28
29
John Pawson
THE ARCHITECT
OF NEUENDORF HOUSE
Known as the Master of minimalism, John Pawson’s life
journey became clear at just 18-years of age whilst reading
the Danish journal for art and design called Mobilia – “It
was amazingly purist and had everything I liked in it”.
Neuendorf House was the first full architectural project
Pawson worked on, together with Claudio Silvestrin. At the
time, it was a potentially career-defining chance to express
their ideas, so they lavished a great deal of time and energy
on getting every detail right. The character of the site and
their strong ideas about atmosphere were key focal points
in the architectural approach.
One of the key characteristics of Neuendorf House is the
way it removes conventional divisions between inside and
outside space, aiming to achieve a quality of proportion in
outside space more usually associated with interiors.
Furniture plays a major role in this fusion.
Pawson kept pieces to a minimum, allowing them to transcend
these categories with equal freedom, reading and functioning
comfortably, regardless of where they’re placed.
The CH24 Wishbone Chairs, for example, are placed both
inside and scattered around semi-enclosed living areas
looking out on the 30m swimming pool. For Pawson, it is all
architecture. Whether it’s a wall or a chair or table, every
component of a space contributes to or detracts from the
quality of wholeness. For this reason, he starts thinking
about furniture choices right from the very beginning of the
design process, choosing pieces that neither disappear in
a space, nor distract the eye.
Pawson is also eternally curious about the materials he
chooses. He likes to explore limitations, asking questions
such as: “What is the widest wooden board or the thinnest
slice of a particular stone I can specify?” He enjoys
expeditions to quarries, forests and timber mills and uses
only the most skilled craftspeople who really understand
the possibilities and limits of a particular material.
Nature’s limits seem endless at Neuendorf House as the divide
between the visible surface and what lies beneath disappear.
The interplay with light and shadow create a unique experience
to be enjoyed with every Mediterranean sunrise and sunset.
