John Pawson on Minimalism, Light, and the Wooden Chapel

John Pawson, born in 1949 in Halifax, Yorkshire, is considered the father of minimalist architecture. He studied at the AA Architecture Association in London and began his career at Shiro Kuramata's studio in Tokyo, absorbing Japanese symbolic values. For the 58th Salone del Mobile in Milan, Pawson designed Uniformity, the Valextra store on Via Manzoni 3, a monochromatic space where objects become artworks. In his interview, Pawson discusses his 1996 book Minimum (Phaidon), which uses keywords like mass, light, ritual, landscape, and essence. He accepts the minimalist label, citing Donald Judd as inspiration. His Wooden Chapel in Unterliezheim, Germany, is a meditative space with a single concrete bench and a cross-shaped window that frames the valley. Pawson also reflects on his use of benches, his photography, and his Instagram account.