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CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Solo House Casa Pezo

August 10, 2011 Uncategorized No comments

Solo House Casa Pezo in Matarranya region in the south of Catalonia, Spain, is proposed by the award-winning Pezo Von Ellrichshausen Architects from Chile. Part of the Solo Houses concept consisting of eight to ten vacation homes designed by international young talents such as Mos Office, Studio Mumbai or Sou Fujimoto, Casa Pezo is a nod to modern approach to vacation homes.

Like a geometrical sculpture raised above the ground, the 313 sqm Casa Pezo uses minimal shapes to achieve symmetry and strong but free direction of movement. Otherwise heavy concrete structure’s effect is lightened with generous openings wrapped around the entire home, some of which are filled with glass panels in opposing directions. I love that the only “enclosed” room has no roof but it does host a pool. The combination of the void of the roof, volume of water and wall openings on each side play on ones perception of interiors and exteriors.

Casa Pezo’s simple geometry and effortless blend with Catalonian countryside is an exciting affirmation of strong idea with minimal distractions. Successful combination indeed.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo QuaDror

June 2, 2011 Uncategorized No comments

Dror researched, created, designed and finally came up with an innovative multi-use space truss geometry that is capable of five main applications: dividing, dwelling, trestle, fenestration and artistic installation.

Based on four identical L-shaped minimal pieces, the real beauty about QuaDror is its flexibility. A very smart idea.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo A Model

December 13, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

A Model is a scaled-model in life-size proportion that represents a generic contemporary domestic environment. It is not the representation of a project, but the representation is the project. A Model is a collaboration between Rad Louda and W_RKSH_P (Paul Sosson) with the help of Marie-Cecile Guyaux.

Made out of foam, A Model is a representation of a 150 sqft apartment, organized in 4 parts. The minimal and sufficiently furnished apartment provides basic functions with as added value a personal outside space. Each furniture was conceived as an archetype of its function: a chair looks like a chair, a bed like a bed.

A Model is not an utopy nor a distopy, the designers say. It is a proposal for an one bed apartment, designed as generic as possible. It can be a solution towards the current contemporary housing situation in some cities.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Drevviken House

September 9, 2010 all No comments

Drevviken House is a minimalist abode in Sweden that practically disappears into its natural surroundings. The amazing architects at Claesson Koivisto Rune constructed the house with concrete slab and white stucco concrete. The structure of the house accommodates the natural foundation of the site, leaving the land untouched.

Situated near a lake, the architects felt it was important to arrange the windows so that the best view would be provided. There are three different floor levels of its interior to match the surface of the surrounding typography.

Photography by Louise Billgert.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Novy Dvur Monastery

September 3, 2010 all No comments

It’s as if John Pawson is trying to prove that monastic austerity is capable of brightening our spiritual needs—no surprise, considering that with the minimalist British architect, “Every architectural word tells.”

A reductive design process that questions the necessity of every element in the desire to eliminate what is superfluous. This discretion in design is vital for a group of robed Cistercian monks, originally from France, who deliberately seeks seclusion. The restored Our Lady of Novy Dvur monastery, in the Czech Republic is their entire world—based on bare necessities and self denial.

Mr. Pawson’s edgy poetry in the Our Lady of Novy Dvur monastery is evident. Everything is a shade of white. Spartan interiors with a dramatic stripped down elegance of modernism that reveals hidden sources of light. Concrete, plaster and wood; no stained glass; minimal comfort.

This extraordinary serenity is rare. And we are glad that Cistercian monks do these things, so we don’t have to. Well, sort of.

For those of Mr. Pawson’s fan club: The London Design Museum’s exhibition “John Pawson Plain Space,” will feature John Pawson’s work from September, 22 2010 to January, 30 2011.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Novy Dvur Monastery

September 3, 2010 all No comments

This extraordinary serenity is rare. And we are glad that Cistercian monks do these things, so we don’t have to. Well, sort of.

For those of Mr. Pawson’s fan club: The London Design Museum’s exhibition “John Pawson Plain Space,” will feature John Pawson’s work from September, 22 2010 to January, 30 2011.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo 9 Hours

July 14, 2010 all No comments

The 9 Hours is a capsule hotel: a Japanese hotel concept with sleeping pods instead of rooms, and shared bathrooms. They target hard-working business people and travelers.

Usually, these capsule hotels are far from well-designed. The 9 Hours is nothing like that. Instead, it’s an amazing example of applied minimalism.

The 9 Hours is managed by Tokyo-based Cubic Inc., and designed in a collaboration with designer Fumie Shibata of Design Studio S.

Monocle recently did an excellent report on the hotel, which we have embedded here. (Thx, Peter!)

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Flat #1

May 14, 2010 all No comments

A staircase as an element of art is an incredible thing. Ecole’s Flat #1 striking floating stairs are composed of unsupported steel treads, magically connected to a wall. Like weightless piano keys, they create a flirty look to emphasize a shift from the living room to the owner’s private space. The stairs leave me intrigued enough to see what greets me at the top, without daring to look sideways or down.

The Flat #1 designed by French architecture and design studio, Ecole, occupies two top floors of an 18th century building in Paris. The space has been redesigned using a minimalist approach that contrasts beautifully with the 18th century building. It features art-gallery white walls, impeccable black accents and an open area to make the most of limited space.

A French twist on minimalist classics? Apparently, the Parisiens can balance the love of drama and a laissez-faire attitude.

CATEGORY: Minimalissimo Allandale House

May 9, 2010 all No comments

Allandale House is a minimal version of the forest cabin based on an extruded A-frame. The Allandale House also provides space for an eccentric collection of artifacts that resist straightforward classification. Wines, rare books, stuffed birds and an elk mount are among the relics on display in this small vacation house.

The house links three horizontal extrusions of asymmetrical A-frames: the western side contains the library, wine cellar and garage. In the centre lay two floors of bedrooms and bathrooms. On the Eastern side, a medium A-frame holds the living, kitchen and dining areas. The medium A-frame on the eastern side consists of living, kitchen and dining areas. The house aims to undermine the seeming limitations of a triangular section by augmenting and revealing the extreme proportion in the vertical direction, and utilizing the acutely angled corners meeting the floor as moments for thickened walls, telescopic apertures and built-in storage.

William O’Brien Jr. is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and is principal of an independent design practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His research and creative practice have been fostered by an interest in the relationships between architecture, technology, landscape, and urbanism with an emphasis on the development of alternative resonances between natural and artificial systems.