Deyan Sudjic’s new monograph presents John Pawson ‘unplugged’ – as a connoisseur of light, space and time.
Sandra Hofmeister
John Pawson, Deyan Sudjic, John Pawson: The Minimal Home, Phaidon, London 2026 → order now
An Encounter in Berlin
Many years ago, I met John Pawon in person. We were at a restaurant in Kreuzberg with a group of collectors, journalists and photographers. I mention this because I was so surprised, and still am today, that this incredibly lively, bubbly and eloquent man, who is always in the mood for a laugh and always has a good joke up his sleeve, is truly the same person as the John Pawson whose designs are so radically reduced. Stripped back to their very essence, they reveal nothing but the essentials: light, materials, space. That is John Pawson as he is known internationally.
John Pawson, Private House, California, USA, 2022. Photography: Harry Crowder
Classics everywhere
In John Pawson: The Minimal Home, Deyan Sudjic presents interior design concepts – which have since become something of a timeless classic. John Pawson and his team have been designing doctors’ surgeries, private homes, shops and restaurants for more than 40 years. Over the years, they have created not only famous interiors in public spaces such as the Wagamama restaurant in London, but also a monastery in Bohemia and the architect’s own exemplary farmhouse in Gloucestershire.
John Pawson, Pawson House, London, 1994. Photo courtesy and copyright © John Pawson
Marble and oak
Sudijc has organised the chapters thematically: living, cooking, eating, bathing, working, sleeping – all functions that feature in everyday life. Perhaps a somewhat rigid classification, but it works well for the book – and for Pawson’s architecture. Through photographs, drawings and film stills, a comprehensive picture emerges, John Pawson unplugged. Each chapter ties in with Pawson’s own reflections, first-hand insights into the design process. Pawson’s aesthetic becomes tangible; it takes shape amidst Carrara marble and Japanese oak, drawing parallels with Donald Judd and the Pantheon. A great deal comes together here, even if it may seem like very little.
John Pawson, Deyan Sudjic
John Pawson: The Minimal Home
Hardcover, 344 Seiten
270 x 205 mm
Phaidon, London 2026
ISBN 978 1 83729 248 6
John Pawson, Home Farm, Oxfordshire, UK, 2019. Photography: François Halard
