John Pawson

'It’s not far short of half a century since
I visited the Farnsworth House for the
first time. Mies designed the architecture
to sit above the flood plain, but of course
the levels rose and now it appears to be
literally floating, against a backdrop of trees and a foreground of water. I remember being surprised at the scale of the place.

The steps up to the platform are heroic and then you rise again. Everything is conceived so generously — rather like the Barcelona Chair being one and a half times wider than you need. I love the simplicity — all the panes of glass are the same size and the roof is supported on just four columns. I was with a group of people and the house-keeper wanted to explain things to us, but I just wanted to be quiet in the space, so I suggested we have a few moments of silence for Mies and, because the house-keeper was competitive and did not want to be the first to break it, none of us spoke
for about twelve minutes.’

John Pawson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography
John Pawson, 1980