel in Belgium has been transformed into a warm, minimalist home by architect Axel Vervoordt in collaboration with Arjaan De Feyter. The project, located in the small town just outside Antwerp, uses clay plaster on the walls to create a canvas for neutral colours and soft light. Details in bronze and flooring out of micro cement (by Texture Painting) that has been carefully aged to a balanced patina, help maintain the soul of the original structure. 

Echegaray by Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados

Echegaray, a minimalist Mexican home, rises from its site, an opaque, dark, geometric formation standing on rocky terrain. Designed by Mexico City studio Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA), the house, located in the State of Mexico, was conceived as a 'solid black stone with a wooden pavilion on top'. Tactile and elemental, the design draws on the nature of its context, while at the same time responding to the client's brief for an elegant, contemporary family home. The architects composed the home to emerge from the ground, culminating in the uppermost level's terrace and light timber structure. This transition – from solid to transparent, and from heavy to ethereal – is underscored by the material selection and overall spatial treatment that plays with surface textures and light. The site's rock, excavated during the foundation build, has been left exposed on the lower level, bringing a sense of roughness and tectonic qualities to the architecture. Meanwhile, minimalist architecture of clean lines and smooth planes dominates above, till the journey leads up to the fully glass-enclosed top pavilion that opens up to the city beyond through long urban vistas and blue sky views. 

AB House by Space Encounters

The renovation and transformation of a 1980s house in the Netherlands' Broek op Langedijk has resulted in a rich, yet refreshingly pared down home. The project, by architecture studio Space Encounters, makes the most out of its site and capacity, but maintaining the same footprint as the existing home but adding upwards and transforming the interior to a minimalist architecture haven that opens up vistas and adds serenity to the client's (a growing family) everyday. 

Stone House by Architecture for London

A discreet London rear extension has been imagined as an ode to stone in this project by young and dynamic studio Architecture for London. The home, located in a Grade II listed villa in Islington, keeps the proportions of the historic building but with a minimalist twist. 'The rear extension is designed as a stone pavilion. Agglomerate stone forms a plinth upon which limestone piers rise, forming the structure of the extension. The natural stone was locally sourced and selected for its low embodied energy,' the architects write. 

Park House by Mim Design and Pleysier Perkins

Park House, once a Presbyterian manse, was built in 1856 in the Williamstown area of Melbourne. One of city's oldest surviving houses, it is suitably determined and rugged, modest and squat. Local architecture firm Pleysier Perkins was charged by the house’s new owners with its sensitive restoration and finding space for a discreet but significant and indulgence-friendly extension. The architects drew up plans for a light-filled, three-story (one underground) concrete box, housing extra bedrooms, living spaces, a wine cellar, a curing room, a gym, and a kitchen fit and large enough for less parsimonious preparations, all largely hidden behind the two-storey blue stone original dwelling and set in lush planting.  

Spyon Cop by Brown & Brown

Scottish architects Brown & Brown have crafted a raw and minimalist home within Scotland’s idyllic Cairngorms National Park; welcome to Spyon Cop, a new three-bedroom family house framing long, green views across the region's valleys and the nearby River Don. This peaceful natural context was key right from the start in the Aberdeenshire- and Inverness-based studio's design, led by practice co-founders Kate and Andrew Brown. 'From the outset, we wanted to design a building that sat delicately in the landscape and didn’t disrupt the horizon line. The result for Spyon Cop is a simple design, whereby everything springs from the same finish and is deliberately limited, allowing the views to take precedence,' Kate Brown explains. 'The challenge with building in these conditions is designing something that fits harmoniously with the rugged landscape. Spyon Cop marries the contemporary retreat our clients wanted, with a home that seems to have grown from the hillside.’

Cast House by EBBA

Designed by emerging London architecture studio EBBA and interior design by Anahita Rigby, Cast House is a home extension with a minimalist twist. 'The project looked to maximise the opportunities for light while creating small moments of calm. The result is characterised by intricate timber detailing and the textures found in the floors and the cast facade; a celebration of finding ways of making more with less,' the architects explain. Meanwhile, arches crafted into the new addition's ceiling are an elegant nod to the owner's love of travel, and roman arches. 

Casa Sexta, Mexico City, by All Arquitectura

The disarmingly minimalist architecture of Casa Sexta offers refreshing simplicity to the bustle of Mexico City. Set in the Mexico capital's outskirts, in the Lomas Verdes district, and designed by local practice All Arquitectura, the family home bears all the hallmarks of a refined, pared-down, contemporary interior. Muted, light colours and soft, hazy light? Check. Geometric volumes, clean shapes and coordinated materials? Also check. As sleek and effortless as this house might seem, it was created in a challenging, narrow plot and the architects also had to navigate the local climate – as the region often suffers from hot and windy conditions. At the same time, the home was conceived as an urban haven, a retreat for its clients – a family of four. ‘The geometry of Casa Sexta evolves inward, granting privacy to its spaces while seeking as much natural light as possible,’ the architects write. 

A House, Sweden, by studio nāv

‘A House’ is idyllically placed among the wooded expanses of Lilla Kilskäret, an island of the Swedish archipelago outside the capital of Stockholm. This small architectural cabin, a piece of Nordic minimalist architecture, is the work of emerging practice studio nāv, and it was especially conceived as a summer home for a young couple. Building in such a pristine, natural location sounds like an architect's – and client’s – dream, but it didn't come without its issues. 'Due to a challenging site and local building regulations, the house needed to have a small footprint and blend in with the landscape,' the team, led by studio founders Carl Fransson and Thomas Paltiel, explain. 

Twelve Houses, Sorgenfri, Sweden, by Förstberg Ling

Set within a block of townhouses, a complex titled Twelve Houses, this apartment balances Nordic influences and contemporary minimalist architecture. Situated in the oldest industrial area in Malmö, it offers a new proposition for the 21st century, while referencing the area's lofty structures, utilitarian feel and red brick. The material palette is completed by a cross laminated timber structure, concrete floors and galvanised steel details. Its creators, locally based Förstberg Ling, acted as the developer as well as the architect in this project, ensuring every little detail is fine tuned to perfection.  

Sky Lantern House, London, UK, by Proctor & Shaw

This Victorian home in London has been given the minimalist architecture treatment, transformed by studio Proctor & Shaw by a beautifully pared down redesign and rear extension. An existing heavy stair structure has been replaced by a sleek folded steel plate one, sandwiched in warm Douglas Fir planks. Meanwhile, surfaces are covered in clean timber sheets with accents in, for instance, marble (in the kitchen) and concrete (the flooring). Integrated joinery ensure built in storage and furniture creates a streamlined overall feel. 

Terrace house extension, London, UK by Roz Barr Architects

London’s housing stock is dominated by rank upon rank of red Victorian terraces. These houses have a set flow and formula; front bay, three or four bedrooms, reception rooms leading down into a kitchen and usually a modest garden beyond. From the front, street after street looks pretty much identical. But as architect Roz Barr says, the story is more complicated out back. Over the last few decades, owners have worked on terrace house extension projects, building upwards and outwards and mostly expanded their kitchens sidewards. These add-ons, stark modern boxes plugged into their Victorian hosts, have established new architectural conventions. This is a new hybrid form, mostly hidden from the outside world. 

Framework House, London, UK, by Studio McW Architects

The renovation of this terrace house in Clapham, South London, aims to balance fluidity of space and volume, and definition through raw materials and clean lines. An interior palette of concrete, steel and timber ensures the latter while meeting the client's needs for a family space underpinned by robust, functional materials. 'The client and ourselves had a shared direction from the outset. We both wanted to create a home that embodied solidity, volume, texture, light and longevity. We resolved the limitations of being in a standard, narrow terraced house and created a fluid plan that allows for a more lateral way of living,' says Studio McW director and co-founder Greg Walton. 

James Howell Foundation, Greenwich Village, NY by Deborah Berke

he legacy of American minimalist painter James Howell (1935 – 2014) is celebrated this autumn through the publication of a new monograph – Infinite Array (published by Circa). Howell’s influential portfolio and long career are also continually being honoured through the James Howell Foundation, a discreet philanthropic organisation created in 2017 in the artist’s former base in Greenwich Village, a space designed with impeccable minimalist architecture by renowned New York architect Deborah Berke. The interior not only represents Berke’s mastery in creating pared-back, functional and elegant spaces, but also becomes an extension of Howell’s work – the artist was known for his impactful, beautiful and thought-provoking abstraction, often exploring the infinite variations of the colour grey. The building also expresses its era’s zeitgeist – it was completed in the 1990s during the rise of industrial loft living and minimalism in New York. 

Very Tiny Palazzo, Porto, Portugal by Fala Atelier

Set in a verdant, but narrow garden in a residential property in Portugal's picturesque city of Porto, this new structure was conceived as a design-led outbuilding - extra living and storage space for a home on the same plot. The architects, locally based Fala, explain: 'The luxuriant environment suggested an ambivalent approach to the architectural object. At human height, the palace is transparent, but its crown is proud, adorned with precious stones, and spanning across the perimeter walls.' The simple interior is minimalist but rich in texture and vision. Its scale sits between an object and a piece of architecture, offering intimacy and a connection with its green surroundings.

No 6 Sydney Street, Melbourne, Australia, by Wood Marsh

Located in the Melbourne's Prahran neighbourhood, this boutique apartment building features expressive minimalism on the outside through elegant, wavy lines and gentle, curved forms. Inside, a more traditional approach to minimalist architecture comes through, in clean surfaces in neutral colours and rich materials. The architects behind it, Wood Marsh, say the building is 'disguised as an organic sculpture.' The collection of 15 residences is 'grounded in craft, and inspired by nature.' The result is captivating, asymmetrical but also raw, refined and crips at the same time. Every residence inside has access to outdoor space, natural materials, green vistas and plenty of daylight. 

Hercules Street  by Parti

This boutique development in London's borough of Islington contains just two two-bedroom maisonettes. Designed by emerging design studio Parti and created using minimalist architecture principles, Hercules Street feels robust but also elegant, featuring a brick grid facade. At the same time, the aim was for it to appear ‘purposeful, ordered, clean and composed,' the team explains. Inside, a muted colour palette is accentuated by exposed, galvanised steel conduits and further use of brick, and more tactile, textured surfaces. 

Nanterre Extension by Saba Ghorbanalinejad

Tasked with adding a 20 sq m ground floor extension to a recently renovated three-floor home in Nanterre, Saba Ghorbanalinejad’s studio created a soft, minimalist space brimming with light and personality. Aiming to keep construction times to a minimum, the architect crafted the extension to the existing building without doing any structural work on the original house. In doing this, wires and pipes were left in place and clever bespoke joinery now artfully hides these elements of the building’s original infrastructure. A box sitting under a skylight, for example, adds nook-style seating and storage to maximise the room’s potential. Meanwhile, a nearby timber partition showcases Ghorbanalinejad’s craft- and simplicity-driven style. Gentle colour tones throughout complement the original light grey concrete of the outside patio, and a matching concrete finish on the interior flooring creates continuity between new and existing elements. The angled top edge of another joinery element showcases Ghorbanalinejad’s attention to detail and skill in granting personality to each detail within a space. Perhaps this home’s most prominent feature is its visual exposure to the elements. The glass ceiling, with a wide bench beneath, offers a chance to stare up at the sky no matter the weather; while large sliding glass doors span the extension’s width, allowing the space to open to a natural breeze, and welcoming natural light throughout the day.

Avlakia House by ARP

Its setting between two gorges (‘avlakia’, in Greek) helped inspire this house’s name. Located in the idyllic, compact island of Antiparos, the house offers a contemporary take on housing in the Cycladic archipelago. Appearing monolithic and abstractly sculptural at first glance, as well as relatively small, due to clever design and hidden, underground areas, this is in fact a generous structure, containing a rather large programme: the main house and a guest house (seven bedrooms in total), two pools, generous exterior areas, and substantial auxiliary spaces. ‘A hybrid between a building and an earthwork, deciding what to reveal and what to hide underground was a balancing act between the human experience, and environmental and cultural preservation,’ says the architect. The house’s main, clean and white volume was designed to bring to mind a retaining wall – a common feature across the Greek islands. This way, it sits harmoniously in its setting, at home in the region’s traditional architecture as well as topological characteristics. The home’s seemingly austere, orthogonal appearance is balanced by a pergola which, wrapped in leafy climbing plants, offers an organic spatial juxtaposition. Inside, local building techniques, crafts and materials, such as stone and marble, were used to enhance the building’s relationship with its locale, as well as support the region’s economy. Passive cooling through shading, insulation and natural ventilation plays a big part in managing the house’s energy consumption. 

Magnolia House by Estudio Felipe Escudero

The lush verdant mountain valley of Puembo, Ecuador, provides the perfect backdrop to Estudio Felipe Escudero’s Magnolia House. Built for the architect’s mother, the home was designed around her love of cooking and magnolias, with the pale raw concrete structure configured around a central courtyard featuring her favoured tree. ‘The process was both amazing and emotional, to be able to build and design for my mother, a one-of-a-kind opportunity,’ says Escudero. The house can be described as a testament to her love for modern art and architecture, which she nurtured in him. The single-storey house features floor-to-ceiling glass walls, with the drooping walls of the central courtyard providing privacy for the bedrooms positioned on either side. Using light concrete slabs, Escudero endeavoured to create an effect of ‘a spaceship lightly floating down and landing on a virgin landscape’. Additional writing: Shukri Sultan. 

Phetkasem Artist Studio by HAS Design + Research

Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee’s own home and studio space is a careful redesign of an existing structure in a residential suburb of Bangkok. Transforming a developer-built property on the site, part of a row of houses, the project works with existing volumes and vernacular features to update the whole through a series of simple contemporary forms and gestures. The frontage is redefined by a sculptural composition of vertically placed steel pipes. It makes for an architectural, geometric entry into the front yard, which discreetly delineates between public and private. The material is readily available and relatively inexpensive in Thailand, which plays an active role in steel pipe production. Inside, domestic areas and workspaces are clean and minimalist, mostly created in white tones and flat, crisp surfaces. HAS juxtaposes the industrial nature of steel with minimalist interiors. The latter offer cool surroundings, pared-down, bespoke joinery and sleek concrete floors. At the same time, perforations created through the steel element and their positioning ensure a gentle breeze runs through the fairly narrow but long site, naturally cooling the interiors. 

Residence 145 by Charged Voids

The north Indian city of Chandigarh is perhaps best known for its abudnance in iconic modernist architecture, by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew and Edward Maxwell Fry. Of course, contemporary Indian architecture thrives there too. Residence 145 by design studio Charged Voids is a case in point. This is a Chandigarh house designed to juggle openness and privacy, warmth and minimalist architecture, as well as ensuring it provides ample space to house three generations of the owners’ family. The architecture team worked with a composition of opaque surfaces and voids to find the right balance between creating a flowing, modern home that features plenty of natural light and views, and maintaining the residents’ privacy. Given the project’s multi-generational aspect, Charged Voids crafted a plan that ticks all boxes. ‘The layout of the house is centred on the idea of connected living. A strong connection with the outdoors is established through internal courtyards, with the interior spaces framing sunny views of the landscape,’ the designers explain.

Petersfield House by McLaren Excell 

Transforming and upgrading existing housing into buildings fit for contemporary living and current environmental requirements is a challenge relished by every architect. The UK’s vast stock of vernacular housing is usually readily identifiable with its age – Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian – with each era offering a surprisingly versatile canvas on which to restore, enhance and extend to create a modern living space. McLaren Excell’s extension, restoration, and modernisation of this house in Cambridge, Petersfield House, builds on the studio’s experience of working with old buildings. The London-based studio, founded by Rob Excell and Luke McLaren in 2011, was featured in our 2018 Architects’ Directory. Previous projects have harmonised old and new, with a pared-back minimalist architecture approach to creating new spaces, using a sparse material palette, meticulous detailing and a reverence for proportion, light, and showing off construction details.

Kensington Place by O’Sullivan Skoufoglou

Emerging London architecture practice and 2021 Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory alumnus O’Sullivan Skoufoglou has just completed Kensington Place, a meticulous and masterful renovation and extension of an existing property in west London. The house, a family home for a pair of art lovers, represents not only a comfortable and functional Kensington interior; it is also a masterclass in balancing domestic warmth, function and Nordic minimalism. The project, a mid-19th century Victorian terraced house within a conservation area, was a brief from a family who had lived there since the 1970s – but now, with grown children who had fled the nest, wanted to readdress their home’s arrangement and interiors to suit their changing needs and circumstances. Unifying the lower-ground level, which felt fragmented, defined by a low ceiling, and redesigning its existing conservatory, were key parts of the commissioning programme, explain the architects, who looked at creating ‘open, liveable spaces connected to the once-forgotten courtyard space at the rear’.

Domus Peepem by Kiltro Polaris, Wewi Studio and JC Arquitectura 

Located in Cancún’s Colonia Donceles, a neighbourhood developed in the 1980s as a social housing complex for workers, Domus Peepem is part of a range of new schemes and interventions that aim to revive the area sustainably, after the destruction it suffered during the 2005 Hurricane Wilma. Three emerging architecture studios, Kiltro Polaris, Wewi Studio and JC Arquitectura, joined forces to make this Mexican housing project happen, diligently crafting its warm, minimalist architecture, while coordinating with its context and environmentally friendly principles. Working with construction methods and materials familiar to the local labour force, the architects employed a concrete frame and mortar, polished clay, wood, and a decorative plastic paste on top, creating soft, textured surfaces that envelope the homes. Meanwhile, natural stone makes for gentle accents in the bathrooms. Traditionally, the area was occupied by single-family houses, but this plot being a newly developed parcel of land, the team was able to build higher, creating a boutique apartment building spanning four levels tall. Opposite, a public space was also re-activated through the development.

Implicit by One Space Design

Created by Chinese studio One Space Design under the direction of founders Denny Ho and Jasmine Zhong and design director Alice Li, this apartment interior in Chengdu feels soft and modern, its minimalist architecture approach wrapping it in a subtle, unified design. ‘The overall atmosphere is dominated by shadowy, dark, ambiguous and ambiguous East Asian aesthetics. Quiet and comfortable,’ they explain. 

Maison Pour Dodo by Studio Merlin

Studio Merlin has reworked this London apartment in Stoke Newington in order to make the residents sleep easier. Focusing on a clean and uncluttered design that would emphasise serenity and wellness, minimising anxiety, the architects worked with warm and soothing Natural Douglas Fir timber flooring and minimalist architecture throughout. Storage was streamlined and clever joinery prioritised for the full final effect. ‘The effect is a composed space where each of the client’s things have a home; sometimes concealed, densely packed and understated, others as pride of place, carefully curated and easily physically or visually accessible,’ says studio founder Josh Piddock. 

Desert Home by Studio ST Architects

The project, the Studio ST Architects’ founder Esther Sperber’s own parents’ home, is located among the breathtaking views of the Israeli desert. The concept aimed to create a ‘simple, eco-friendly and energy efficient family home.’ Various methods were used, as the architect explains: ‘To blend in with the surroundings, the exterior stucco responds to the color of the mountains and a rustcolored finish is used for recessed areas. Light, sun-bleached, sand stucco was used for the outer surfaces. To keep the home self-sustaining, desert appropriate, energy-efficient technology, including a passive solar system on the roof to provide hot water, and a gray water system for irrigating the garden.’ At the same time, a clean, uncluttered aesthetic offers refreshing minimalism inside and out.

Sin Nombre Casa y Galeria by Associates Architecture

Situated in the hip, historic center of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, Sin Nombre Casa Y Galeria is a home and art space created by Associates Architecture. A new built structure was designed atop an existing base made of local stone, which was partially damaged. The architects restored and reworked that base and composed a quiet, inward looking structure on top, encompassing the two different functions inside, arranged around three internal patios. Clean shapes, tactile, organic feeling surfaces and materials and neutral colours help maintain this project’s minimalist architecture atmosphere.

Japanese ryokan house by OWIU

A midcentury residence in the foothills of LA’s Mount Washington neighbourhood has been transformed into a serene, Japanese ryokan-inspired home by locally based architecture and design studio OWIU. The young practice, co-founded by Amanda Gunawan and Joel Wong, took on the task to redesign an existing Los Angeles house into a haven of calm, merging modernist architecture and Japanese house design in a thoroughly contemporary piece of domestic bliss. ‘Much of our design leans toward the ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, enabling us to achieve a visceral effect,’ says Gunawan. The property, set on Palmero Drive and originally built in 1955, was left neglected and unloved when OWIU undertook the commission. They instantly knew they had to act and reimagine it with a sense of balance and harmony at its heart – qualities often found in that Japanese building typology. ‘The space shouldn’t energetically spark something in you; you should feel neutral,’ says Gunawan, who believes a home should be a retreat, an ‘uncharged space’. ‘If you go in strong [with design], it energises you quickly and then promptly dies out.’

NaMora House by Filipe Pina and David Bilo

This Portuguese farmhouse is the ultimate counrtyside retreat; as well as a working agricultural space. Designed as a collaboration between architects Filipe Pina and David Bilo, NaMora house is nestled in a naturally sheltered area at the foot of the Serra da Estrela, close to the Gonçalo region in central Portugal. Surrounded by nature - namely a dense pine tree forest - the structure, made in concrete and granite stone, appears as a series of geometric boulders among its leafy environs. Working with an existing farmland site and an old granite structure within it, the architects reworked what was there, adding a contemporary extension that appears distinctly modern and separate from the historical structure, but at the same time feels at home in its location. The team mirrored the stone building’s outline in the new house, spreading the design across a stepped plan that negotiates the site’s incline. ‘The final outcome, with the extension of the existing house, resulted from a compromise between the owners wishes and the existing features and morphology of the land, characterized by the existence of several terraces,’ the architects explain.

Reighton Road, UK by Daytrip.Studio

A Victorian terrace in Clapton, East London has been transformed into a haven of bespoke design and calm. Light and a neutral, pale yet warm material palette elevates the space throughout, making this unassiming house a serene sanctuary. Emerging London practice daytrip.studio led the interior redesign which spills out to a tierred, sculptural concrete garden. They explain: ‘A beautifully dappled silver birch tree sits anchored adjacent to the dining area in a circular well of pebbles; a nod to Japanese minimalism in contrast to the English wild overgrowth. Pale, sun-bleached larch fencing lines the exterior and a variegated grey brick wall seamlessly continues into the interior, linking both spaces.’ Sophie Pearce of Beton Brut and Laura Fulmine of Modern Art Hire respectively furnished and styled the house. 

Desert Palisades, USA by Woods + Dangaran

Drawing on California’s midcentury legacy, while sprinkling its architecture with contemporary notes and its owner’s personality and needs, this Palm Springs house sits proudly among its arid, rocky landscape; a piece of refreshingly minimalist architecture confidently peeking out from the site’s boulders and cacti. Welcome to Desert Palisades, a new-build family home in the eponymous Palm Springs neighbourhood, designed by Woods + Dangaran. The Los Angeles architecture studio, which is well versed in translating modernist architecture for the 21st century – see Moore House and Carla Ridge House – is a deft hand at tackling the fine balance between old and new, modern and contemporary. The architects have been known to generate spaces that feel dreamily escapist and at the same time warm and comfortingly domestic – perfect for a 21st-century retreat.

Ourânia building, Brazil by Studio MK27

This boutique apartment building in São Paulo, placed on the edge of the bohemian neighbourhood of Vila Madalena, is the latest urban housing scheme by Idea!Zarvos – the Brazilian developer known for a design-savvy, architecturally led approach. Ourânia, containing just eight apartments within a relatively compact, nine-storey building, is the brainchild of Marcio Kogan and his colleagues at Studio MK27 for this client, and offers contemporary living wrapped in warm, textured minimalist architecture. A combination of quality materials, well-proportioned volumes, and flexibility were key in delivering the Ourânia living experience, a domestic space befitting the 21st century. The architects explain: ‘Its modular structure, an orthogonal grid of concrete pillars and beams, results in completely flexible plans, where each apartment owner could define its layout. The 20 columns are rhythmically positioned in the perimeter of the 48 x 11m plan and, together with a central core that shelters stairs and elevators, structures the building – leaving generous spans to be arranged as desired.’ 

Casa Pujada del Rey Martí, Spain by Fuses-Viader Architects and Montserrat Nogués Architect

This Girona house is an elegant merging of two period homes in the city’s centre. Set in a richly historical part of town, Casa Pujada del Rey Martí is the work of a collaboration between Spanish studios Fuses-Viader Architects and Montserrat Nogués Architect, and it blends its heritage location with a distinctly contemporary interior and minimalist architecture, fit for the 21st century. ‘The site, right outside the Roman city and in front of the former Via Augusta, was an ancient necropolis, from which human remains from the 2nd to 3rd century AD, remains of opus signinum [paving], and a funerary oven, that have been preserved, were found. During later construction, from the Carolingian period, medieval houses were built, [and] later highly modified,’ explains Nogués. In this powerful context, the team tackled the redesign of two adjacent plots – one of which contained a house in need of renovation, and the other the remains of a second, which was almost entirely destroyed. 

231 Napier Street, Australia by Edition Office

Edition Office’s latest project in Fitzroy, Melbourne, makes a bold contemporary statement. Designed by local architecture studio for developer Milieu, the Fitzroy apartment building contains 11 units, each with a distinct character and apartment interior design, arranged around visually dramatic common parts and shared spaces in pristine minimalist architecture. The development, 231 Napier Street, is located right in the middle of Fitzroy’s downtown, a block from Town Hall, and surrounded by small businesses, restaurants, and stores. The new seven-level structure replaced a low-rise commercial unit, and has a façade defined by generous balconies with slender vertical railings that bend over the distinctive curved edges. Additional writing: Jonathan Bell. 

Zhejiang Private Penthouse: The Gentle Hurricane, China by YuQiang & Partners, EK Design

A private owner approached the architecture teams at YuQiang & Partners and EK Design to create a holiday base for them in the Zhejiang Province in China. The project, an apartment interior design refresh, was conceived with a minimalist architecture angle, favouring a serene, warm place, perfect for entertaining, art and fashion. Clean lines and geometric volumes (such as the dramatic round columns that define the entrance to the living spaces) meet neutral colours and natural materials. The result is a domestic interior that is calming, and at the same time perfect for hosting and showcasing art. 

Casa El Aguacate, Mexico by Práctica Arquitectura

Creating a home that fosters a close relationship with nature; making the most of the region’s natural light; and producing a compact house that causes minimal intrusion on the surrounding natural landscape were all key drivers in the design development of Casa El Aguacate, a Mexican retreat outside Monterrey by the locally based studio Práctica Arquitectura. The single-level, minimalist architecture of this pink house was composed around a series of interconnected open-air patios, a flowing, airy interior, natural light and smart circulation plans. The project was a private commission for a holiday home for a young family of four – a couple and their toddlers. ‘El Aguacate seeks to be the interface between its inhabitants and the place in which it is deployed; a welcoming space for rest and coexistence,’ the architecture team explains. A geometric, almost minimalist approach helps instil clarity in the studio’s vision and a neutral background for life to unfold inside the home.

Patio in Arronches, Portugal by Corp Arquitetos

In the heart of a small, picturesque, historic village in Portugal’s Alentejo region, a period home has got a brand new minimalist rooftop terrace and swimming pool. The brainchild of Diogo Menéres Pimentel and João de Oliveira Ribeiro’s architecture studio Corp, the space is moulded through a constant dialogue between the new structure and ’humble previous uses, the olive trees and degraded tiles of the neighbours and the characteristic blue sky of the Alentejo,’ the team explains.

The Hill in front of the Glen, Mexico by HW-Studio Arquitectos

Set within a thickly forested area near Mexico’s historic city of Morelia, this new home is a clean, minimalist arch, semi-buried neatly into the earth. ’The main inspiration was the subtle murmurs whispered by the virgin environment, and from the user’s search for protection and shelter,’ the architects at locally based HW-Studio Arquitectos explain. Inside, clean surfaces, refreshingly sparsely dress spaces and raw concrete come together to both provide shelter and focus on the views out, balancing nature and architecture through serenity. 

Loft A, Spain by Arrova (Atelier Rojo-Vergara)

The traditional loft apartment arose out of the transformation of an industrial space into a residential one, bringing a commercial scale and space to the domestic realm. Over the years, the term has been much debased as square footages shrink and oxymoronic terms like ‘new-build lofts’ creep onto the market. It’s therefore refreshing to find a post-industrial residence that retains all the character of the original space. Loft A began life as a motorbike repair shop in Pamplona’s Milagrosa district, south of the city centre. Designed by Cristina Vergara and Enrique Rojo of Arrova (Atelier Rojo-Vergara), the project was intended to be a prototype for the area, which has a large number of abandoned and redundant industrial properties. ‘Their transformation would greatly help to revitalise the area,’ the architects write.  Additional writing: Jonathan Bell

Islington House, UK by McLaren Excell

This London renovation, the redesign of a listed Georgian home in central London’s borough of Islington, delicately transforms an existing period property by elegantly slotting in 21st-century style and updates. The result, Islington House by McLaren Excell, is perfectly poised between old and new, large and small scale, artfully blurring the boundary between architecture and furniture. The project’s minimalist architecture feels refreshing and efficient, forming a multi-layered platform for daily life that is both serene and functional. The project brief outlined the renovation and extension of a family home. The architects obliged, adding a monolithic-looking, double-skinned, fair-faced concrete rear extension with a dramatic split level, which negotiates the listed building’s existing different internal levels and connects the interior with the garden at the back of the plot. The extension’s concrete volume sculpturally folds to form breakfast bar, kitchen worktops and shelving features, as well as walls and flooring, creating ‘an effortless cohesive architectural language’, explain the architects. 

Casa Costa, Spain by Arquitectura-G

This Barcelona home is ’an exercise on making a porch habitable around a patio garden,’ explain its architects, the local studio Arquitectura-G. Composed of clean white and light grey surfaces that combine plaster walls and exposed concrete, the house is a minimalist composition that turns its elegant back to the street and focuses around its central, planted atrium. ’The plot is surrounded by party walls, and the façade is just one more wall that encloses an interior space that wants to be exterior,’ the architecture team says. Meanwhile, inside it all comes alive in splendid minimalist calm.

Richmond House, UK by McLaren Excell Architects

In transforming a historic 1930s building in Surrey (a former council house semi), London architects MacLaren Excell have created a haven of domestic minimalist calm. The design brings together brick, timber and an uncuttered style to compose strong, abstract forms that serve the property’s new owners, a young family, as a warm yet serene home. Exquisite detailing, such as the seamless oak veneered panelling and natural stone surfaces, add to the overall effect.

House in Aldeburgh, UK by David Walker Architects

Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this Suffolk home was originally built in 1965 as a typical bungalow. New ownership and almost sixty years later, it has been reborn as a contemporary home, courtesy of David Walker Architects. The phased transformation, which started in 2012, balances rural references and the building’s original character with a pared down, modern design that favours simple volumes and materials and a neutral, light colour palette. The old and new minimalist architecture is complemented by a new, flat green roof that sits next to the existing gable ended roof elements.

Tree House, UK by Fletcher Crane Architects

This minimalist home is a two bedroom abode in Ealing, London. Its architects used a simple exterior palette of grey brick, black timber and tubular metalwork, which inside translates to exposed brick and timber, and clean white walls. Large windows frame the urban context using the vistas as a living canvas against the interior’s calming feel. ’The simplicity and rawness of finishing is carried through to the internal spaces where brick walls, ash joinery, terrazzo tiles and delicate metal balustrades contribute to a comprehensive vision,’ say the architects.

Bloomsbury House and Mews, UK by West Architecture

Two Grade II listed Georgian buildings in central London are united in a single residence in this residential project by West Architecture. The architects carefully converted back the building to its domestic use (after being used as an office), cleaning up the interiors and revealing the rear garden by removing a past addition. A new extension in sharp, minimalist architecture is made out of a simple timber frame structure resting on built from bricks reclaimed from the demolition of this previous building on site. Meanwhile, ’the main house has been refurbished with a particular emphasis on restoration of the finer rooms on ground and first floor,’ the architects explain. 

Casa Cabrita Moleiro, Portugal by Atelier Data 

An old granary mill structure in Portugal’s Algarve has been given a minimalist transformation by local studio Atelier Data. The architects mixed the building’s original character with elements of the local vernacular and contemporary treatments. The result is a five-bedroom, family-run holiday home with a distinctly modern feel. ’Casa Cabrita Moleiro is a flexible living space that can accommodate various possibilities of use and sharing,’ say the architects. Its pared down, minimalist approach helps to that end, as well as creating a striking contrast between its crisp, white, contemporary architecture and the natural, rural environment. 

Hampstead House, UK by Oliver Leech Architects

A sculptor turned to architect Oliver Leech and his team for the transformation of a dilapidated house in North London’s Hampstead into a modern, minimalist residence with all-mod-cons. The new space carefully designed with an attention to detail and a restricted material palette that lets the architectural composition take centre stage - creating a home that feels as serene and uncluttered as a high-end art gallery. ’At Hampstead House, we thought carefully about each material and every colour to create an overall coherent palette, whilst also creating unique spaces within the home that served their particular purpose. Natural light is an important feature of all our work and on this project we wanted to soften the light to provide a gallery-like backdrop for the clients artwork and sculptures,’ says Leech.

Project K, UK by Studio Hazeldean

The design of this Surrey home started with one key question, explains Studio Hazeldean’s founder and principal Dan Hazeldean: ’How can the inside become one with the outdoors?’ The answer was in creating a sophisticated interior with finely crafted features and pared down decor that allows the views to shine through the large openings. ’Minimalism and Japanese simplicuty characterise the interiors, with nothing to detract from the confident lines. Strong geometry balanced with a muted palette to create restful harmony,’ the architecture team explains. The result uses matte grey green doors, soaped oak, sintered stone and leather.

Casa da Volta, Portugal by Promontorio with Joao Cravo

Located in the Southwest of Alentejo, deep in the Grandola hills, this house is a minimalist gesture in the rich Portuguese countryside. Created by local studio Promontorio in collaboration with architect Joao Cravo, the generous, six-bedroom home ‘echoes the tradition of the Portuguese alcáçova - or qasbah, following its Arab etymology - which functioned as a defensive citadel, or compound, with its constructions built within and protected by a high-walled perimeter,’ explains the team. Clean geometric volumes, calm and neutral colour compositions and natural materials make the surrouning landscape the progragonist in this serene home.

Belgravia Mews, UK by Finkernagel Ross

London based architecture practice Finkernagel Ross spearheaded the redesign of the boutique residence in a mews house in the city’s chic Belgravia neighbourhood. The project, for a private client, a family of four who split their time between Asia and London, draws on the ideas of light and space. The design is calm and crisp, emphasising bespoke details, a minimalist attitude and plenty of natural light that bathes the craft-led and art-filled interiors through windows and skylights.

T House, UK by Matthew Giles Architects

A four bedroom house in London has been reimagined by Matthew Giles Architects with an all-natural feel in mind, following the owners’ wishes. The project, the transformation of a 1960s building, brings light and serenity into the existing structure, which suffered from dark spaces and clutter. Using minimalist architecture, light colours and strategic bespoke storage solutions the design team has now created a space that is both in tune with its residence’s life and better connected with the outdoors areas of the property too.

MUD Residence, Belgium by Andy Kerstens

This lush getaway, set in the woods surrounding Brussels, is a guest home that can boast a recent revamp by Belgian interior designer Andy Kerstens. The domestic space, set within a period structure that follows the areas’ traditional vernacular, has been transformed using a sharp, contemporary material palette including smoked oakwood, Grigio Alpi, stucco, mortex and untreated bronze. Bridging modern minimalism with a heritage, countryside feel, this project is a hidden gem that can accomodate up to four people - and even comes with its own recording and creative studio. 

Friern Road, UK by Kieran Wardle Architects

The redesign of thie Victorian abode in East Dulwich, South London, is the brainchild of Kieran Wardle Architects. The design team aimed for ‘multifunctionality, light and hiding the clutter,’ they explain. Trying to create a modern, clean space for their clients, while reducing the environmental impact of unnecessary demolition were both important drivers for the architects. An interior made of sharp concrete, white marble and timber dominate the new extension, while a decluttering of the existing spaces seamlessly helps the old unite with the new. ‘The project made use of the under-used areas of the house and garden create a light, flexible space that could be a breakfast room before the kids go to school, a workspace during the day, a space for cooking and eating together, a sitting room during the evening, and a place to entertain family and friends,’ says practice director Kieran Wardle. 

Plaka House, Greece by Demetra Karampelia and Divercity Architects

Set right in the historic centre of Athens, in the Greek capital’s iconic Plaka neighbourhood, this home dates back to the 1920s. A recent redesign by Demetra Karampelia and Divercity Architects led to its transformation into a sleek and minimalist family home for a family of six. Working with the building’s existing historical features, the team implemented timeless materials such as Greek marble from Naxos island, dark oak wood and bronze details to create a serene composition that feels contemporary and sophisticated but is also a flexible and robust background for daily family life. A generous common area on the ground level comes with four large bedroom suites on the upper floors, complete with views towards the ancient Acropolis.

Parallel Lines, UK by ConForm Architects

Set in London’s Islington, a stone’s throw from Angel station, this project brings significant improvements to a historical period property, adding a fresh take without compromising the site’s heritage character. The interior and building fabric were thoroughly refreshed, including a striking, calming and minimalist roof terrace at the top - a largely underutilised space prior to the renovation. ‘The historical context and robust façade articulation were the starting points,’ the architects explain. ‘Horizontal stucco banding and cornicing features form parallel lines along the terrace of houses that dominate the front elevation, culminating at the second-floor parapet to the roof terrace. This high front parapet also ensured that roof proposals were sufficiently unseen and stepped back from the public realm. Further to being minimally viewed, a delicate and considered proposal was required to prevent any visual hierarchy diverting away from the cohesion and history of the listed façade.’

Heath Lane, UK by Hollie Bowden

Set in a leafy part of London, this project draws on the farmhouse typology and the existing structure on site. Its interiors’ author, designer Hollie Bowden, completely redesigned the space, infusing it with her tactile and warm signature minimalist aesthetic. The contemporary internal facelift also includes seamlessly integrating thermal efficiency into the fabric of both the old and new part of the building. As a result, the original structure, an old coach house, was artfully reimagined and has also been extended with the addition of a sleek, suitably minimalist summer house in the garden. 

Salt Point retreat, USA by Suchi Reddy and Ai Weiwei

An angular, linear volume has been peaking out from the green, rolling hills of Salt Point, New York. It is the artful extension to an existing weekend residence, and it has been created by New York architecture studio Reddymade and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The new minimalist escape has a distinctive form that complements the original home’s cluster of hexagonal pavilions, creating a complex that is a real feast of geometries and a sculptural, exciting piece of architecture. ‘The extension was designed to be strikingly simple and minimal, which is reflected not only in its graphic language, but also in its materiality,’ explains Reddymade founder Suchi Reddy. ‘The metal rib exterior allows for a crisp edge, and ensures project longevity. Through its materiality, it also has a relationship with the previously completed Artfarm on the property,’ she adds referring to a gallery building.

Tunbridge Winter Cabin, USA by New Affiliates 

Set within the leafy hills of Vermont, Tunbridge Winter Cabin was commissioned by a private client as an idyllic winter retreat and artists’ studio. Occupying some 1,250 sq ft, the project is generous but maintains a strong cabin-style identity, clad in a distinctive dark timber skin and featuring sharp, pitched roofs that echo traditional structures in this part of the world. The design by New Affiliates is inspired by ‘the area’s strange aggregate structures, in which barns, houses and sheds all grow on and around each other as if clustering for warmth’. Still, designed as two identical squares that in plan meet at a corner, the structure maintains a strong, contemporary sensibility. Slight misalignments and minor asymmetries add quirkiness and personality to the whole, while minimalist white interiors starkly contrast with the grey timber plank exterior, creating a dialogue betweek inside and outside. 

Fowóralé house, Nigeria by cmD+A

The luxurious and picturesque Ilashe beach outside Lagos, is the green setting of this crisp, white minimalist villa by cmD+A, Fowóralé house. Tosin Oshinowo and her seven-strong team worked with the serene, natural environment to compose the house’s design concept. This exclusive beach can only be accessed by water, making aggressive development in the area difficult, and allowing the natural environment to remain just that – pristine and untouched. The design seeks to reflect a sense of peace and connection with nature. ‘Our intent in the design was to create horizontally and vertically framed views, showcasing the calm serene beach environment,’ says the architect. ‘The minimalist aesthetic draws your eye to the surroundings with the casuarina trees planted in a colonial area that have blended beautifully with the indigenous palm trees.’

Rounded House, South Korea by CHOHELO A+U

This generous private home in the outskirts of Seoul was designed with both work and entertaining in mind. The clients, part of a large family that enjoys hosting, called upon  CHOHELO A+U’s Shinhyung Cho and Stuart Helo for a house design featuring a generous kitchen and dining area that would be perfect for big family banquets, but also have enough space for a workshop on the lower ground level – one of the clients is an established metalworker. CHOHELO A+U obliged and Rounded House was born, defined by its scale and apparent simpicity. Its crisp, white, minimalist box form with rounded corners, which add a subtly futuristic edge, conceals a range of living spaces within. The public areas are located on the ground level, with a flowing dining area, kitchen, and living room spilling out to a large garden. Private rooms are upstairs, and the workspace downstairs. 

Maryland House by Remi.C.T Studio

Tucked away on an unassuming street, within a quiet residential pocket off the beaten track in east London, Remi Connolly-Taylor’s first new build cuts a distinctly contemporary figure. Marking the end of a residential terrace, the bold structure feels at once modern and respectful to the low Victorian housing it sits next to. Maryland House, named after its namesake neighbourhood in Stratford, is a highly tailored live/work space, designed precisely for the needs of its dynamic creator and her young business. The site used to be a small, empty lot filled with rubbish and debris from surrounding construction. Now, it holds a two-level home with a studio on top, and is clad in London stock brick that mirrors the surrounding materials and colour tones of the neighbourhood’s mix of Victorian and post-war housing. With only 100 sq m of internal space, size played a key role in design decisions. ‘Maryland House was designed around what we could and couldn’t do,’ says Connolly-Taylor. Working with local manufacturers and craftsmen, the project developed into a jewel box of a home, ticking all the boxes for efficiency, functionality, spaciousness and a clean, fairly minimalist aesthetic. 

ER Residence by Studio Hallett Ike

A touch of Scandinavian minimalist architecture has turned this compact flat in a typical Victorian terraced house in North London into a blissful haven of simplicity. Designed by emerging architecture practice Studio Hallett Ike, the project involved the one-bedroom apartment renovation for a private owner, including an extension towards the rear. Named ER Residence, the home now features two bedrooms and an open and bright living space at the front. The extension’s English larch cladding was charred on site by hand to create a tactile, rich textural effect. ‘Doing this, rather than painting or staining, allows the texture and grain of the larch to feel very present, and to age and patina over time,’ explain the studio founders Madeleine Ike and Jonty Hallett. This also helps the volume to feel natural and blend organically with the garden’s foliage.

Twin Peaks Residences by Michael Hennessey Architecture

A minimalist stack of boxes has sprung from an ordinary yet neglected single-family San Francisco home. The project, Twin Peaks Residences, was designed by Michael Hennessey Architects and involved the transformation of the existing, 70-year-old structure into a contemporary composition of three domestic units within a single, coherent, modern shell. Created for an owner who is a design enthusiast with a penchant for Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, the project bridges modernist architecture with a site-specific approach, all infused with contemporary sensibility. Located in the city’s Twin Peaks neighbourhood, the site offers impressive cityscape vistas across San Francisco. Working with the vertical axis, the architects made the most of the views, going high and installing large, strip windows and glazed expanses on chunks of the facade. A combination of steel construction with aluminium frame windows makes for an overall composition that feels both sleek and softly industrial-feeling. 

Rydon Street, London, UK by Moxon Architects

Set in the Arlington Square Conservation Area in central London’s borough of Islington, a Victorian house has been transformed into an urban haven of domestic minimalism by Moxon Architetcs. The project, the internal redesign and rear extension of a townhouse in a period terrace, promotes openness, minimalist interiors and improves internal connectivity and overall quality of life in this modern, family home. While the architects’ work involved reconfiguring the entire four-level building, the most striking change took place on the lower ground level. ‘The original building layout was disconnected from the rear garden, the property’s strongest attribute for the client, whom Moxon had worked with a decade earlier,’ say the architects.

Positively Negative, Venice Beach, USA by Dan Brunn

This minimalist beach house in California is the brainchild of American architect Dan Brunn. The house, located just on the waterfront of Venice Beach, is an ode to raw concrete and pared-down volumes, yet was born of pragmatism and functionality; Positively Negative, as the house is named, was created as a direct response to ‘the harsh marine weather and densely packed environment of its location,’ says the architect. Featuring a narrow frontage and attempting to address a healthy balance between natural light, privacy and outdoor space, the house design was conceived as a series of stacked cubes. The composition is quite complex but also feels at home within Los Angeles-based Brunn’s portfolio – the architect is well known for his clean, minimalist, sculptural work.

Vancouver House penthouse, Vancouver, Canada by Leckie Studio

Sitting at the top of Bjarke Ingels Group’s Vancouver House on Canada’s West Coast, this exquisite penthouse has been designed to raw, pared-down perfection by locally based architecture firm Leckie Studio. The minimalist home, commissioned for a private client with a penchant for art and travel, balances the tightrope between warm, domestic space and finely crafted contemporary interior, suitable for the display of the owner’s personal collections. The two-storey unit contains a two-bedroom home. The internal design focuses on the client’s daily routines, working around views and light. ‘Through an iterative design process, the studio and client arrived at a highly bespoke, biophilic design that is attuned to the passage of time,’ explain the architects at Leckie Studio. 

Cerulean, London, UK, by Edwards Rensen Architects

Two years ago this terrace in Islington was a neglected four-storey building with the ground-floor living spaces made up of small, cellular rooms. And although the dilapidated Victorian house would require a host of interventions and a clear design vision, the double-aspect rooms, unusually large windows and the wide, west-facing garden immediately sold it to the current owners. They enlisted local architects Edwards Rensen to help them reorganise the internal spaces and transform the ground floor, creating sleek, minimalist interiors with a large open plan kitchen-living-dining area at their heart. This calming space connects directly to a lush, tropical garden space outside. Key improvements have been made to the thermal efficiency of the house by upgrading all the single-glazed sash windows to double-glazed, enhancing its sustainability credentials. For further comfort, work was undertaken to insulate the ground floor and the roof. Energy efficiency also includes the installation of new low-energy lighting throughout, and a boiler system that responds to changes in outside temperature and significantly reduces gas consumption. Additional writing: Ifeoluwa Adedeji

Mews house, London, UK, by DF_DC

Invited by a young family to extend and refresh their new home, architecture studio DF_DC got to work on this redesign of a 1980s mews house in West London in 2017. The residential project appeared small – originally at a mere 68 sq m – but had a lot of potential, and the studio, led by Dario Franchini and Diego Calderon and featured in the 2020 Wallpaper* Architects Directory, embraced its challenges. The architects’ clever, surgical interventions enhanced the spatial experience and quality of living for the owners. Now reaching up to 100 sq m, the house has an extended ground floor living space, which reaches out towards the rear garden – the remaining part of which was paved into a tidy patio. 

Oslo penthouse, Norway by Stian Schjelderup and Øystein Trondahl

This 400 sq m penthouse has a 360-degree aspect onto the city and a carefully planned internal arrangement to ensure the space makes the most of daylight – the interior’s bright materials defy any gloom. The apartment, located in the city centre, initially consisted of three smaller units, but now comfortably spreads out to cover the whole floor. Norwegian-born architects Stian Schjelderup and Øystein Trondahl of local practice Schjelderup Trondahl were called in to turn the fragmented space into a fluid, continuous, open-plan layout, created in a subtle style with minimalist architecture and details. Elegant simplicity was key for the architects. ‘It was a great challenge to conceal all the ventilation piping and other necessities while at the same time maintaining state-of-the-art craftsmanship and the simplicity of the atmosphere,’ says Schjelderup. Writer: Massimo de Conti

Okinawa House, Japan by John Pawson

In their search for the ideal year-round holiday retreat from their ‘box-shaped house’ in Tokyo, a Japanese family enlisted John Pawson Architects to design them a modern and minimalist vacation home on the island of Okinawa, the country’s southernmost prefecture. Developed by Taishi Kanemura, from Pawson’s London office, the execution of the interior programme and external shape of the home was led by the site’s catenary curve. Local limestone was used in two spaces within the home, featuring different finishes in each place; the kitchen unit’s countertop showcases a honed and polished version, while the property’s external pavement has a brush-hammered look. The Okinawa house is a bright and open family home that showcases Pawson’s signature simple, uncluttered and natural style. Its clean and tranquil atmosphere and far-reaching ocean views provide a calming and meditative residential escape away from the buzz of the metropole. 

Grigio, Tokyo, Japan by Apollo Architects & Associates

This house in Tokyo is designed by Japanese practice Apollo Architects & Associates, headed by Satoshi Kurosaki. Featuring raw concrete inside and out, the house, called Grigio, was created as a simple box. It may appear closed off but the architect has cleverly carved out parts to make it light and open inside. Decorative elements were kept to a minimum throughout to create a streamlined, minimalist appearance. At the same time, the refined colour palette features a simple grey scheme that helps create a sophisticated, gallery-like feel, perfect for art display. Two levels above ground and a sunken basement floor contain a spacious arrangement that comprises the master bedroom suite, children’s room, the family sitting room and an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. The courtyard sits at the volume’s heart, centering the design.

The key to a successful cacio e pepe, says New York-based artist Landon Metz, ‘is for each ingredient to be of the highest quality: punchy peppercorns, unsalted butter, a sharp pecorino Romano’. Like Metz’s pared-back paintings, which involve the application of thin washes of acrylic dye onto raw canvas, his favourite dish is proof that the precise execution of a simple formula can yield remarkable results. It’s about ‘stripping back the noise to have a raw experience with life. I’m interested in experiences that manage to transcend the sum of their parts,’ he says. ‘Sometimes the simplest things can be magic.’

Landon Metz’s recipe for cacio e pepe

Ingredients

200g spaghetti

freshly ground black pepper

a little butter or olive oil

50g very finely grated pecorino Romano

Method 

Cook the pasta, a little less than the recommended cooking time, in just enough water to cover it, until al dente. Siphon off around 100ml-150ml of the cooking water, then drain the rest. In a separate pan, over a low heat, toast some freshly ground black pepper in a little oil or butter. Add the drained pasta and 100ml cooking water to the pan, then sprinkle over the cheese and leave (don’t stir) for about 30 seconds. When the cheese has melted, toss together well to coat the pasta, adding a little more water if the sauce needs loosening. Serve sprinkled with more freshly ground black pepper.

In November 2023, Landon Metz will have a solo exhibition at von Bartha Gallery in Basel, Switzerland. landonmetz.com, waddingtoncustot.com

A version of this article appears in the March 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

Chester House by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects lies nestled in wooded land outside its namesake oceanside village in Nova Scotia. This Canadian country home, created for a client currently living in Seattle, USA, was designed as an exercise in simplicity. ‘[I would like] a straightforward home that feels good,' the client explained during their brief – and the team, led by respected architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, obliged, composing a residence embracing minimalist architecture that feels modest and functional, but also packs quite a punch in architectural artistry. 

Chester House: a minimalist Canadian country home

The home's minimalist form echoes the archetypal outline of a house. It features a cedar platform – a porch that doubles as an elegant outdoor room for the owner.

The gable-roofed building also includes external cladding made of two-inch matchbook cedar shiplap. ‘[This is] a construction technique used for centuries to build Nova Scotian boats, also applied to vernacular housing,' the architects explain. 

The exterior's minimalist approach continues inside. The design is simple yet sophisticated, uses a handful of materials (namely timber and concrete) but also expresses a richness in spatial quality accentuated by carefully calculated double-height spaces and strategic openings.

This orchestration of light and volume offers a spectacular generosity of space in the interior, which spans four levels, but is mostly composed of a couple of tall communal rooms and some more intimate, private areas. 

A neutral colour palette, clean surfaces and sparse furnishings direct the eye to the long-framed views of nature outside. 'Clare [the client] enjoys watching the light and shadows sweep across the monochromatic surfaces. Nature pervades through large windows, creating a dialogue between landscape and form that invites calm and contemplation,' the architects conclude.

mlsarchitects.ca

Emerging architect Saba Ghorbanalinejad and her studio’s minimalist extension to this Nanterre house represent France in the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022, our annual list of exciting emerging practices from across the globe.

Who: Saba Ghorbanalinejad

Saba Ghorbanalinejad’s practice embodies her appreciation for ‘things that are on the verge between beautiful and ugly, poetic and aggressive’, resulting in delicate designs and unassuming, pared-down minimalist architecture. Ghorbanalinejad set up her Paris-based studio after years of working in Paris and London as well as participating in collaborations across the US, France and the UK. Her designs are often defined by their simplicity. Another of the architect’s key fascinations is material impact, as the studio aims to expand its knowledge and capacity on the subject, collating a network of interior designers, creatives and craftspeople in order to provide the most fitting and refined skills for each project. 

In her work, old and new blend seamlessly, creating spaces where historical bold stone fireplaces and grand columns are celebrated through the crisp simplicity of the surrounding decor. Her minimalism establishes a sense of character through the use of tiny accents of colour, and gestures such as mirrored doors or gently curved walls. All elements come together to demonstrate the thought behind her well-balanced spaces, such as a home extension in Nanterre (pictured). 

What: Nanterre extension

Tasked with adding a 20 sq m ground floor extension to a recently renovated three-floor home in Nanterre, Ghorbanalinejad’s studio created a soft, minimalist space brimming with light and personality. Aiming to keep construction times to a minimum, the architect crafted the extension to the existing building without doing any structural work on the original house. In doing this, wires and pipes were left in place and clever bespoke joinery now artfully hides these elements of the building’s original infrastructure. A box sitting under a skylight, for example, adds nook-style seating and storage to maximise the room’s potential. Meanwhile, a nearby timber partition showcases Ghorbanalinejad's craft- and simplicity-driven style. 

Gentle colour tones throughout complement the original light grey concrete of the outside patio, and a matching concrete finish on the interior flooring creates continuity between new and existing elements. The angled top edge of another joinery element showcases Ghorbanalinejad’s attention to detail and skill in granting personality to each detail within a space. Perhaps this home’s most prominent feature is its visual exposure to the elements. The glass ceiling, with a wide bench beneath, offers a chance to stare up at the sky no matter the weather; while large sliding glass doors span the extension’s width, allowing the space to open to a natural breeze, and welcoming natural light throughout the day. 

Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022

Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 22nd edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.

INFORMATION

sabaghorbanalinejad.com

Emerging London architecture practice and 2021 Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory alumnus O'Sullivan Skoufoglou has just completed Kensington Place, a meticulous and masterful renovation and extension of an existing property in west London. The house, a family home for a pair of art lovers, represents not only a comfortable and functional Kensington interior; it is also a masterclass in balancing domestic warmth, function and Nordic minimalism. 

The project, a mid-19th century Victorian terraced house within a conservation area, was a brief from a family who had lived there since the 1970s – but now, with grown children who had fled the nest, wanted to readdress their home's arrangement and interiors to suit their changing needs and circumstances. Unifying the lower-ground level, which felt fragmented, defined by a low ceiling, and redesigning its existing conservatory, were key parts of the commissioning programme, explain the architects, who looked at creating ‘open, liveable spaces connected to the once-forgotten courtyard space at the rear'.

The team, led by firm co-founders Jody O'Sullivan and Amalia Skoufoglou, got to work, crafting an interior wrapped in warm wood in soft tones and clean surfaces that foster serenity and an overall uncluttered feel. An attitude that nods to Nordic minimalism is reinforced by natural wood throughout and luscious flooring in generous Douglas fir planks. 

At the same time, the rear was completely reimagined into a pink-hued garden pavilion. ‘The new rear wall has one large opening to allow the utmost light into the space and to enhance the conversation with the intimate garden. Its materiality, red porphyry stone and custom-made iroko sliding timber frames, was considered with attention and careful evaluation to its context, envisioned to be sympathetic with the historic fabric yet durable,' the architects say. 

The new aesthetic approach is supported by careful fine-tuning of the home's functionality too – with new ventilation techniques, enhanced natural lighting throughout and a reinvented layout that separates public and private areas smartly across floors – helping to transform this home into a thoroughly refreshed, 21st-century Kensington interior. 

INFORMATION

osullivanskoufoglou.com

The devil is clearly in the details for Josh Sperling. The American artist and former studio assistant of Kaws, is currently being cast in the spotlight at Perrotin New York. Known for his exacting approach to colour – his studio has developed over 1,200 proprietary blends of paint – Sperling’s new show, ‘Daydream’, features new composite works, minimalist monochrome pieces and large-scale squiggle installations, that together take over all three floors of the gallery’s Lower East Side spaces. 

In this expansive showing of work – his largest to date – Sperling presents a return to signature motifs while simultaneously unveiling a new series that furthers his deep-dive exploration into materiality, colour and form. As much influenced by the minimalists of the 1960s, like Sol Lewitt and Ellsworth Kelly, as the maximalism of the Memphis movement, each of Sperling’s creations is both clashing and harmonious, and invites viewers to look closer.

‘Each floor [reflects] a different section of my practice,’ says Sperling, who worked for Kaws for five years and credits him as a mentor. ‘The first floor holds the more geometric, more minimal monochrome works. The second floor is a full squiggle installation room along with some new square pieces that are quite Josef Albers-esque, and then the third floor contains the composites, which are the more collaged pieces.’

Hailing from Oneonta, New York, Sterling comes from three generations of traditional furniture makers before him, and functional design is a foundation of his practice. Design traditions inform the way he creates, be it Shaker furniture or Memphis-era graphic design and architecture. All of his work is underpinned by complex networks of handmade armatures that enable his paintings to break through the picture plane. Plywood forms have been cut out on a CNC machine and layered flat on top of each other to create a topographic map, which Sperling then stretches canvas over to imbue each shape with a bevelled, faceted effect.

While Sperling’s squiggle works incorporate forms that are ‘very free and gestural in movement’, the more minimal pieces – a single swirl or an interlocking configuration of bubble-like forms – are ‘generally more mathematical in thinking’. While the collage-style composite works have previously tended to be more rigid and geometric, Sperling says that for ‘this show, the composites originated from more gestural, one-line drawings that were started on paper then brought onto the computer’.

Equal parts organic and considered, Sperling’s process is largely guided by intuition. He says, ‘I start off drawing on paper or directly on the computer with a big drawing pad. Everything is designed in black and white lines, with no relation to colour, and then after that’s done, the pieces get cut out with the CNC machine and stretched and then I’ll hand paint a little paper version of [each] to figure out the colours beforehand. I don’t do any colour on the computer, it’s very form-driven at first. After I see the forms, they reveal colours to me. One shape’s feeling could be more intense, so I’ll make it a more warm, hotter, redder colour, while another form could feel very soothing and so a pale blue or something might suit it better. I really have no idea until I put it down on paper and see it with my eyes what’s going to work.’

INFORMATION

Josh Sperling, ’Daydream’, until 11 June 2022, Perrotin New York. perrotin.com

Pioneering American visual artist, writer and curator Dan Graham has died in New York City aged 79. Through cognitive and visual experiences, his art occupied an in-between, fluid and hybrid space, cloaking complex theories in a veil of simplicity. 

Throughout his 50-year career, Graham moved seamlessly between photography, architecture, sculpture, filmmaking and live performance, alongside critical and speculative writing that spanned everything from rock music reviews to astrology and art theory essays.  He was best known for his ‘pavilions’ – hybrid structures blending sculpture and architecture – theatres of perception that toyed with illusion and geometry, casting viewers as both spectators and protagonists.  

Considered one of the pioneers of conceptual art (though a term he recently disavowed) he broke rules, re-wrote conventions and imagined an art beyond the white-walled, cubic confines of the gallery.

Graham began his career in art as a gallery director at New York’s John Daniels Gallery, exhibiting the work of minimalist legends such as Carl André, Donald Judd, Robert Smithson, Dan Flavin and Sol LeWitt (including the latter’s first solo gallery show). 

In 1965, Graham’s attention shifted to his own conceptual and post-conceptual art ideas. His initial breakthrough work was Homes for America (1966–67), a magazine-style photograph-text composition based on a cheap 1960s suburban housing development in New Jersey. Graham used conceptual satire to portray these characterless housing grids – built on a promise of desirability and positive social reform – as alienating and soulless variations on a theme of monotony. 

Though working in a minimalist tradition, Homes for America critiqued a certain kind of minimalism, one where repetition was never interrupted, and mass production rendered craftsmanship and design obsolete. As Graham told the Brooklyn Rail in a 2012 interview: ‘There was this whole idea of defeating monetary value in the air in the ’60s, so my idea was to put things in magazine pages where they’d be disposable with no value. And that was a hybrid also because the work was a combination of art criticism and essay: magazine page as an artwork.’

In the 1970s, Graham’s focus turned to the architectural installations for which he is best known. These ‘pavilions’, geometrically-configured structures involving two-way mirrors, steel and glass, served as environmental ‘punctuation marks’, diversions from the expected rhythm of urban life, a moment of pause, and crucially, an invitation for viewers to spectate but also inhabit. 

These walk-in structures create feelings of instability on solid ground. They watch, reflect and ensnare those who enter in a disorientating combination of self-reflection, self-awareness, self-absorption. Viewers, or participants, find their bodies warped, dislocated, or merged with other bodies – trippy, unsettling and sense-stretching, they’re about observing and being observed. 

Holding a mirror up to modernity, Graham’s practice explored consumerism, the philosophy of surveillance and the psychology of space. His legacy is an art that made you see yourself, and your surroundings, a little differently. 

Notable pavilion works include Public Space/Two Audiences (created for the 1976 Venice Biennale), Two Way Mirror with Hedge Labyrinth (1989), and Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout (2014) created on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with landscape architect Günther Vogt. 

Graham’s key exhibitions included solo shows at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin(2006), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA (2009); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2014). He also participated in dOCUMENTA 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 (1972, 1977, 1982, 1992, 1997) and showed work at the Venice Biennale (1976, 2003, 2005).

Havana-born American artist Carmen Herrera, a pioneer of 20th-century abstract painting, has died aged 106. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday 13 February 2022 at her apartment and studio in New York, where she had lived and worked since 1967. Her death was announced by Lisson Gallery, which has represented her since 2010.

Herrera developed a keen interest in painting while studying architecture at Universidad de La Habana, Cuba, in 1938. During this time, she met the love of her life, the American professor Jesse Loewenthal, and together they moved to New York in 1939 where Herrera enrolled at the Arts Students League and further developed her painting practice. The artist frequently travelled to Paris, and became an active member of the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles; she took part in a series of exhibitions alongside Max Bill and Piet Mondrian, among other key figures of the Suprematism movement. 

Herrera’s earlier work was refined and abstract, characterised by a restrained approach: ‘I began a life-long process of purification, a process of taking away what isn’t essential’, she would later say, reminiscing on work created in her post-war years in Paris. There, she would produce some of her most iconic works, including Green Garden (1950), a striking piece evocative of tropical vegetation and landscapes. Later on, many stylistic comparisons were drawn between Herrera and Ellsworth Kelly, who was also developing his practice in post-war Paris. 

In 1954, Herrera relocated permanently to New York. While undoubtedly an icon of abstraction, Herrera was overlooked for much of her career, particularly in relation to her male contemporaries. Her friends Barnett Newman and Leon Polk Smith were fervent advocates of her work, but the art critics at the time were not; Herrera would have to wait decades before her due recognition. 

Despite this, Herrera persevered. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, she explored the gravity of shapes and colours and worked towards the production of Blanco y Verde (1959–1971), a series of 15 paintings that would go on to form one of her most significant bodies of work. This 12-year project was characterised by sharp, emerald-hued triangles painted on white canvases, with edges coated in the same colour – an innovative approach that allowed viewers to perceive the work as both a painting and a three-dimensional structure. This early experimentation with sculpture would eventually lead to the Estructura series comprising monochrome paintings on heavy chunks of wood. 

While minimal, Herrera’s work is layered in complex, often deeply personal associations. But her work also harbours a universality, inviting viewers to use their imagination, and establish their own opinions and perspectives. 

Closely aligned with Latin American conceptual painting, the oeuvre of Carmen Herrera has initiated, quietly but steadily, a dialogue within the global history of modernist abstraction. 

In 2017, Herrera’s work was the subject of a substantial solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The show, ‘Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight’, curated by Dana Miller consisted of a series of paintings and installations putting the spotlight on 1948–1978, a seminal period in the artist’s career. Herrera also had important retrospectives at the Alternative Museum (1984) and El Museo del Barrio (1998) in New York, as well as at Ikon in Birmingham, UK (2009), curated by Nigel Prince. Herrera also inaugurated Lisson’s first New York gallery in May 2016, with an exhibition of works all made in her 100th year.

Your body appears on a series of screens lining the walls. You’re in motion, grainy, and caught on camera from several angles. But what camera? 

In the centre of the space, two glowing, 3D-printed light bulbs swing from the ceiling like pendulums or a deconstructed Newton’s cradle. They skim pools of water, one dyed black, the other white. During the exhibition run, splashes from the bulbs will create a small exchange of liquid between pools, meaning that neither will remain black nor white.

We still don’t know where the camera is hidden, but we do know that this is Swinging Gray (2021) a kinetic video installation by Chinese artist Wang Gongxin as part of ‘In Between’ at White Cube Mason’s Yard, London.

It’s a show that examines dualities: East and West, artificial and natural, individual and collective, spectator and spectated, and crucially, the often intangible space in the middle of these poles. 

As a student, the Beijing-born artist trained in the modelling techniques of the Soviet School and used Socialist Realist techniques to imitate the Neo-Realist styles of the West. He was also inspired by 1960s minimalist sculpture and Japanese architect Kurokawa Kisho’s concept of ‘grey space’. In his London art exhibition, he expands on the core thesis of Japanese writer Tanizaki Junichiro’s 1933 essay In Praise of Shadows. In this influential text, the author argued that light is used differently in the East and West: Western cultures seek illumination and clarity; East Asian cultures embrace shadow and subtlety.

Wang has long probed the contrasts between his native China and the United States, and the dazzling, sometimes stifling complexity of living in a globalising world. Pieces such as Readable Scenery (2019) combine traditional Chinese landscape painting and Western conceptual art. 

‘After arriving in New York, as I hesitated to give up the two-dimensional plane, I experimented with partial abstraction, abstraction and minimalism, before eventually experimenting in three-dimensional installations of various materials,’ says Wang. ‘If there is gradual enlightenment here, could it perhaps be found in this gradual progression of my practice? If you ask what motivation or drive was behind it, I think that the work of the artist is driven by an obsession with creativity and pursuit of a complete spiritual world.’ 

Three wall-mounted marble panels bear words associated with landscapes, including ‘horizon’, ‘river’, and ‘farmland’. These are carved into the backs of the slabs, readable only when lit from behind. Attached to the marble are 3D-printed objects: ornate picture frames, more light bulbs and electrical cords and a bar of soap. There is also a row of real coat hangers located in the upper left-hand corner of a panel, a nod to Trap, Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 readymade which repurposes the same type of hanger.

Wang’s work, often black and white, but never straightforward, composes a dynamic interchange between the work’s movement and that of its viewer. When people are involved, tightly controlled elements are at risk of unexpected outcomes. The spectator sees the work, and is the work, as humanity sees the conundrum, and is the conundrum.

INFORMATION

Wang Gongxin: I’n-Between’ White Cube Mason’s Yard, until 26 February 2022. whitecube.com

We have always had a taste for minimalism here at Wallpaper* HQ, from architecture to design, fashion to beauty. So it’s no surprise that our interest was been piqued by a few new South Korean beauty brands with bold, sleek packaging that played right into our minimalist sensibilities. K-beauty might have skyrocketed to popularity with its ten-step regimes, but these brands prove the power of simplicity. 

RboW

Body care and fragrance brand RboW was founded by former contemporary gallery director Sohyung Kim as a way to combine her passion for art and fragrance. 

All the products come in packaging decorated with abstract drawings that express the mood of the scent inside. For instance the packaging of O.A.C, a woody floral scent, displays two circles to demonstrate the symmetry between its dual aspects. 

The artistic inspiration also applies to the scents themselves. Take, for instance, OooooF, a potent blend of ceder, musk, and vanilla that draws its inspiration from minimal art by combining a few elements to have a highly impactful result. 

rbowofficial.net

Tamburins

Designed by the minds behind Gentle Monster, Tamburins’ products feel more akin to a designer accessory or mini object d’art rather than, say, a hand sanitiser. 

Take, for instance, its signature hand cream, which comes on a gold chain, or its new The Shell hand cream, which is designed to be used as both a perfume and moisturiser. It comes in variety of curious scents, including Fear (a blend of ‘hard soil, grapefruit, and fresh air’) and Posy (‘rose bushes, patchouli, and wet soil’). 

We also recommend trying the brand’s signature Tiger Leaf masks in the morning before make-up application. They quickly hydrate the skin without making it greasy, making them a perfect primer for foundation or tinted moisturiser. 

tamburins.com

Nonfiction

Nonfiction’s efficacious and easy to use product line is designed for the realities of everyday life. Body odour, dry hands, snd chapped lips are all alleviated by the brand’s coolly packaged products. 

We recommend trying the Santal fragrance if you’re a fan of the Le Labo classic, but would rather wear something a bit less ubiquitous. The Vegan Lip Balm is an ideal addition to any handbag as winter starts to settle in. And the Hand & Lip Care Trio with soap, lotion, and lip balm makes an elegantly packaged gift to please anyone.

nonfiction-beauty.com

Located on the city's coveted ‘Golden Mile', a stretch of seafront chock full of aspirational architecture and a cool, urban vibe, this Tel Aviv apartment lacks not in striking wide vistas that bring together modern design and the calming, blue waters of the Mediterranean. Featuring a contemporary apartment interior design created by architect Alex Meitlis, this family home also has plenty to offer when it comes to internal views too. The concept bridges classic minimalism, where a pared-down decor allows the eye and mind to rest, and a dash of glamour, through its refined material palette, art and furniture selection. 

Meitlis, who is currently based between London and Tel Aviv, but grew up in the latter and has strong, first-hand experience of the Israeli city's bright light and seafront views, drew on its natural surroundings and Mediterranean tones for his design. Light colours, reflective surfaces and large windows that open up to long and wide views were crucial in his concept. At the same time, the architect added a ‘cinematic quality', aiming to create a space the evolves during the course of the day and is dynamic as light and shade travel across the interior. 

There are shimmering white marble floors, white plaster walls and a handful of brass panelled surfaces that turn golden when the sun hits them. This movement and energy is balanced by the calmness brought about by the sleek, crisp white surfaces, minimalist approach in shapes, colours and decor, and an overall highlighly refined detailing and atmosphere. Meanwhile, black marble bathrooms contrast the openness and lightness of the living spaces, cocooning the user. 

Carefully chosen furniture such as the Eames dining chairs and an Italian midcentury lamp in the dining room, are complemented by specially made pieces, making this a truly bespoke and highly crafted piece of interior design.

Located high in the 28-storey The David Promenade Residences tower, this Tel Aviv apartment is a sculptural and dynamic piece of interior architecture, its clever, high-end design enhancing its impressive setting and signature seafront views.

INFORMATION

alexmeitlis.com

Over the last 60 years, Michael Craig-Martin has documented the evolution of objects that have defined our lives. The Irish-born artist, who has just turned 80, will soon unveil his first solo exhibition The Netherlands at Reflex Amsterdam, turning his attention to the most recent additions to our visual vocabulary. 

The Dublin-born artist spent his formative years in the US. He moved to London in the 1960s and began taking the conceptual art world by storm with his majestic take on the mundane. As a tutor at Goldsmiths in the 1980s, he had a searing influence on the then-fledgling Young British Artists, including Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas, and Damien Hirst. 

In the 1990s, the artist pivoted to painting, but his powder-coated steel sculptures – bold-coloured, linear structures that appear like drawings in mid-air – remain an instantly recognisable facet of his work. Fountain Pen (2019), recently installed outside the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, imbues an object synonymous with function with a sense of regal grandeur.

‘All Things Considered’ at Reflex Amsterdam features paintings from the last six years alongside new works. Mostly in 2020, these works emphasise our new over-familiarity with our domestic spaces and the intimacy of household consumer objects. Among his subjects are a bunch of blue bananas, an Apple Watch, and a coffee cup, all reduced to bold, minimal, exacting lines and reimagined in all-consuming planes of colour. 

‘I am always looking for new things to draw and several objects quickly took on a new importance: masks, bottles of sanitising gel, and our laptops’, says Craig-Martin, who created the majority of these new works in 2020. ‘Those objects, but especially the mask, will, in future, immediately recall these times for all who lived through them.’

The paintings are not rendered on canvas, as one might readily assume, but aluminium. ‘There are many attractions about canvas, but for my work, aluminium makes obvious sense. My paintings are made using tape and small rollers, both of which require a surface that resists (which canvas does not do)', he explains. ‘Painting on aluminium allows me to see exactly what I am doing and work directly.’

‘The paintings always start with drawings. I make drawings of individual objects directly on the computer with the mouse. I never make one of these drawings with a particular work in mind. I simply add it to my now vast compendium of such images for possible future use,’ he says. ‘Because of the precise nature of my work, changes when painting are difficult and sometimes impossible. The spontaneity in their creation takes place in the planning which again is all done on the computer. It is a wonderfully flexible tool.’

This bold replication of the ‘things’ that accompany our newly-altered world feels profound; yet the exhibition title, ‘All Things Considered’ feels optimistic. Craig-Martin has turned objects of necessity, banality and consumer culture into luscious, candy-coloured objects of desire.

INFORMATION

Michael Craig-Martin, ’All Things Considered’, 2 October - 15 December 2021, Reflex Amsterdam. reflexamsterdam.com

ADDRESS

Weteringschans 79A
1017 RX Amsterdam

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The reimagining of an old rectory building by the former St Martin Orgar church in the City of London has resulted in a London office redesign infused with warm, fun minimalism, elevated by a series of playful design details and additions, courtesy of Mary Duggan Architects. The project, fittingly named The Old Rectory and created for developers HGG London, involved the reimagining of the existing 1851-53 Grade II-listed building by architect John Davies into modern office architecture that is not only fit for the 21st century – this London office redesign also resonates with current trends about bridging home and workspace. 

Given the original structure's listed status, Duggan and her team worked with heritage consultants Purcell to uncover the 19th-century building, which was ‘essentially a domestic space’, the architect explains. While retaining this domestic feel, the team opened up the interior, careful to maintain period details on the historic first three levels. A new-build fourth level, added more recently, was renovated, offering a contemporary reintepretation of the older sections' atmosphere. 

The dialogue between old and new is established through a series of gestures that echo The Old Rectory's period character through contemporary, abstract, sculptural shapes throughout the building. There is air handling infrastructure hidden within leaning furniture pieces mimicking Victorian dressers; bay lobbies that nod to the historical bay windows; and an old timber staircase that transforms into a new, steel version of itself on the upper floor. Also, the original tower room was reinstated, celebrating its existing clock mechanism. 

Duggan's approach resonated with HGG director, Dicle Guntas. ‘Although the building was previously used as an office, it was originally a residential building,’ says Guntas. ‘I thought this was an interesting dynamic that should be emphasised. I was interested in creating a space that celebrates the original features of the building, such as the bell tower and the clock mechanism, while adding contemporary ones through a series of thoughtful interventions.'

Adopting a unifying material palette of wood, brick and off-white plaster walls, the resulting architecture feels soft and delicate, creating a home-like interior that is friendly, intimate and refreshingly pared down. There is honesty in the design when it comes to defining what is old and what is new (no reconstructed historic ceiling mouldings here) – and at the same time, there is an element of fun, a subtle tongue-in-cheek approach that adds an unexpected twist to this, seemingly fairly conventional, redesign. 

‘We are mimicking a piece of history,' says Duggan. ‘We wanted a unifying approach.'

Guntas agrees: ‘When someone enters the building, they don’t only see a modern office space but also they can trace the historical features and the past stories. I find this unexpected for a commercial space.'

INFORMATION

marydugganarchitects.com

hgglondon.co.uk

A new-build Surrey home, in Claygate, takes its cues from its surrounding Arts & Crafts built environment, in the latest project by Alexander Martin Architects. The house design replaces a smaller, 1920s structure sitting in a generous site, and offers an abstracted reinterpretation of the Arts & Crafts aesthetic. The result is a warm, contemporary home that bridges a historical approach and minimalist architecture styles of the 21st century. 

Doing something different was a condition right from the start in this commission – as was a commitment to create a functional home fit for daily family life. ‘Our client was clear from the outset that they didn’t want a run-of-the-mill house and that they were prepared to do something bold in the suburbs,’ says the London architecture studio’s founder, Alexander Martin. ‘However, the design and materials have all been carefully orchestrated to create a series of spaces that best serve the needs of the family while still maintaining an elegant appearance.'

The materials chosen for the architectural composition fit the clean, pared-down aesthetic the design team was aiming for. But they are also simple, robust materials that feel hard-wearing and not too precious. Concrete floors, a blackened steel staircase, and black veneered joinery make for a minimalist, monochrome palette.

Meanwhile, the use of quick-to-install, prefabricated and practical, structurally insulated CLT panels ensured minimum time was spend on construction on site. This resulted in minimum waste and disruption for neighbours during the building works. An air-source heat pump helps with sustainable heating. 

In a relatively typical layout arrangement, the ground level contains an array of generous living spaces, while bedrooms and bathrooms are located upstairs. Everything is wrapped in a pale buff brick shell arranged in two pitched volumes joined by a smaller, flat roof section. While the outline nods to the surrounding houses’ shapes, the colour and detailing clearly mark the property out as a 21st century construction – one that is at home in its residential setting, while also thriving in its confident, contemporary attitude.

INFORMATION

amarchitects.co.uk

This fine Armadale house, in the inner-city Melbourne suburb, represents the perfect balance between interiors and architecture, minimalism and subtle glamour. The house was created as a collaboration between two acclaimed Australian design studios: Conrad Architects, which is behind the overall architecture; and Mim Design, which masterminded the interior. The result is Armadale Residence, a family home crafted with streamlined poise and timeless, quality materials. 

‘The project is driven by a shared reverence for timeless design, tactile materials and quality, addressing the client’s brief for an elegant and comfortable home of generous proportions, befitting its prestigious location,’ explain the team.

The architects responded to the brief by composing a design that draws on grand, classical proportions and plays with open and opaque surfaces that lend an elegant rhythm to the façades. The frontage’s colonnade is a key example, made of limestone and offering not only a visually powerful grid that accentuates verticality and defines the house's overall look, but also cleverly creates space for a series of details, such as bronze French doors, balustrades, planter boxes, and louvred screens.

Inside, a prevailing sense of calm and pared-down luxury dominates. The designers worked with clean lines and surfaces, softened by fabrics (such as the ethereal curtains throughout) and key features (such as the sculputral, curved staircase) to manage open-plan areas, with zones defined by graphic elements, such as partitions and joinery. 

‘The residence is defined by a linear circulation spine directly linking the front and rear and affording separation between public and private zones. The open kitchen, living and dining areas unfurl as light-filled and luxurious spaces for living, presenting framed views to a manicured garden,’ say the interiors team. Chevron timber flooring, polished plaster walls, cloudy Versilia marble, rich timber joinery and gunmetal tapware make up the material palette inside. The outdoor space and planting was conceived by Paul Bangay Garden Design.

The carefully woven together and perfectly orchestrated architecture and interiors in Armadale Residence by Conrad Architecture and Mim Design ensure the home feels majestic and refined, but at the same time is warm and comfortable, fit for everyday family life.

INFORMATION

conradarchitects.com

mimdesign.com.au

A minimalist aesthetic of clean surfaces and neutral, light colours blends with red accents in this Chinese house in Xinxi Town. The project, a new-build family residence in the heart of the city’s Zhongsanhe Village, a bustling area that retains a traditional feel, is the brainchild of Chinese practice AD Architecture. Named Red Box, the house is a geometric composition that resembles an architectural Tetris game from the outside, while revealing a haven of calm inside. 

Combining red split bricks and white matt tiles, the house features an eye-catching façade that cuts a clean, contemporary figure among its neighbours. Spanning seven floors, the residence also includes retail on the ground floor and a commercial space above this. The home occupies the composition’s upper levels, enjoying long views of the cityscape.

Inside, the sense of serenity and domestic calm is underlined by the use of cool, natural materials in neutral colour tones. There is a white marble floor in the living room and dining area, while the bedrooms and family room are clad in milky-white paint and wood veneers that add warmth to the whole. Meanwhile, red accents in the bespoke kitchen cabinetry and among the furniture – such as the distinctive sofas in the living space – subtly echo the exterior red brick wall.  

Part of the architects’ goal was to create something that feels entirely tailormade to the residents’ needs, instead of mimicking surrounding architecture. AD Architecture’s chief designer Xie Peihe, a local to Xinxi Town, felt the need to challenge the local norm. ‘[I wanted] to explore new possibilities of connecting the present and the future,’ he says, ‘breaking and redefining the status quo, while retaining the intimate relationship between people and architecture.

‘[Eventually, the design] may not represent a sea change, but it does make a difference to the residents’ lives,’ he adds. ‘And it is a process I enjoy.

INFORMATION

arch-ad.com

Tattoos are art, believes the creator of new tattoo studio 6:19, which is why she has fashioned the space to look like a minimalist gallery. 

Located in Kyiv’s historic Podil neighborhood, 6:19 is the brainchild of painter and tattoo artist Ulyana Nesheva, best known for her delicate tattoo designs rendered in ultra-fine lines.

The minimalist aesthetic of Nesheva’s designs is reflected in the sparsity of 6:19’s interiors. ‘The idea was to rethink the vision of a tattoo studio in our country and create an ideal space for creativity,’ she says.

The studio design takes the ‘white cube’ format of art galleries and animates it with an open-plan layout that allows artists to tattoo alongside tables made for drawing new designs, and community members to meet and share ideas. 

There are almost no doors in the space and all the halls are unified to encourage movement around every area of the studio. In the centre of the studio is a mammoth, 800lb graphite concrete table with one side beaten down by hand, in a nod to the etching of ink onto skin during the process of tattooing. 

The table acts a reception area and a work surface for artists to design their future tattoos. The tattoo hall, filled with natural light and home to minimalist black beds, lies beyond the table and is visible through a large hole in the wall. 

It was important to Nesheva that even element of 6:19’s design was a work of art – from a hanging ceiling fixture created by the Ukrainian design company Propro, to the Mart Stam chairs, and the sculpture of a young boy that greets visitors as they walk through the entrance, made by local artist Сhristina Ridzel.  

The space is a gallery and studio in one, with art constantly on display and constantly in the process of being made. While all of the design fixtures and tattoos created at 6:19 are unique, they are ultimately united by their minimalist aesthetic. 

‘The concept of the studio is also that all our artists, despite the diversity of their styles and colours, are united by an exploration of minimalism,’ says Nesheva. ‘Simplicity is the ultimate goal and the highest form of complexity.’

INFORMATION

instagram.com/619studio

Central London is chock-full of iconic architecture, but few buildings represent brutalist architecture better than the iconic Smithson Tower – previously known as the Economist Building – which was designed in the early 1960s by Alison and Peter Smithson. Now, this piece of Grade II* listed modernist architecture includes a brand new warm and minimalist office interior, courtesy of ConForm Architects. 

Sat on the high rise’s 11th floor and occupied by a financial client, the workspace is sleek and contemporary but at the same time, the minimalist architecture feels homely and inviting, creating a comfortable, almost domestic working environment. The open floorplan adds to the steamlined look and directs the gaze towards the long views of the London skyline afforded by the windows. ‘The design responds to the contemporary move towards designing offices that are collaborative rather than cellular,’ explain the architects. 

The sharp surfaces and pared-down decor work well with the building’s distinctive octagonal layout (with circulation at the core). The clean overall aesthetic is matched with the building’s existing shell and historical architecture; but the refining of technical elements was equally crucial in the interior redesign, the architects add. 

‘A major challenge to the scheme was incorporating and adapting the existing air conditioning and heating and cooling infrastructure. The Economist Building was the first building in the UK to have air conditioning and the historic system was geared around exclusively servicing the cellular perimeter offices. As the original circulation route correlated with that of the air ducting, the opportunity arose to accentuate this service zone by lowering the head height and lining the core with acoustic Kvadrat panels, providing a more intimate and contextual path circumnavigating the core.’

Working with both the needs of an all-mod-cons, contemporary office, and the Smithson Tower’s historical fabric, ConForm Architects used references, such as an early concept sketch design by the Smithsons, to perfect their design. As a result, the new minimalist office balances the tightrope between old and new, brutalism and abstraction, workspace and domesticity. 

INFORMATION

conformarchitects.com

The beautiful but historical frontage of a period building in Melbourne does not reveal the feast of geometries, concrete brutalist architecture and monochromatic minimalism that unfolds beyond it. This is Colonnade House, the dramatic reimagining of an existing family home, courtesy of local architecture and design studio Splinter Society.

‘Colonnade House emerged from a brief for a large family home that respected, but was distinctly different from, their existing federation home,’ say the architects (federation referring to the style of Australian homes built in the decades either side of 1900). An extension and the complete redesign of the existing space behind the historical front façade have done just that, marking a distinct departure from any period styles and declaring a clean, minimalist presence through a sharp geometric composition, which fully reveals itself on the rear elevation.  

Meanwhile, a concrete colonnade, which delineates the dining area inside and creates vertical views out towards the garden, lends the house its name. This distinctive feature runs through the side of the extension, adding sculptural architecture and textured surfaces among the owners' carefully placed art collection.

Inside, the architects created a sophisticated colour and material palette comprising shades of white and grey, and textures of concrete, poured in situ. The reimagining of the interior goes significantly beyond aesthetic adjustments. Dark, closed and disconnected rooms were opened up, views through areas and towards the outdoors were created or enhanced, and new and old were woven together artfully into a contemporary whole. 

The materials also help navigate the relationship between the old and new parts of the house, the architects explain: ‘In creating a dialogue with the elegant heritage home, the addition is a modern adaptation of its distinct original characteristics. Where the old is adorned with decorative details, the new contains a restrained, modern decorative grain of refined steel, timber, render and tile detailing.' 

Practical, but equally important updates to the historical structure include new insulation, double glazing throughout and strategically placed openings that encourage natural ventilation. An energy approach based on passive principles is bolstered through the use of solar hot water, water tanks and photovoltaic panels.

INFORMATION

splintersociety.com

Bartlett and AA-trained architect Tosin Oshinowo set up cmDesign Atelier (cmD+A) in Lagos in 2012 and has been exploring a design language that blends clean modernist architecture and Nigerian and African culture ever since. One of her newest private beach house designs, Fowóralé, is a contemporary minimalist escape that blends local and global. 

Who: Tosin Oshinowo, cmDesign Atelier

Working out of Lagos, Nigeria, cmDesign Atelier (cmD+A) is headed by architect Tosin Oshinowo. Founded in 2012, the architecture practice takes a site-specific approach, while blending Oshinowo's own experiences in Nigeria with her time in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. As a result, cmD+A is a laboratory of exploration for a design language that ‘asserts an identity', bringing together a contemporary sensibility with a very local, sensitive, site- and culture-specific approach. 

‘Today’s Nigerian society and culture is rooted in the consequence of colonisation and modernity,' says Oshinowo. ‘Our design language is influenced by this and manifests as minimalist modernism, while our space composition is culturally Nigerian/African. Where possible, we explore local materiality and technologies for use in a modern context.' 

The residential offering in the studio's growing portfolio is rich, ranging from new-build private homes and beach houses to retrofits. Contemporary villas such as the crisp white minimalism of Fowóralé, and the balanced, geometric frontage of 5 Four, a series of terraced houses (all in Lagos), are key examples. Meanwhile, the team also tackles retail, offices, urban interventions and masterplanning. ‘By first understanding our client’s specific needs, through design, we create contemporary solutions that are challenging and culturally relevant to the identity of architecture in the context of Nigeria and west Africa,' says the architect. 

What: Fowóralé house

The luxurious and picturesque Ilashe beach outside Lagos, is the green setting of this crisp, white minimalist villa by cmD+A. Tosin Oshinowo and her seven-strong team worked with the serene, natural environment to compose the house's design concept. This exclusive beach can only be accessed by water, making aggressive development in the area difficult, and allowing the natural environment to remain just that – pristine and untouched. The design seeks to reflect a sense of peace and connection with nature. 

‘Our intent in the design was to create horizontally and vertically framed views, showcasing the calm serene beach environment,’ says the architect. ‘The minimalist aesthetic draws your eye to the surroundings with the casuarina trees planted in a colonial area that have blended beautifully with the indigenous palm trees.'

Created as a private retreat, the beach house includes three bedrooms orientated east, towards the region's striking sunsets. Plenty of external areas, including decked terraces and pathways, and a swimming pool, allow the residents to experience an effortless indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Clean surfaces and volumes, white walls that reflect the sunlight, and a welcoming, open design with a discreet, low profile make for the perfect getaway. ‘The space between the two bedrooms lends itself as an opportunity for a feature art wall to showcase the diverse artistic creativity of the Lagos,' adds Oshinowo.

Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2021

Conceived in 2000 as our index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our magazine’s annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. The project has, over the years, spanned styles and continents, while always championing the best and most exciting young studios and showcasing inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni and counting, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 21st edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios, from Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the USA, and the UK, with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.

INFORMATION

cmdesign-atelier.com

The Turner Contemporary in Margate is one of the country's leading cultural destinations outside London, and now there's one more reason to visit the David Chipperfield Architects-designed, world-renowned centre for art – the launch of a brand-new minimalist shop interior, courtesy of London-based studio Daytrip. The retail architecture project marks ten years after the Margate seafront art hub's grand opening.

Invited by cultural consultancy The Seeking State, the design studio devised careful plans to refresh the Turner Contemporary's shop area, which sits right by the main entrance and next to the gallery spaces. Daytrip drew inspiration from Chipperfield's majestic, pared-down architectural approach, as well as the wider context. 

‘It was felt that the new renovation should not only relate to the architecture but should reflect JW Turner’s admiration for Margate, and the surrounding landscape and light qualities, as well as speak to the community and enhance a local narrative that is rich with creativity,' say Daytrip founders Iwan Halstead and Emily Potter.

The building's poetic minimalism is reflected in the shop's interior concept. A neutral colour palette and sleek, unfussy materials make up the internal envelope, while the large openings, with long views of the sea, remain a key protagonist in the space. The existing poured screed flooring, linear glazing and prominent ribbed concrete ceiling were taken as cues for the interior's new composition, internal arrangement and overall rhythm. 

A series of bespoke display tables, shelving and plinths are moveable around the space to provide flexibility. The uncluttered look feels calm and even ethereal, using soft, dappled grey veneer panels, metal frameworks in brushed stainless steel and rippled textured glass. A specially designed workbench that nods to a maker's workshop sits at the space’s heart – though everything can be rearranged as needs dictate. 

More humble materials in muted tones, including matt, white oiled oak (‘chosen for its sandy tonality and honest craftsmanship', explain the designers), grey Valchromat, and a lacquered wood fibre board set the mood that was conceived to celebrate Turner Contemporary's architecture and the seaside setting's colour and tones.

INFORMATION

daytrip.studio

Two years ago this terrace in Islington was a neglected four-storey building with the ground-floor living spaces made up of small, cellular rooms. And although the dilapidated Victorian house would require a host of interventions and a clear design vision, the double-aspect rooms, unusually large windows and the wide, west-facing garden immediately sold it to the current owners. They enlisted local architects Edwards Rensen to help them reorganise the internal spaces and transform the ground floor, creating sleek, minimalist interiors with a large open plan kitchen-living-dining area at their heart. This calming space connects directly to a lush, tropical garden space outside.

Key improvements have been made to the thermal efficiency of the house by upgrading all the single-glazed sash windows to double-glazed, enhancing its sustainability credentials. For further comfort, work was undertaken to insulate the ground floor and the roof. Energy efficiency also includes the installation of new low-energy lighting throughout, and a boiler system that responds to changes in outside temperature and significantly reduces gas consumption. 

Aesthetics were important in creating the right atmosphere, so a clean overall look and predominantly monochromatic surfaces were promoted throughout. The large-format tiles in the lower-ground floor were chosen not only for their beauty, but their non-slip quality and compatibility with the underfloor heating. The round columns provide structural support, but also help to divide zones, while a wall of glazed sliding panels provides the all-important link to the outdoor urban jungle.

The design of the new stairway accommodates a fire curtain, which slices through it to protect the main stair on the upper-ground floor – the escape route for all rooms above it. If any of the smoke alarms around the house, or the heat alarm in the kitchen, goes off, the fire curtain slides across the stair opening, closing the lower-ground floor off from the rest of the house.

The pared-down aesthetic of these minimalist interiors is cleverly matched with sustainable and smart interventions throughout, making this home a perfect balance of looks and functionality.

INFORMATION
edwards-rensen-architects.co.uk

This radical transformation of a late Victorian house in Hackney, elevates a standard period property into a modern home with an emphasis on minimalist architecture, light, use of materials and quality of space. The architecture studio behind it, East London based Dedraft, took on the challenge to redesign the building's interior and add an extension to the structure that was previously divided into two apartments. 

The clients – an investor and a singer – bought the property to create their dream family home, so the focus of the commission was not about ‘simply gaining more' in terms of square footage, stress the architects. The four level interior was therefore modernised and thoroughly rethought, highlighting a sense of space, natural light and design and material quality. 

The clients were keen on textured, tactile materials that feel natural and functional. Corten steel and exposed concrete were on their list, so the architects obliged. The new build extension now is fully clad in weathered steel, which wraps around large openings that flood the tall ceilinged spaces inside with sunlight. A sculptural cast-in-situ concrete staircase becomes a monolithic centrepiece of the extension's interior. 

‘To permit light across the floors internal openings were punched, enhancing the quality and volume of space, opening up spatial connections and directing the passage of natural light, inspired by the interiors of La Corbusier’s ‘La Roche House',' add the architects. 

Clever level adjustments and a sunken sun terrace create a pleasant, light-filled basement level, where the kitchen and a family room are located. Main living spaces (including a reception and formal dinning area) are placed on the raise ground floor, while the upper two levels house the bedrooms. 

The minimalist interior becomes a gently lit backdrop where the owners' art can be displayed. While a lush green garden space with a separate studio outbuilding to the rear ensures visual and physical connection with nature and the outdoors - even within the urban environment of East London. 

INFORMATION

dedraft.co.uk

Welcome to our womenswear masterclass in minimalist style. Top of our aesthetic agenda? The ultimate pieces for achieving 2021 wardrobe precision. Right now, we are not in need of a plethora of outfits but a capsule offering of hard-working, all-weather hits, in a host of timeless tones. We suggest classic items with a futuristic finesse, pieces rendered in glossy and tactile fabrications.

Take Hermès’ apron dress, which is embroidered in a graphic grid of horn and glossy lambskin – adornment with real architectural appeal. Tactility is the essential ambition of the French luxury maison’s womenswear creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, given how dispiritingly hands-off and touch sensitive we have become. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ dual design debut also has minimalist merit, offering a celebration of Prada’s signature nylon, seen in shoes and separates. Kitten heels with a curving comma heel are inspired by 1990s shapes and feature sharp toes and undulating rubber shell soles, placing them somewhere between smart and sportswear.

We’ll also be strapping ourselves into Prada’s high-shine, off-the-shoulder blouse, which, in a utilitarian twist, features a roomy chest pocket and seatbelt-inspired fastening. Wrapping up our minimalist melange is Salvatore Ferragamo’s trench coat, created from an innovative lightweight fabric formed from mohair bonded with calfskin. Creative director Paul Andrew was inspired by Hitchcock’s heroines, and this silhouette will suit your own sleek silver-screen moment.

A graphic accessory to pop on its shoulder? Kassl Editions’ oil-coated canvas bag is cut into a perfect circle. Puffed up like a pillow, it’s both sculptural and simple. 

INFORMATION

A version of this article originally appeared in the March 2021 issue of Wallpaper* (W*263)

The most envy-inducing geometric bags look good from all angles. We favour exacting aesthetics, as demonstrated in our guide to classic handbag brands, so for the upcoming season think pared-back shapes, clean lines and concise curves. Here we present the brands for mastering mathematical precision

S.Joon

Although UK-based S Joon founder Sahar Asvandi never intentionally aimed for unusual shapes, this is more often than not where she ends up. The bag brand’s playful references to everyday objects have resulted in styles that aren’t merely unconventional but innovative. ‘The Tulip came to life because I had been gifted flowers for my engagement and they happened to be on my kitchen table as I was sketching’, she says. ‘I take inspiration from so many things — the arts, sculpture, architecture, people... My designs are often born from moments of playing around with forms or from real-life experiences.’ Our personal favourite is pared-back Shopper, a reductionist blend of circular and rectangular forms, which will elevate any morning run for milk and the weekend papers. Writer: Josefin Forsberg

https://sjo.online

Little Liffner

There's an undulating ease behind Little Liffner's minimalist creations. The Scandinavian label, founded by former fashion PR Paulina Liffner von Sydow in 2012, suscribes to a sleek logo-subverting aesthetic that nods to architectural forms. Its sizeable ‘Open Tulip' tote bag draws on flowing organic shapes and fits into the curvature of the arm. Also look out for irregular cross-body bags, inspired by the shapes of pebbles and clutches bags which clasp with metal hardware, inspired by the structure of an oyster shell. Little Lifner's pieces are crafted in a small family-fun factory in the Florence region of Italy.

littleliffner.com

Neous

There's a sculptural sensibility inherent to the accessories label Neous, which has an equal affinity towards linear forms and curves. The Italy-made brand's sophomore bags collection celebrates elliptical forms and the power of circular space, and also references Barbara Hepworth's monolithic bronze sculpture Squares with Two Circles (1963). After months of barely using a bag, we're angling towards the brand's oversized Saturn Tote, a style formed from two pieces of two-tone or monochromatic leather that has XL credentials. There's a craft-centric, luxurious finish to the bag's knotted top handle, which can be slung over the shoulder for ease.

neous.co.uk

Studio Nicholson

After launching a shoulder bag in 2017 in collaboration with Ally Capellino, versatile British brand Studio Nicholson has released its own range of bags and small leather goods. ‘Nobody wants to have to change their bag throughout the day, and so our bags have been designed with clean lines, practical dimensions and luxurious branded hardware to allow just that,’ says the label’s founder Nick Wakeman. The collection features a duffle bag and a roomy two-handled tote, available in organically toned weatherproof Italian cotton and smooth leather. The tote nods to the pared-back nature of Japanese design, a long-standing influence for Wakeman. ‘I am a minimalist at heart and a lot of my designs are inspired by post-modern Japanese architecture,' she says. ‘My favourite architect is Tadao Ando.'

studionicholson.com

Chylak

Founder Zofia Chylak cut her teeth at Proenza Schouler before launching her Poland-based eponymous bag label in 2014. There’s a mathematical mindset behind her aesthetic, and Chylak’s collections are ordered chronologically according to number. Think classic, pared-back shapes with a vintage appeal, from the curving croissant shaped ’Saddle’ bag, to handbags with screen siren-worthy metal clasps. Each piece is stamped in gold with its serial number, and for those keen to buckle into the brand, it has also launched a range of crocodile-pattern belts, inspired by vintage styles from the 1970s and 1980s.

chylak.com

Venczel

Unusual angularity defines the Copenhagen-based accessories brand, which creates sculptural asymmetric bag shapes, accented with bold metal hardware and jangling chain straps. There’s a rebellion to the rigid and boldly hued styles, imagined in vivid neon green and buttery caramel, crafted from vegetal tanned leather, and bought into sharp focus when paired with feisty workwear. Founder Matilda Venczel also has a sustainability-focused outlook. She works with leather that is a byproduct from the meat industry.

venczel.co

Aesther Ekme

There’s a strict sensibility behind the bag designs of Copenhagen and Paris-based brand Aesther Ekme, founded by Brazil-born Stephane Park in 2016. The label aligns with the concept of ‘functional beauty’ and supple calfskin bag shapes are imagined in reduced forms. Aesther Ekme subverts fashion’s current penchant for branding, and its logo is rendered simply as three embossed dots. Its ‘Demi-Lune’ bag is a sleek interpretation of the bucket-bag silhouette, with an asymmetric strap that curves around the shoulder, while its ‘Hobo’ shoulder bag has a softly curving U-shape.

aestherekme.com

Khaore

Redrawing the lines between art and the ordinary has been the goal of the New York accessory label Khaore, since it started out in 2017. (It owes its refined logo to Natasha Jen and her team at Pentagram.) Founded by designers Wei Hung Chen and Raiheth Rawla, Khaore offers a collection of architectural handbags that elevates the mundane act of carrying your daily essentials around to the level of portable structures. Whether it’s the ‘Athaarah’ – a geometric top-handled beauty available in a variety of materials and finishes, or the ‘Kutchra’ – a clutch-tote hybrid that comes with elongated handles, each Khaore design embodies a versatile and multi-use sensibility. The bags are designed in New York and produced in India, Italy and the USA. 

khaore.com 

A touch of Scandinavian minimalist architecture has turned this compact flat in a typical Victorian terraced house in North London into a blissful haven of simplicity. Designed by emerging architecture practice Studio Hallett Ike, the project involved the one-bedroom apartment renovation for a private owner, including an extension towards the rear. 

Named ER Residence, the home now features two bedrooms and an open and bright living space at the front. The extension's English larch cladding was charred on site by hand to create a tactile, rich textural effect. ‘Doing this, rather than painting or staining, allows the texture and grain of the larch to feel very present, and to age and patina over time,' explain the studio founders Madeleine Ike and Jonty Hallett. This also helps the volume to feel natural and blend organically with the garden's foliage. 

Inside, neutral colours in light tones – predominantly in white and birch shades – compose a calming interior. This is enhanced by original floorboards, which were ‘retained and sanded to reveal the natural grain,' in the manner of Scandinavian minimalism. Stained Douglas Fir is used in various areas in the house, such as the kitchen cabinets and wall panelling, becoming a recurrent feature. Terrazzo in the kitchen and bathroom adds a discreet, playful note.

‘The overarching design approach was to carry out a small number of strong but simple moves that are consistently applied, sitting at the heart of every design consideration,' say the architects of the apartment renovation. ‘These come together to create an overall impression that is minimal and timeless, exuding an assured and understated elegance.'

INFORMATION

studiohallettike.co.uk

In 2011, minimalist fans with an eye for attention to detail mourned the hiatus of Jil Sander and Uniqlo’s two-year +J collaboration. Unsurprisingly, Wallpaper*s quality maniac-at-large Nick Vinson is a fan of +J, having invested in the collection's mother of pearl button-detail shirts 11 years ago. In celebration of the new men's and women's offering, which launches on 12 November and features timeless tailoring, shirting and sportswear silhouettes, Vinson discusses the tenets of contemporary design with Sander, covering sustainability, fabric research and the perfection of something well proportioned.

Nick Vinson: Why did you choose to return to Uniqlo after 10 or so years? 

Jil Sander: I still feel the need to design and Uniqlo was happy to have me back.

NV: How long has this new +J project been in development?

JS: Once we had clarified the vision and the conditions, the project got on its way at the beginning of 2020. Uniqlo’s original idea was a limited number of ‘best pieces'. But I convinced them to do a collection for women and men, albeit reduced, since the pandemic leads to especially careful calculations. Ironically, the development of the collection took relatively long, because I had to achieve quality and concentration without losing the message.

NV: Ten years on, your aesthetic is as relevant as ever, but design challenges today are decidedly different now. How have you incorporated sustainability into the design and development process.

JS: Sustainability is a foremost concern for me and my Japanese partners. Uniqlo only uses ECI cotton for example and RDS standard down. You find everything about Uniqlo’s wide-spread initiatives on its homepage.

NV: Developing this new collection in 2020, how has Covid-19 and our changing lifestyles affected the collection?

JS: Since the collection took shape in 2020, it reflects the overall mood. The volumes are generous yet fitted to define the body, the colours are understated, broken by energetic colour blocking. Fabrics range from doubleface, cashmere and wool to high-tech blends with standing power, responding to our intensified need to value, protect and celebrate life.

NV: Partnering with Uniqlo, how do you get to use quality materials and achieve perfection in detailing at democratic prices? 

JS: Uniqlo’s buying power, know-how and global distribution network made it possible to lower the production price. +J is a kind of shop window for Uniqlo to show what level of luxury the company can achieve. And I guess, it needed a quality maniac like me to translate that democratic vision piece by piece into a convincing collection.

NV: You have always developed your own fabrics and said the shape and overall look of a piece of clothing is, to a great extent, a function of the fabric. Tell me about one fabric in particular in this new collection that excites you the most.

JS: Yes, my creative process always starts with fabric development. It helps me in finding a sculptural form. This part of the process is always exciting to me. To give an example, we worked for months on blends of techno gabardine or cashmere wool to assure their standing power and smooth plasticity. 

NV: Why is texture a key part of the new product offer? 

JS: Distinctive textures have a three-dimensional presence. They are great for a sculptured silhouette. I have always preferred fabrics which unfold and move in space. But today, in a time where digital renderings have almost substituted analog fashion, underlining the spacial quality of design seems more important than ever.

NV: And why is proportion so essential?

JS: Fashion is always about new proportions, especially if they unfold in 3D space. They help to focus and define a person in a slightly idealized way. Distinct proportions convey a sculptural lightness, and yet, they ground the person.

NV: I bought your +J white shirts 11 years ago and I still wear them, they were built to last, and not a single one of the mother of pearl buttons has come off.  What is about your shirts that make them so covetable and why are they such an object of obsession? 

JS: Maybe, because I am obsessed with them myself, and very much with buttons. I try to reduce the shirt to its essentials. But there is always room for new fabrics and proportions, according to the moment in time. The eye is curious for cuts and details with a new freshness. 

NV:  A garment's longevity is not just about high quality materials and good construction. How does your vision of purism give garments their enduring appeal?

JS: I think that’s for you to say. But there may be one thing I can add. Sometimes the so-called classic design is praised against transient fashion. I wonder whether there can be classicism outside of the zeitgeist. That’s why I prefer to speak of purism. I try to capture the aesthetics of the moment, reduced to its essence.

Information

uniqlo.com/plusj/20fw

In 2004, when Akris' creative director Albert Kriemler visited Galerie Wilma Lock, in the Swiss brand’s picturesque home city, St Gallen, he came across ‘Face 50’, a 2003 artwork by German artist Imi Knoebel - a pioneer of multi disciplinary minimalist abstract art. The piece is part of a series of twelve works, formed from geometric layers of acrylic-topped plastic, which reflects an exploration of colour integral to the Düsseldorf-based artist's practice. ‘A Knoebel line, colour or form is instantly recognisable as its own,' Kriemler says of his affinity for the artist.

Kriemler and Knoebel didn’t meet until 13 years later, when in Vienna, Kriemler learnt of the artist’s colour workshop, where he mixes his one-of a-kind hues from over 700 colour swatches, which are pinned according to tone on its walls. ‘I was always fascinated by the way Knoebel dares to develop new hues,' Kriemler says. ‘He shares Matisse's desire to “make colour sing” or as I would rephrase it: He lets colour shine.'

Optimistic colours have had particular presence on the S/S 2021 catwalks. Brands including Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s and Christopher Kane have celebrated vibrant painterly hues, in a fashion proposition that works to channel positivity. ‘Colour is everything to me, this season more than ever before,’ Kriemler says of the inspiration behind Akris’ S/S 2021 collection – which in a collaboration with Knoebel - celebrates the artist’s artistic forms and flourishes. Each season, Kriemler takes on the role of not just creative director, but also curator, collaborating with a host of artists, textile designers and architects, including Geta Brătescu, Carmen Herrera, Sou Fujimoto and Thomas Ruff. Last season, Kriemler presented his A/W 2020 collection inside the museum of modern art in Paris, lined with huge artworks by Robert Delaunay, Georges Braque and Pierre Chareau, which inspired his graphic orphist-centric offering. This season – in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions – Akris opted to present its collection as a digital film, directed by Anton Corbijn.

Kriemler met Knoebel in his studio in 2019 to discuss their collaboration, but it wasn’t until May 2020 that he was able to physically travel to see him again. ‘Before then, we continued to share our thoughts and ideas over the phone and screen,' Kriemler explains. ‘When we did meet, I showed him the fabrics we'd developed in person.'

The collection is interwoven with elements of Knoebel's oeuvre – in bold and luminescent colours and with cut-out details and graphic patchwork appliqué evoking his spliced ‘knife-cuts' technique, and layered experimentations with aluminium, acrylic and paper. A streamlined silk stretch knit dress tessellated with spliced shapes in red, blue and yellow, nods to Knoebel’s cut-and-pasted ‘Rot Gelb Blau - 54 Messerschnitte’ (1979), while a billowing kaftan evokes the geometric lines of ‘Blue Angel' (1999). Elsewhere, graphic prints and tulle inserts on tops, metal buttons on double-breasted jackets and leather embellishments on bags evoke Knoebel’s experiments with jagged acrylic and wood cut-outs. 

When Kriemler and Knoebel had the opportunity to meet earlier this year, they discussed two pieces in particular - ‘Raum 19’ (1968), a modular sculptural installation formed from 77 pieces of raw spruce and square and cylindrical Masonite boxes, and ‘Batterie’ (2005), a cube of aluminium panels painted with a phosphorescent substance. A later version of the first artwork, titled ‘Raum 19 III' (2006) has been exhibited alongside Batterie, and the two artworks charge each other. 

Fluorescent pieces in Akris’ S/S 2021 collection nod to this collaborative phenomenon, like easy silk knit dresses, parkas and jogging bottoms - relaxed shapes which also speak of at-home ease. Their luminescence is a charged symbol of collaboration and creativity, illuminating how fashion can dilute a year defined by darkness. ‘Clothes will remain powerful vectors to cheer us up, to soothe and to strengthen us,' Kriemler says. ‘To help you drive forward.' 

INFORMATION

eu.akris.com

In her 1979 collection of essays The White Album, Joan Didion recorded her succinct and unchanging packing list for when she went on journalistic assignment. This included a tight edit of clothing, including two skirts, two jerseys or leotards and one pullover sweater, enabling Didion to ‘pack, without thinking, for any piece I was likely to do.’ As the fashion industry contends with the deluge of unwanted, wasted clothing it is producing – it’s estimated that in the UK alone 20 per cent of clothing ends up in landfill – Didion’s minimalist messaging is more prescient than ever. 

One designer taking Didion’s dictum to heart, is London-based Catherine Quin. ‘When I started the brand it was really about finding the wardrobe solution to everyday life,’ she says of the founding tenets of her 2015-launched eponymous label, which offers pared-back, timeless clothing in elegant, androgynous and fluid silhouettes. ‘It's about simplifying the daily ritual of getting dressed,’ she says of the direct-to-consumer label, aimed at busy women on-the-go, hopping from plane to party, work event to evening out. Instead of an over saturated range of styles, Quin hones in on signature silhouettes, like her ruched Regio dress or a trouser suit, which are all made in the brand’s London atelier, and handcrafted in high quality predominantly natural fabrics, like cashmere, silk and viscose.

With the launch of her label’s Suitcase concept – Quin has curated a travel bag of her own. The brand’s latest retail model is comprised of a series of city-inspired capsule collections, first an 11-piece ‘London Suitcase', followed by a 13-piece ‘Florence Suitcase' which launches online today. The Florence Suitcase, inspired by the terracotta tones and Renaissance splendour of the Italian city, features a series of elegant pieces, including a deconstructed trenchcoat, wide legged jumpsuit in deep khaki, a bib collar shirt and white tuxedo suit. These can be mixed and matched into over thirty different outfit options, and with simple styling tricks, like the addition of a waist cinching belt or a silk pussy bow dress layered with a wide legged trouser, dressed up or pared down. ‘We wanted to make the experience of getting dressed calmer and less stressful,’ Quin explains of the versatility of the silhouettes. ‘These are timeless pieces you can wear in any environment. Elevated and design led.’

As part of Quin’s ‘Distilled Wardrobes’ concept, customers have the option to either purchase each ‘Suitcase’ in its entirety, invest in four pieces, saving 25 or 15 per cent respectively, or simply shop a single item. ‘We really want to offer practical packing solutions’ Quin says of the pared back approach. Many travellers today favour smaller carry on luggage, allowing for a quicker dash to the Departure Lounge and the label's packing system prevents over stuffing of accessories and shoes and other untouched items that never make it out of a suitcase. ‘These are pieces that don’t need to be steamed or ironed.’

Next on Quin’s pitstop is Paris, where she will unveil a suitcase serendipitous with the glamour and allure of the city. Autumn has also seen the launch of a limited edition knitwear collection, with natural dyed cable knit jumpers handwoven in London, using 100% organic lambs wool. With a zero waste approach, each piece is made to order. ‘We need to get a bit more real’ Quin explains of our approach to consumption. ‘We’re so bombarded with information today. Living with less feels much more in tune with the psychology of our time.’ 

INFORMATION
catherinequin.com

Between 1987 and 1996, the Japanese photographer Shoichi Aoki captured fashion editors at Paris Fashion Week, striding across cobbled courtyards in high-waisted long black skirts and modest, matching jackets, or sitting together, hashing out the collections in smart peacoats and thick brown corduroy trousers. Unstaged and unfiltered, the images documented an industry that was indifferent to our gaze, on the cusp of the pomp and celebrity the digital age would bring.

Today’s around-the-shows looks are knowingly bold and shamelessly brash. Yet, while René Storck’s nubby grey wool top or Dušan’s sinuous inky-velvet tunic may struggle for attention next to the orgy of print and pattern on display, a new, muted mood is gaining momentum. ‘If you talk to a lot of people who have worked in fashion for more than ten years, they want to be more laid-back,’ says Canadian photographer-turned-fashion designer Tommy Ton. ‘Everyone is overwhelmed.’

A lot has changed since 2005, when Ton launched Jak & Jil, an online diary of photographs snapped at the doorways to fashion shows around the world. Back then, his lens zoomed into the fall of the latest collar or the fold of an off-the-runway cuff. He recorded the pageantry that seemed a reaction to the diktat of black neutrality as the industry norm. It was a time when neutral colours couldn’t pop from screens – when e-commerce pioneers such as Net-A-Porter pushed bold, energetic styles.

Top, coat, £2,820; top, £900; dress, £1,360; trousers, £1,080, all by The Row. Boots, €650, by Legres. Earring, worn throughout, £136 per pair, by J Hardyment. ‘646 Leggera’ chair, £678, by Gio Ponti, for Cassina. Bottom, cardigan, £1,930; skirt, £1,565, both by Loro Piana. Tights, £19, by Wolford. Boots, €650, by Legres. ‘Roquebrune’ chair, £1,080, by Eileen Gray, for ClassiCon, from Aram Store

‘It used to be suggested that you couldn’t sell brown online,’ says Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at Net-A-Porter. But two decades since the site launched, our LED screens have been replaced with OLED, allowing for more depth of tone. The advance of video technology has helped highlight fabrications up close, bringing even the darkest colours to life: ‘We are really backing tonal dressing as a trend, ensuring we offeran array of hues within one tone, like beige and grey – we’ve bought into grey in a big way for the season ahead,’ von der Goltz says.

Much of the company’s buy will focus on layering, including coats and shirt dresses from Ton’s debut collection as creative director of the fledgling New York label Deveaux. Co-founders Matthew Breen and Andrea Tsao had discovered Ton’s library of over a million images and seen it as an education in the nuances of personal style. ‘Street style was great research; as a photographer, you’re looking more aesthetically, but as a designer you have to be more grounded in reality and understand why something works,’ Ton says. For Deveaux that means a certain calmness and functional elegance: ‘beautiful everyday pieces with a loose fit’.

Deveaux shares the same insouciant style favoured by the highbrow American luxury label The Row, which is rebellious in its simplicity. ‘I think we’re all in a place where we want to cleanse the palate and not fuss about getting dressed. We want to feel invested in clothes that are sustainable and not over-buy,’ Ton says. ‘Our mission is to make clothes that whisper and that make sense. It’s more inspiring to see a woman wearing one of our dresses pushing her baby around as opposed to seeing it at a gala.’

Deveaux’s approach reflects a renewed cynicism towards throwaway styles. Likewise, Serbian-born Dušan Paunovic has weathered the seasonal whims of fashion for two decades, making discreet, beautiful clothes in his adopted hometown of Milan. ‘If I were to start my label today, I think it would be more difficult. There’s so much information, so many collections, and the power of big brands is even stronger than it used to be,’ he says. Yet, his is a manner of dressing that is never in or out. It is about a certain pragmatism, a respect for quality, something that will not ‘get in the way’. ‘My clothes are quiet,’ he adds.

The three co-founders of new London-based label Legres share his approach. They work with Italian artisans to create timeless boots in unfussy colours, and wish to remain unnamed. ‘In this age of oversharing, hyper-connectivity and aggressive marketing, we wanted to express a different vision,’ they say. ‘We are looking for an audience that shares our love of craftsmanship, and is not only looking for a commodity to take a photo of.’

The radical simplicity of Loro Piana’s cashmere tracksuits and the fine suiting at Agnona subvert the maximalist street style spectacle, which Ton celebrated early on. These are clothes for fully formed characters: a dress to flatter a woman who has zero time to get dressed; a good easy suit in which to feel understood. ‘To me, that is more of a challenge than focusing on whether or not an influencer will wear it to a show,’ Ton says. There is a new minimalism beside the madness. §

A version of this article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*246)

Left, blouse, £1,058; dress (worn as skirt), £768, both by René Storck. Bra, price on request, by Nude Label. ‘Roquebrune’ chair, £1,080, by Eileen Gray, for ClassiCon, from Aram Store. Right, Jacket, £1,965; jumper, £665; jumper (worn around shoulder), £665; trousers, £1,165, all by Agnona

He was always ‘somewhat of an outlier in the story of 20th-century Italian art’, but the artist Ettore Spalletti, who died aged 79 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Spoltore on the afternoon of 11 October, according to Italian newspaper il Centro, was revered in Italy and celebrated abroad as the ‘painter of light’.

The artist leaves behind an indelible imprint on the collective conscience, in the signature palette of gentle blues, greys and pinks he used to slowly and methodically cover his sculptures and canvases. Applying layers of paint for up to 20 days, the resulting colours are not mutable, giving his works the ‘ability to transform any environment they inhabit’.

His practice was in keeping with the rhythm of his almost monastic life in Spoltore, Pescara, just five kilometres from Cappelle Sul Tavo – the town of his birth in 1940. Spalletti, unlike many internationally successful artists, never left Abruzzo. In a May 2016 interview with Wallpaper* (see W*206), Spalletti described sitting for hours watching the light move in his studio. Viewing his works — which often bathe the spectator in colour — recreates this effect of being suspended in time, watching clouds pass or rays of sun play their optical tricks.

As a man, Spalletti may have been contemplative and quiet, but that didn’t mean that as an artist he was detached. He was equally inspired by the people he met as he was by the mountains and the Adriatic coastline – landscapes that informed the atmosphere and light in his works, not unlike Turner, who Spalletti admired. There is an embracing warmth to his works, whether it’s strips of gold-leaf applied to the canvas or the fleshy-pink tones of columns that the artist says refer to the human figure.

Spalletti attended art school in Pescara and was active as an artist from the 1970s, though he took a different path to his arte povera peers. He was unique, but successful early on, participating in Documenta in 1982 and later in 1992, in Kassel, Germany, and exhibiting at the Venice Biennale four times between 1982 and 1997. His refined vocabulary and clean lines meant Spalletti was frequently aligned with American minimalists, including a 1993 exhibition with Haim Steinbach at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. In 2014 his importance in shaping the discourse of contemporary art in Italy was recognised in a major three-part retrospective that took place at the MAXXI, Rome; the Museo MADRE, Naples; and the Galleria di Arte Moderna, Turin.

Other important moments in Spalletti’s 40-year career included a 2004 solo exhibition at Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, and in 2005 at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds. He was also commissioned, in collaboration with his wife, the architect Patrizia Leonelli, to convert a building at Villa Serena, Pescara, into a chapel, completed in 2016. Earlier this year, Spalletti was the subject of a retrospective at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.

Spalletti was known for his ‘good manners, a quiet voice and a light step’ – qualities he attributed to his love of poetry and literature. He will also be remembered for the sublime elegance of his works, their colours extending into the infinite.

INFORMATION                                                                                                    

mariangoodman.com

Home Farm, in a small village in the Cotswolds, is the second home that John Pawson always resisted having. He was happy with his home base of London, and the idea of an additional abode didn't sit well with his reductionist sensibilities and minimalist approach. But the temptation to build something for himself, free of client demands, proved difficult to resist. ‘I saw a chance for myself to carry out a few things that I wanted to do architecturally,’ he says. 

The project sits on a 22-acre ‘super site’ in the 'golden triangle' of Stowe, Morton and Chipping Norton: on an escarpment, looking down a valley, a long way from a main road, and no pylons. When Pawson's wife, Catherine found it in late 2012, it was a ‘dilapidated farmyard with lots of clearing up to do’. She handed John the particulars and said, ‘this is what we don’t want’. He countered, ‘this is perfect'. So they bought it.

Home Farm was originally built in 1610 as the farm cottage and working farm for a Grade-I listed Jacobean house on the other side of the road. It came with a pond full of carp that predates the house, and an orchard of crab apple trees. Pawson’s only external intervention was adding what he calls 'the link', joining the barn and the cottage. It's set back slightly from the two, with a lower roof line, and constructed in layers of cement, in contrast to the Cotswold stone of the existing property. It's the handiwork of Paul Wolf, a Belgian, who had previously produced Pawson’s cement benches for the twelfth century Cistercian Abbey of Le Thoronet.

The barn had large double doors on both sides. Pawson closed off the pair facing the road, but left it visible from the outside, as the planners did not want passers-by to see a domestic scene. ‘They wanted to keep it as a barn. So apart from this little piece of concrete, you can't tell what goes on here.’

Inside, the barn is made up of two large volumes, with a main kitchen and dining area that leads down two steps to a seating area. The west side looks over the pond, and Pawson has fitted a full-height sash window, operated by a motor due to its weight. ‘I can’t really be in there without opening it a bit, because I love sounds and things.’ 

The built-in kitchen, made up of an island unit and a wall of cupboards at one end, is fashioned in elm, to align with the original floorboards and beams. The new elements are made from two 80-foot high trees, harvested in Germany, the last of their kind that Pawson's suppliers could find. 

A trio of Pawson's Sleeve lamps for Wonderglass is suspended from the beams, under which a 3.6m long table of Pawson’s design, the same width as the sash window, is flanked with Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs. The table is, naturally, set with his tableware, stemware and flatware for When Objects Work. Adjacent, three Donald Judd chairs sit in the shallow alcove that hints at the closed-off roadside doors. 

The seating area occupies what was once the threshing room, now furnished with a large 1979 Library bed from Donald Judd, and is carpeted underfoot with jute matting. The TV has been banished upstairs, accessible only via a little ladder.

From here you are led through ‘the link', to the cottage, whose volumes Pawson’s has left pretty much as they were. The road-facing east side retains its original metal-paned glass, while the west side has been given modern glazing to better let in the view. There is another sitting room, complete with an original inglenook and a bread oven with a dome-like roof; then a second dining area; and then another kitchen, plus a pantry that was once a cider press. There's a symmetry to the order of spaces: ‘kitchen, dining, living; living, dining, kitchen,' says Pawson.

Aside from the elm floorboards upstairs, the rest of the floor is poured concrete with chips (deliberate cracking), a kind of ‘un-busy’ terrazzo. Walls are finished in traditional lime plaster, while shelves, tabletops and bathroom counters are all made of white Lasa marble from the Stelvio National Park, above Meran in South Tyrol (where Pawson did a house for Michael Maharam and Sabine Steinmair). It’s an illusion of sorts, a very thick piece of marble with a soft bevelled slither of an edge, set in elm, as Pawson did not want to see too much of the marble.

Also on the ground floor is Catherine’s study, a library, and a reading room. Furnishing is understandably minimal; there are pieces from Poul Kjærholm, Donald Judd, and Pawson himself, plus an 18th century Swedish Gustavian sofa and lamps from the Castiglioni brothers and Issey Miyake. 

Upstairs are three bedrooms. The master and its bathroom both have double-height ceilings, as the attic floor was taken out. Every bedroom has its own amazing bathroom, to make sure that no guest would feel they got the bad room. 

In an unexpected touch, there are actually curtains on the original east-facing windows – in un-dyed boiled wool, almost the colour of the lime plaster walls. Pawson describes them as ‘sort of monk-like, but a very rich monk’. You can tell he's still not 100 per cent comfortable with the soft furnishings when he says, ‘it’s my fault for not coming up with some sort of privacy’.

Across the gravelled courtyard from the main building, the former stables have been made into a self-contained guesthouse, its interior lined entirely in elm. Downstairs is a sitting room, kitchen and dining space, with its own wood burning-stove, and upstairs under a pitch roof is a double bedroom and bathroom.  

Pawson first thought of making this a studio space for him to work. But the project ‘took so long that when I get down there, the last thing I feel like doing is working.’ It’s a new sensation for the designer, who says he’s always worked everywhere he’s gone. Home Farm, says Pawson, has ‘an immediate calming effect’.

INFORMATION

Home Farm is one of 10 new projects featured in John Pawson: Anatomy of Minimum, £49.95 (Phaidon), available from 9 October johnpawson.com

Take a first look inside Álvaro Siza’s first US building, 611 West 56th Street in New York City. The interiors by Gabellini Sheppard Associates reveal a warm, yet minimalist architectural response to Siza’s exterior architecture with clean lines, custom finishes and exposed structural elements.

Located at the intersection of Midtown and the Upper West Side, the monolithic, Perla Bianca limestone-clad tower that tops off with a four-story crown, will offer 80 one-to-four-bedroom residences including penthouses and duplex maisonettes, once complete. Not only will these homes bring New York residents the opportunity to live inside a Pritzker prize winning architects’ design, they also bring unique attributes such as direct elevator access, private terraces and a diverse range of plans.

As well as the expected amenities such as fitness room with Antonio Citterio-designed Technogym equipment, a children's playroom, resident’s living room and library furnished by DDC and Minotti and illuminated steam room (of course), when complete, the building will even offer its residents a shuttle to the subway during peak hours.

Siza, who is most well known for his contributions to cultural architecture including the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Portugal, brought the same sense of refined modernism to 611 West 56th Street. This sensibility is echoed through Gabellini Sheppard’s interiors that include soft materiality to create a sense of place in every residence. Custom oak millwork and Pietra Cardosa stone lines the floors and walls of the spaces, while the glazing is etched to bring privacy to every residence. Siza has designed a custom bench for the project, and Cooley Monato is behind the custom lighting design. 

With its focus on craft and simplicity, Gabellini Sheppard was an appropriate fit for the job. The interior architecture and design studio is also behind the interiors at Tadao Ando’s 152 Elizabeth – which we had an exclusive look-in to earlier this year. Construction of the tower is well underway, with residences launching onto the market earlier this month.

INFORMATION

alvaroleitesiza.com

611w56st.com

Nestled in a bowl at the end of a narrow river valley in the remote northern Armenian province of Lori, the village of Debet is far off the beaten track. So when the low, white outlines of the Children of Armenia Fund’s (COAF) sensuously curved Smart Center come into view, you are momentarily astonished. Rather than having risen from the ground, the light, pavilion-like structure, by Lebanese-Armenian architect Paul Kaloustian, appears to have descended from the skies.

‘I think the locals thought it was a space centre, with secret technology and hackers,’ says Shahane Halajyane, initiative director for the fund’s Smart programme. ‘COAF has been working here for years, but the villagers didn’t relate this building to them. They were sure it was some place for rich people.’ She should know. Although Halajyane now lives in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, she grew up 15 minutes from here. ‘We decided to bring in groups of children and parents during construction,’ she continues. ‘The idea was to give local inhabitants a sense of ownership.’

COAF, a socio-educational NGO, was founded by American entrepreneur Garo Armen, and has been operating in Armenia since 2003. Now, with the launch of its Smart Center initiative – Debet’s is the first of 20, subject to funding – it is seeking to bring the 21st century to rural areas, through after-school programmes in coding, robotics, engineering, visual arts, music and dance, all offered free of charge.

Kaloustian signed up to the project after Tony Shafrazi, the New York-based Iranian-Armenian gallerist and former art advisor to the Shah, sent him a message on Instagram. ‘It was surreal,’ Kaloustian says. ‘This was someone I respected, whose career I followed. He invited me to New York to meet in person; he’d lost his studio and had a project to replace it. Then one night, we ended up at a party, and we met Garo. The whole thing was very organic.’ A couple of weeks later, Kaloustian found himself flying into Yerevan.

‘The diaspora has this romanticised vision of Armenia,’ he says. ‘It’s an ideal. So when we go and see that it’s a real country, it leads to mixed feelings.’ For Kaloustian, though, Lori was love at first sight: ‘Excavation had already started for a three-storey structure, but I immediately wanted a single-storey building that related to the sheer size of the plot and the empty space around it. I wanted to design something big that would reach out and embrace the land, a landform, more than a piece of architecture.’

Kaloustian designed an irregularly shaped, winged building that pushes into the landscape via a long, as yet unfinished, curving promenade that will combine rooms, walls and open, ‘wild’ green spaces. ‘I’ve always been interested in exercises in ambiguity, the way you can do something that feels like an exterior, but is delimited,’ he says. ‘Like at the Alhambra. Spaces that are fluid and ambiguous, so the visitor feels something is different but doesn’t necessarily know what it is.’

For Kaloustian, the three-year project was a journey, both as an architect, and as a person of Armenian origin. Determined to be as bold as possible, he credits COAF for its willingness to travel along. The contractor, however, was another matter. ‘It was a shock of two mentalities,’ says Kaloustian. ‘There are traces of our clashes all over the building.’

This may be why, if you want, you can find fault. Minimalism is an unforgiving mistress and, in places, the building’s finish is imperfect. But these flaws do not detract from the overall impression that this dynamic beauty stands out even as it hunkers down, a glazed lantern adrift in a sea of green. There is nothing similar for hundreds of kilometres. Here in Lori, this building is alien and yet it is clear from the easy behaviour of its users that it is also their alien.

‘Unconsciously, that is what I wanted to achieve,’ Kaloustian says of a project he has loved, loathed and finally come to terms with. ‘The villagers are super proud of it. They’ve appropriated the building and understood it, and this is rewarding for an architect. §

As originally featured in the October 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*235)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Paul Kaloustian’s website and the Children of Armenia Fund’s website

Giuseppe Palmisano grew up surrounded by fantastical stories. His childhood in Puglia was marked by encounters with local traditions and folklore, Catholic symbols and religious rituals. Theatre and performance were intertwined with everyday life — and moving to Rome to where he join a theatre company was natural for Palmisano, who lived a nomadic existence for a while.

He abandoned his training, however, at 20, and turned his form to a more critical, distant kind of dramatisation — photography. He started to take pictures of women and explore the relationship between their bodies, space, and the unseen sensations they stir up; unusually for a male photographer, though, his aim has never been to eroticise the nude female subject. Women have continued to be a preoccupying theme for Palmisano and play a central role on his stage set for the camera.

Palmisano’s aesthetic—instantly recognisable, drawing on strands of Surrealism and Minimalism manners — has also remained consistent. ‘I know exactly what I want’, the photographer explains enthusiastically, ‘I surround myself with what I like. Usually I try to stick to simple rules: simplicity and harmony. I try to make things happen by inserting a disturbing element into something linear.’

Palmisano has amassed a cultish following on Instagram and has couple of publications and exhibitions to his name, but he had never worked on a fashion editorial until he was approached to do a shoot for the October issue of Wallpaper* (W*235).

To create the images for the story Palmisano, ‘used two or three furnishing objects and, of course, the clothes. I really enjoyed my time with the whole team.’ Making a selection of ‘literally everything,’ they shot, Palmisano says when it came to editing ‘I tried to recall many things, such as the unexpected positions I usually capture in my photos, but this time I tried to exasperate them and make them even more weird.’

His theatre training possibly helped with the new challenge of directing a whole team — usually, he says, it’s just him and his camera. Since his models are usually nude, working with clothes presented a new challenge, ‘but I have to say that it was even more fun because that situation allowed me to play in a different way.’

The shoot was an audacious step for an artist who has never ventured into fashion editorial before, but Palmisano isn’t afraid of experimenting. ‘I have always tried to avoid monotony: that’s the reason why four years ago I sold my camera and I still go around without any, doing very little actual photographic work. I experiment with different media. I try to avoid becoming the “industry of myself” and produce what I already know people like. If sometimes it seems like I’m repeating myself, what I’m actually doing is trying to subvert this mechanism!’
 
While theatre and dance continue to inspire the artist, ‘what makes me really emotional and what I try to translate into my art is a mixture of sensations and visions: it’s life, the everyday life. I'm an excellent observer, maybe that's why my eyes are so big — and the reason why I have such big and dark circles under them!’

You can see more of Palmisano’s recent work at a very personal installation, presented in London at the beginning of 2019.

As originally featured in the October 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*235)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Giuseppe Palmisano’s website

Conventional wisdom holds that minimalism was birthed in America during the political and social tumult of the 1950s and 1960s, when artists abandoned en masse the strictures of conventional art in favour of a stripped back aesthetic. A new exhibition in Singapore, ‘Minimalism: Space. Light. Object.’, takes the radically different view that as an art form, minimalism actually began in Asia centuries before with zen buddhism and, in particular, with the Ayurvedic texts on nothingness.

Unusually, the show – the first in Southeast Asia to tackle the subject on this scale – is held in two venues and delivers two strikingly different experiences through 150-plus works by blue-chip names like Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Anish Kapoor and Donald Judd, alongside regional stalwarts Po Po, teamLab, Song Dong and Kim Lim. At the Moshe Safdie-designed ArtScience Museum, the premise of minimalism’s buddhist origins is explored through a series of austere, yet ultimately joyful and playful works, beginning with a meditative sand installation by Mona Hatoum which segues through to Richard Long’s epic concentric circles of stones, the colour blocks of Carmen Herrera, and to a tranquil maze of lighting gel panels by Olafur Eliasson.

For the museum’s curatorial team, led by former Tate Liverpool curator Adrian George, the essence of this section of the show is the physical experience, a cause helped by the curved white walls of the exhibition space that create a dizzying sense of infinity. ‘Many of the minimalist artists we’re showing designed their works to be viewed in the context of space, so the experience we hope to create requires the viewer to slow down.’

Across the bay, a few minutes away by taxi, the National Gallery Singapore takes a slightly more conventional approach to the subject by tracing minimalism’s development out of abstract expressionism to contemporary times. The artists and works gathered here are no less impressive ranging from the striking black monochromes of Mark Rothko and Frank Stella, to the experimentations of light by Peter Kennedy and Martin Creed, and the hypnotic repetitive musical works of Julius Eastman.

‘Modern minimalism is a movement that has not had much of a presence in this part of the world,’ says Russell Storer, deputy director of the National Gallery’s curatorial and research department, ‘and so, it was particularly important for us to put the Southeast Asian artists within the international context.’

INFORMATION

‘Minimalism: Space. Light. Object.’ is on view from 16 November 2018 until 14 April 2019 at the National Gallery Singapore and the ArtScience Museum. For more information, visit the National Gallery Singapore website and the ArtScience Museum website

The renaissance of California’s Heath Ceramics has become the model reboot of a faltering craft-based design brand. Founded in 1948 by self-taught ceramicist Edith Heath and her husband Brian, the company went into decline when the founders stepped back in 1993. In 2003, designers Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic chanced upon its dilapidated but still-functioning factory in Sausalito.

The couple bought the company and began its revival. From streamlining its offering and creating new products that built on the Heath design legacy, to opening new showrooms, a new tile factory and keeping production in California, Bailey and Petravic have worked steadily to bring Heath’s founding values and craftsmanship back into the spotlight.

Just in time for its 70th anniversary this year, Heath Ceramics has unveiled its first flatware collection, made together with samples from the production process at the Sherrill factory in New York show the evolution of a spoon; in the first stages of the process, rolled sheet metal blanks are carefully measured to ensure the perfect thickness along each section of flatware; shelves of master tooling for different flatware handles Sherrill Manufacturing, the last remaining flatware maker in the United States and a company with a similar trajectory. Based in Sherrill, New York, the brand was established in 2005 by Gregory Owens and Matthew Roberts, who bought the factory from their former employer, Oneida Limited, after it shuttered following over a century in business.

‘Creating our own cutlery has probably been on our wish list for 12 years,’ laughs Petravic. ‘We’ve always been interested in expanding around the dinner plate. We’ve looked for products that express the same ethos of the craftsman-manufacturer-designer and have kept our eyes open for an American manufacturer that we can work with. They are surprisingly hard to find.’

When Petravic and Bailey came across Sherrill and heard its backstory, they saw an obvious fit. In 2014, Heath started to carry a simple cutlery range made by Sherrill in its showrooms. That has now developed into a collection proper, called Muir. ‘We knew they were good people to collaborate with because they were excited to work with us; their other partners weren’t as design driven,’ says Bailey. ‘We wanted the feel of the new flatware to go with our dinnerware, and be both classic and original. They appreciated and respected what we were bringing to the table.’

Designed to complement Edith Heath’s 1948 Coupe ceramics, the Muir cutlery range is an elegant, everyday design that echoes the minimalism of the midcentury and the familiarity of plastic cutlery. It is also the first new flatware collection designed and made in America in almost a decade. With a robust weight to mirror the feel of Heath’s dinnerware, the five pieces – a dinner knife, dinner fork, soup spoon, teaspoon and salad fork – have been individually made from American stainless steel.

‘The Muir profile looks a little top-heavy, there is a child-like playfulness to the proportion,’ explains Tung Chiang, Heath Ceramics’ creative lead and studio director. ‘I was actually inspired by a plastic ice cream spoon. Heath is about designing something that can be used every day. I wanted it to feel casual. There is a slow, gradual transition towards the utensil’s flat handle, which creates an arc so that you can easily grab it. There is also a kick at the back of the handle so that the pieces lift off the table.’

Despite producing quality pieces in big volumes, Sherrill still uses methods dating back to the 1950s. Instead of digital files and three-dimensional CAD drawings, the company works with hand-drawn sketches. Similarly, there are no automated, computer-controlled machines; instead, tooling is worked by hand. It often takes around 15 to 20 different processes of moulding, stamping and die-cutting to create each utensil. From rolling each spoon out to ensure a perfect balance between bowl and handle, to refining the spacing between the forks’ tines and forging each knife out of a rod of steel, producing each utensil required a continual dialogue between designer and manufacturer.

‘Current technology allows us designers to entertain the notion that our vision will be executed in a certain way,’ explains Chiang. ‘To trust a manufacturer like Sherrill, learn from them and respect their past was really exciting. You feel like you are preserving their history and an old technology that still works.’

The collection’s final flourishes come in the form of a handwritten logo carved onto the back of each piece, and packaging designed by House Industries. With two more collections to come (riffs on the traditional Colonial and Teardrop flatware patterns), Heath Ceramics continues to celebrate hard-earned utilitarian minimalism. ‘We want to create objects that just disappear around you and become part of your life and environment,’ Chiang insists.§

As originally featured in the July 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*232)

INFORMATION

Muir range, $72 for set of five, available from 17 July, by Heath Ceramics. For more information, visit the Heath Ceramics website

Situated around 13 miles north of Copenhagen on the Zealand coast, the small, verdant town of Vedbaek is perhaps best known for its mesolithic remains. But beautifully austere domestic minimalist architecture might be making a close pass. A new project by the Copenhagen-based, multidisciplinary architecture firm Norm Architects is its fourth in the town. ‘If you do something well, it often travels fast by word of mouth,’ explains practice co-founder and project lead Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen. ‘One project automatically has led to another.’

For good reason: Norm’s brand of Scandinavian minimalism – with its parallel slabs of washed stone, marble and wood; abundance of natural light; and tasteful proclivity for midcentury design details – is both irresistibly contemporary and timeless.

The client here was a a family of four; the existing building a 1970 modernist house integrated into a hillside near the forest overlooking Vedbaek. Though the exterior has remained intact (simply brushed-up, says Bjerre-Poulsen), the interior was overhauled. Despite this, Bjerre-Poulsen explains that Norm were keen to respect the ‘soul of the house, the modernist architectural principles of the era and the location close to unspoilt nature’. The latter was embraced via floor-to-ceiling windows, while the previously small, separated rooms were opened up to create a single continuous floor plan without partitions, completely changing the flow of the space conducive to the life of a family.

To foster synchronicity with the surrounding landscape, luxurious tactile materials and finishes were introduced throughout: plastered brick walls, soap-finished oak, marble and stone in light and grey shades, all of which will patinate elegantly over the coming years, connecting ‘the interior with the surrounding nature in a new and improved way,’ says Bjerre-Poulsen.

Interior design details were considered with a similar sensitivity, continuing the tradition of spare, unfussy serenity Norm has developed over a decade. ‘We believe very much in the modernist dictum of less is more,’ says Bjerre-Poulsen. ‘But in Scandinavia we have always used simple minimalist objects and furniture made from natural materials, that made them more humanised – [like] the German counterpart steel pieces of the Bauhaus.’ For this house, simple furniture pieces in wood, leather and other natural materials were thus chosen.

It’s another quiet triumph for a practice built around the dual tenets of restraint and refinement. Who’s next, Vedbaek?

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Norm Architects website

‘I wanted to create an image of deconstruction,’ says Ukraine-born, LA-based Valerie Chaika – founder of Riia – of its ‘Modular’ ring series. Viewed individually, pieces in the six-piece recycled sterling silver collection include a ring with a chunky orb detail, and a band with a splice of metal missing. But when viewed as a whole, they are seen to stem from a single shape, with graphic elements emphasised, reduced or repeated. 

The series was born after Chaika sketched ‘Modular Ring No 6’, an orb encased within the walls of a silver band, based on the idea of 'putting a sphere on a ring in a non-conventional way.’ She reduced the walls around the ring for the fifth design, placing it atop its band, before beginning a process of ‘bending’ and splicing until she reached ‘Modular Ring No 1’ – ‘the last ring left in the raw’ – which reveals a thin sliver of skin.

‘The results reflected an intuitive design process’ says the self-taught painter. She launched Riia in 2017 in a bid to design pieces with an element of interaction, and work on a smaller scale. ‘I am fascinated by geometric objects and their contact with natural forms like the body and space.’

Chaika cites Malevich and Rodchenko’s monochromatic and shape-focused aesthetic as an enduring influence, plus the angular creations of Donald Judd, and Richard Serra’s undulating forms. ‘Post-Minimalism really broadened visual language,’ she adds. The digits which convey the deconstructed narrative of Riia’s Modular Ring series, also really add up.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Riia website

Osaka-based studio Sides Core cuts to the chase with Flux, a Kyoto hair salon that combines nostalgia with modernism.

Housed on the second floor of a former car showroom, designer Sohei Arao transformed the 148.5 sq m concrete enclave into an urban hairdressing refuge. The salon, founded by Kengo Nakamura, presents a theatrical concept to showcase staff’s hairdressing and styling skills in an immersive space, while also playing with perspective and perception.

In keeping with the parlour’s philosophy to create a ‘flowing’ yet inviting setting that exhibits talent, mirrors are suspended 1.5 m above the floor with only a small selection of key pieces filling cutting and styling areas, like Hans J Wegner’s Elbow chair and Jaime Hayón’s navy Piña seat.

Elsewhere, white draping curtains soften stark concrete silhouettes, enveloped by floor-to-ceiling windows that offer striking vistas of the cityscape. In harmony with its surroundings both in ethos and design, Flux’s intriguing use of depth, a characteristic of Kyoto’s architecture, prompts users to take a step through the looking glass – with the hair to match. 

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Sides Core website

ADDRESS

Sky House 2F
470 Zaimokucho, Nanajo-dori
Kyoto, Japan

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Much like many current creative collaborations, it was Instagram that alerted German furniture brand Stattmann Neue Moebel to the architectural work of Atelier ordinaire in 2017. ‘We were so intrigued by the wooden houses that we had to send the owner of atelier ordinaire, Thomas Walter, an email immediately,’ says Nicola Stattmann, co-founder of Stattmann Neue Moebel. A couple of clicks later and they have just designed a sustainable and minimalist prefab wood house together in Bourgogne in France. 

A mutual love of wood (and each other’s work) officially kicked off the project. ‘For me, the rooms in the houses of atelier ordinaire are themselves like well-made furniture,’ Stattmann explains. ‘The outside corresponds exactly with the inside. There is no disconnection – only wooden volumes, soft transitions and clear lines. I cannot picture our furniture in a better space.’ The wood for the structure and the furniture inside is all sourced via sustainable forestry, a mutual ethos for both companies.

The furniture chosen for the project from Stattmann Neue Moebel’s vast collection are perfectly paired with the simple internal architecture. Spread sparsely across the angular walls of the building are Brussels-based designer Sylvain Willenz’s Profile series of highly crafted oak and ash products that create a pleasing sense of continuity throughout. Clusters of Add stools by German designer Steffen Kehrle also pepper the space alongside his Plug shelves, that Stattmann explains ‘work equally well next to the wall or as a room divider.’

Stattmann Neue Moebel and Atelier ordinare ensured the bucolic French landscape outside was highlighted by the design too. Large windows throughout the space act as cinematic frames for nature. The outdoors is also reflected in the tones and textures used, the dark hued weather resistant exterior of the house nods to the bark of the pine trees, while Stattmann chose 11 tones of this natural wood for the furniture. ‘We selected the grey-green, white, nude-grey, and grey which match the garden, the light and the natural pine tree wood of the interior walls perfectly.’ she details. ‘To create contrast, we selected the black-blue and the dark-blue, which are strong without being loud. The harmony with the surrounding environment is not just a question of the colours. It is also the matt surface which shows the grain of the wood very naturally and beautifully.’

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Atelier ordinaire website and the Stattmann Neue Moebel website

Montreal-based Ivystudio (née Obiekt), has started as it means to go on with its first project – a minimalist barber shop in the heart of the city’s increasingly design-savvy Pointe Saint-Charles neighborhood. Crisp is a reflection of its owner’s desire to create ‘a barber shop like no other’, shining an undistratacted spotlight on the artful work of its barbers without compromising functionality.

‘Our design approach constantly experiments with new forms and materials in order to continually redefine the relationship between a space and its user,’ explain the up-and-coming design firm, comprising Philip Staszewski and Gabrielle Rousseau. Using a narrow material palette, and mineral colour scheme, the duo has created a space far removed from the macho, dark interiors common to the stereotypical barber shop; side-stepping overused tropes like checkered flooring and wood cladding.

Concealed cabinetry at Crisp, Montreal

Instead, floors have been stripped to the original concrete slab, left slightly rough, and walls are treated in a bright white wash, while portable barber stations make use of naturally lightened oak. Aside from the delicate, minty hint of the light fixtures and potted greenery, the only colour present is that of the monolithic counter; rendered in richly veined marble, that acts as an anchor in a pale sea. Positioned as it is, directly in the centre of the symmetrically designed shop, it ladens the space with a sense of zen. Clutter is notably absent, too, bar a mural-like wall of local products. Branding is kept to a minimum – the neon ‘Crisp’ sign zinging across the wall is more Tracey Emin-inspired artwork than company logo.

As barber shops and hair salons continue to outgrow their remit as functional service providers, and become places for socialising and relaxation, the restful nature of their design is becoming ever more important. Crisp is a cut above.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ivystudio website

Floating among the dense tree canopy of São Paulo’s leafy Jardins suburb is architect Marcio Kogan’s latest offering, an artfully created box named Volume C. It is the second space the Brazilian architect has created for furniture and design store Micasa, founded over 20 years ago by Houssein Jarouche and dealing in design from the emerging and the established. ‘It stands for good design, rather than just labels,’ says Kogan.

Completing Micasa’s corner-site complex, Volume C is intended as a pavilion for new retail concepts, events and designers in residence. For Kogan, the leading light of contemporary Brazilian modernism and principal of São Paulo-based Studio MK27, Jarouche was an ideal client. ‘Good clients with an open mind allow for experimentation whatever the programme is,’ he says.

Kogan wanted this project to signal a significant move forward from his 2007 Volume B, a heavy concrete box inspired by the city’s brutalist architecture, and the original Volume A, an industrial metal-and-glass box designed by French-Brazilian studio Triptyque. Thus, Volume C blends new timber construction techniques with influences from Japan in a lightweight wood-framed structure that features two wide openings. It’s a 15m by 15m void designed to be filled with ideas, people – and even a refurbished 1960s Airstream caravan, which will be parked inside from time to time.

Kogan chose wood to bring warmth to the space, but also to put to use some of the studio’s research into sustainable timber construction. ‘The wooden structure with detailed joinery points to a more sustainable and simple way of building,’ he says. ‘All pieces were assembled with ease, minimising waste and maintaining a low carbon footprint.’ So while Volume C showcases the clean lines and airy spaces of modernism, it looks firmly towards the future, moving away from the genre’s traditional heavy concrete and glass and allowing it to become more versatile – not to mention welcoming and approachable.

A structure of glued laminated timber frames and steel rods supports an outer skin of white metal-plate and polycarbonate panels. Kogan says the translucent sheets bring a ‘more mysterious sort of transparency’ to the volume and allow a tempered, even spread of daylight into the 7.5m-high space from above, as well as the unexpected ‘kinetic spectacle’ of shadows from the surrounding trees.

When the sun sets, Volume C marks its presence by becoming a glowing Japanese lantern illuminated from within by an Isamu Noguchi pendant lamp that hangs centrally, emphasising the space’s symmetry. The dynamic lightness of the structure is reminiscent of Sou Fujimoto’s airy framed structures or Kazuyo Sejima’s minimalist cuboids – all enlivened by São Paulo’s context of dense flora, impromptu street life and mild evenings. ‘In my opinion, contemporary Japanese architecture finds a common ground in Brazilian modernism,’ says Kogan. ‘I have a strong identification with its search for simplicity and emotion’. For the past five years, he says, he has been returning to Tokyo annually for a ‘two-week immersion’.

Volume C is a breath of fresh air, a structure where modernism is infused with culture, experimentation and feeling. The principles of modernism, ‘a rational and humanistic architecture’, are ‘still the ethical and aesthetic guidelines for contemporary architecture’, says Kogan – but the other ingredients can be up to you.

As originally featured in the June 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*231)

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Studio MK27 website and the Micasa website