John Pawson – författare

After inheriting a seventeenth-century Tuscan villa, Ned Lambton and his wife, Marina, lovingly restored the estate as a retreat for family and friends. With newly commissioned photographs by Simon Upton, Lambton brings to life the rich history of the villa, its redecoration, its raucous history, and, above all else, the dream of owning and renovating a Tuscan villa. Located just outside Siena, Italy, Villa Cetinale stands amid vineyards, silver olive groves, and wooded hills that have remained largely untouched since the late seventeenth century, when Cardinal Flavio Chigi, a nephew of Pope Alexander VII, expanded what was a modest farmhouse into the villa we see today. Cetinale was acquired from the Chigi dynasty in 1978, by the charismatic Lord Antony Lambton, the author s father, who cultivated the villa s reputation as one of the most beautiful and glamourous homes in Italy, laying out new gardens and hosting fashionable figures from England (Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Mick Jagger, Rupert Everett, Tony Blair, and Kate Moss). The villa has undergone major refurbishment all without altering the original character of the house with restoration work carried out by Bolko von Schweinichen, a Florentine architect known for his reverent handling of historic buildings, and interiors by London decorator Camilla Guinness, a lifelong friend of the family.

An exploration of the essential nature of domestic space through John Pawson’s work and his inspirationsJohn Pawson: The Minimal Home, the latest volume in Phaidon's documentation of John Pawson's distinguished career, hones in on the minimalist master’s approach to designing modern homes. Spotlighting the details that mark Pawson’s distinctive architectural and aesthetic style, the book explores the essential nature of domestic space through John Pawson’s work and his inspirations.As Minimum, first published by Phaidon in 1996, explored the idea of simplicity in architecture, art, and design across a variety of historical and cultural contexts, John Pawson: The Minimal Home explores the many ways in which architecture and design can help us to shape the ways in which we lead our lives at home.The book is organized into six chapters, reflecting the way that a modern home is used: living, cooking, eating, bathing, sleeping, and working. Each section is illustrated with examples of Pawson’s work, from the 1980s to the present day, as well as with images of historical precedents, inspirations and his experiences. From bathing in hot springs in Japan, to spending time at Donald Judd’s home at Marfa in Texas, the Cistercian Abbey of Le Thoronet in Provence, and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House outside of Chicago.Deyan Sudjic, Director emeritus of the Design Museum in London, provides a thoughtful commentary on the domestic interior and reflects on John’s responses to historical precedents, while John discusses his approach to design in six accompanying texts.Filled with elegant photography John Pawson: The Minimal Home showcases the architect designer’s aim to create spaces which are comfortable to use, visually as well as physically, an ambition that gives his work lasting relevance.