John Pawson pares again Barbican residence to “a state of vacancy”

British designer John Pawson has utilized his signature minimalist aesthetic to a Barbican flat, which is solely organized round a timber quantity.

Set inside London’s brutalist Barbican property, the residence has been overhauled by John Pawson to function pale surfaces and only a smattering of furnishings.

“The architectural reimagining of the area started with the concept of paring away every part to a state of vacancy and utilizing three axes from the underlying construction to form the brand new geometry,” defined Pawson’s studio.

Previous to Pawson’s redesign the residence had contained a rabbit warren of rooms, which have been fully stripped again to create a singule open-plan dwelling area.

At its centre is a big boxy quantity crafted from bleached maple wooden. It accommodates the residence’s kitchen, which options handleless white cabinetry, and a examine space the place the inhabitants can earn a living from home.

Emulsion transforms residence in London’s brutalist Barbican Property

Full-height cabinets have been built-in all through so that private belongings may be stowed away as a substitute of cluttering the dwelling areas.

The central quantity additionally helps partially conceal the residence’s one bed room – it was beforehand host to 4.

A timber headboard and bedframe have been pushed up in opposition to an angled wall, directing sight traces to the encompassing cityscape.

A Buddha figurine is displayed on a chunky marble plinth within the nook of the room, certainly one of 5 private gadgets that the purchasers needed to highlight of their house.

It joins three artworks and a grandfather clock, all of which Pawson is hoping will function “waypoints” within the in any other case sparse inside.

The opposite aspect of the central quantity bears the lounge, which is dressed with an oak wood-framed couch and a espresso desk topped with Carrera marble. These supplies have additionally been used to craft a eating desk that may be moved round completely different factors of the residence.

Surfaces all through have been painted white, whereas the ground has been accomplished in gray as a delicate nod to the constructing’s concrete exterior.

Designing for over 30 years, John Pawson has in current months created gallery-style interiors for an equipment retailer in Milan and produced a pared-back iteration of an oil lamp.

He joins a handful of designers and designers which have put their stamp on the famend Barbican flats – again in 2017, Emulsion up to date a triplex residence on the property to incorporate a mezzanine stage and partitions painted in Corbusier-inspired colors.

Azman Architects additionally refreshed a one-bedroom residence on the property with vibrant zigzag carpet and sliding cherry wooden partitions.

Images is by Gilbert McCarragher.