John Ward Pawson , (born 1949,
Halifax, England)
is a British architect whose work is known for its minimalist aesthetic.
Architectural Registration Board (ARB) of UK asked
Dezeen
''Dezeen'' is an online architecture, interiors and design magazine based in London, with offices in Hoxton and also previously in New York City.
History
''Dezeen'' was launched in London by Marcus Fairs at the end of November 2006. Its New Yo ...
magazine not to refer him as architect although this was criticised by the publication.
Biography
Pawson was born and brought up in Halifax,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, the youngest of five children.
Coming from a wealthy family, he was schooled at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
* Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
* Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
.
After a period in the family textile business Pawson left for Japan in his mid-twenties, moving to Tokyo during the final year of his stay, where he visited the studio of Japanese architect and designer Shiro Kuramata. On his return to England he enrolled at the
Architectural Association School of Architecture
The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in t ...
in London, leaving to establish his own practice in 1981.
[John Pawson]
JohnPawson.com
Pawson's work focuses on ways of approaching fundamental problems of space, proportion, light and materials.
Whilst private houses have remained at the core of the work, projects have spanned a wide range of scales and
building typologies, from the Sackler Crossing across the lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a flagship store for Calvin Klein and major commissions for Ian Schrager, to ballet sets, yacht interiors, a new Cistercian monastery in Bohemia and a Second World War telecommunications bunker in Berlin. John Pawson transformed a former bunker into The Feuerle Collection. The practice is currently involved in the creation of a new permanent home for the Design Museum in London.
An exhibition of Pawson's work was held at the
Design Museum
The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
in September 2010.
In May 2018, Pawson's first photography exhibition took place at The Store X, 180 Strand, London. All 320 images from his serie
Spectrum first published as a book b
Phaidonof the same name, were shown as an architectural installation. The immersive experience used the entirety of the gallery space, where the chromatic spectrum was legible from both ends of the room.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the
2019 New Year Honours for services to Design and Architecture.
Awards
*Blueprint Architect of the Year (2005)
*RSA Royal Designer for Industry (2005)
*Region Skane Award (2006)
*Wallpaper* House of the Year (2006)
*Stephen Lawrence Prize (2008)
*Fondazione Frate Sole International Prize for Sacred Architecture (2008)
*
RIBA National Award
RIBA National Awards are part of an awards program operated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, also encompassing the Stirling Prize, the European Award and the International Award. The National Awards are given to buildings in the UK w ...
(2008)
*RIBA Arts & Leisure Regional Award (2008)
*RIBA London Special Award (2008)
*German Design Council Interior Designer of the Year (2014)
Notable projects
London's Cannelle Cake Shop, several
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...
stores; such as the ice palace on Madison Avenue,
work for
Jigsaw (clothing retailer)
Jigsaw is a fashion clothing retailer with store and concession partners across Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia. The company is based on Mortlake Road in Kew, south west London. The group turned over £102m for the 2017/2018 peri ...
,
New Wardour Castle
New Wardour Castle is a Grade I listed English country house at Wardour, near Tisbury in Wiltshire, built for the Arundell family. The house is of Palladian style, designed by the architect James Paine, with additions by Giacomo Quarenghi, wh ...
apartments (2001), the
Nový Dvůr Monastery,
John Pawson: Plain Space
Rowan Moore, The Observer, 19 September 2010 Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sept-Fons, Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(2004), Hotel Puerta America, Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
(2005), Medina House in Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, and the Sackler Crossing, a walkway over the lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
(2006).
References
External links
John Pawson official website
John Pawson biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawson, John
1949 births
English designers
Living people
Modernist architects from England
People educated at Eton College
People from Halifax, West Yorkshire
Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire