In the realm of architectural design and interior furnishings, achieving a balance between form and function is a daily challenge that designers encounter. This interplay between utility and aesthetics has not only evolved over time but also involves a constant exchange of styles and production methods. Frequently, this interchange leads to standardization and generic designs, potentially causing a depletion of authenticity in the design process.
For this reason, in the contemporary era, designers are revisiting the fundamentals, rediscovering manual design processes that range from sketching to model making, all while embracing pure forms. Designers and manufacturers alike are embracing conscientious approaches to develop proposals that maintain simplicity in design while retaining a distinctive identity. In response to this, Bette, in collaboration with the British design studio Barber Osgerby, proposes the creation of minimalist-style bathrooms through the BetteSuno bathroom collection, stripping away complex shapes and seeking a light visual design.
https://www.archdaily.com/1005100/handcrafted-design-for-minimalist-washbasins-and-bathsEnrique Tovar
When designing contemporary restroom solutions, for both residential and various commercial settings such as corporate, commercial, public, and hospitality purposes, different approaches can shape the design strategy. In line with the latest ongoing discoveries and styles, the use of disruptive material strategies and the presence of minimal and muted lines and color palettes seem to be predominant when creating cutting-edge bathroom designs. Disruptive design aims to enhance functionality, sustainability, and aesthetics through the integration of different features such as smart technologies or modular units, while minimal strategies emphasize simplicity, clean lines, and a luminous color scheme to create soothing and sophisticated environments.
Transforming how we think about restroom spaces, The Splash Lab reinterprets the restroom experience by incorporating four main principles: inclusivity, innovation, sustainability, and a holistic approach. Combining both disruptive designs with minimal strategies, they have created The Aerofoil, a floating single-plane sink that is characterized by its intelligent elements while maintaining a refined design style.
While the kitchen is a ubiquitous part of almost every home—and, in many cases, is considered symbolic of domestic living entirely—it can also take up precious space, produce visual clutter, and detract from the minimalist aesthetic of an otherwise sleek, modern home. For some homeowners, the solution is simply to keep the kitchen clean and organized at all times. But for some innovative contemporary architects and their clients, the solution is to design a compact, concealable kitchen that can quickly and easily be shuttered out of view. Below, we discuss several examples of hidden kitchens, as well as some common techniques and strategies for designing them.
Windows serve multiple essential functions in any project, from framing views to providing daylight and natural ventilation. As human needs have shifted and technology has advanced significantly throughout the years, these have evolved in character, shape, and use of materials. What began as small arrow loops used for defense in medieval fortifications later transformed into wider openings that exemplified status and wealth. The Romans were the first to use glass, but it was considered a precious commodity for centuries. Intricate stained-glass panels adorned countless of medieval churches and cathedrals, while most home dwellers had to settle for covering their “windows” with wood, fur and other materials.
Josh and Matt's apartment embodies their "curated maximalism" style. Image Courtesy of Josh and Matt Design
With the onset of the 2020s, Gen Z is noticeably claiming their place in the world with bold perspectives and even bolder aesthetics. Gen Z proudly experiments with their identities, having grown up on an opinionated internet and through confusing lockdowns. They're bringing in a culture shift with organic shapes, colorful elements, and clashing patterns dominating art, media, fashion, and interior design. The trend is pushing away once-reigning minimalism, shouting Venturi's Less is a Bore.
A few weeks ago, this year’s edition of the Serpentine Pavilion opened to the public. Designed by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, it’s an evocative project, its cylindrical form referencing American beehive kilns, English bottle kilns, and Musgum adobe homes found in Cameroon.
What the pavilion is named tells the viewer a lot more about its intentions as a spatial experience. Titled Black Chapel, it houses a spacious room with wraparound benches, and an oculus above that allows daylight to filter into the space. It’s a fairly minimal interior – designed as a site for contemplation and reflection. This minimal quality of Gates’ Serpentine Pavilion raises particularly interesting questions. How artists and architects opt for a “less is more” approach when designing meditative spaces, but also how these introspective spaces have been equally enhanced by ornamentation.
The visual aesthetic of the past few decades could be defined as designing with the principles of ‘nothingness’. Whether it’s through art, lifestyle, fashion, industrial, or interior design, there has been an alleged need to keep things at a bare minimum, promoting the globally-loved-yet-highly-criticized trend of minimalism. Minimalism is this notion of reducing something to its necessary elements, but who is deciding what is necessary, and who is deciding what is too much? With those questions in mind, combined with radical changes in consumerism and the way people live seen during recent years, current trends have shown that minimalism might be here to stay, but with a twist.
"The details are not the details. They make the design." – Charles Eames. Creating attractive spaces that anticipate the needs of users relies on several factors: scale, circulation, functionality, and comfort. However, the past few decades have proved that the visual appeal of a project is also greatly important, and can make or break the interior space. In this interior focus, we will explore the aesthetic side of interior design, looking at popular styles across the world and how architects and designers use elements such as color, furniture, accessories, and finishes to define their spatial identity.
Minimalism has shaped architecture for over a century. Embracing new materials and rejecting ornament, the modernist movement grounded minimalist architecture through rational use and function. Throughout the 20th century, architects returned to minimalism as they worked with glass, steel and reinforced concrete. Over time, minimalist and modernist designs became more closely tied to cost, construction and aesthetic.
At its heart, extreme-minimalism is a rebellion against consumerism, it’s a cathartic process of learning to live without. But it’s also a decorative style in its own right – a clean world for a clean mind.
Modernism could be described as one of the most optimistic styles in architectural history, drawing from notions of utopia, innovation, and the reimagination of how humans would live, work, and interact. As we reflected in our AD Essentials Guide to Modernism, the philosophy of Modernism still dominates much of architectural discourse today, even if the world that gave rise to Modernism has changed utterly.
As we say goodbye to 2019, a year that saw the centenary of the Bauhaus, we have collated a list of key architectural styles that defined Modernism in architecture. This tool for understanding the development of 20th-century design is complete with examples of each style, showcasing the practice of Modernism that lay behind the theory.
This article was made in partnership with Design Indaba, a website and annual festival that uncovers innovation for good. Click here to learn more about the annual event.
It took a few years and multiple failed career attempts for renowned minimalist designer John Pawson to truly enter the world of architecture. Though he’d cultivated an interest in design from a young age, he’d initially shied away due to his beliefs that he needed to be good at math and that design was an innate skill rather than something that could be taught.
On March 1, 1967, João Batista Vilanova Artigas, Brazilian modernist architect, proffered at the College of Architecture and Urbanism of Sao Paulo University an inaugural lesson that marks his return to the university after the exile imposed by the Brazilian military coup. This lesson became one of the most influential concept to the next generation of Brazilian architects and we share here the entire speech.
Are you in the market for a new set of minimalist earrings or a necklace inspired by the constructivist movement? You can now own all of this and more, with RIIA's line of minimalist-inspired jewelry. This Los Angeles-based jewelry designer is removing the overly decorative elements in jewelry and bringing to light the beauty of pure forms.
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.jpg?1577789737 "Vitra Design Museum / Gehry Partners. Image © Liao Yusheng")
