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BASIC SPACE

MINIMALISM VS. MAXIMALISM

INTE RVIEW 2

MINIMALIST CHALLENGE

TASTY TYPE

RAGE PAGE

MINIMALIST FASHIO N

INTE RVIEW1

NOT WHEN THERE IS BUT WHEN THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO ADD

NOTHING LEFT TO

TAKE AWAY

There now exists in the world a house that measures

one square meter. The aptly-named One-Sqm-House

was designed and conceived by Berlin-based architect

Van Bo Le-Mentzel as a place where “no one other

than I, myself, can decide what happens with this

one square meter of mine in the world. It’s the only

square meter in the world where I can decide what

direction the window looks in, what direction the

door opens in, what neighbors I have.” It is no won-

der that Le-Mentzel has become obsessed with the

concept of home, as he fled his homeland of Laos as

a refugee and has spent his career exploring the top-

ic. Now, thanks to the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the

young architect, budding furniture designer, and tiny

home aficionado can share his vision with the world.

the project was designed for the hot Madrid summer, the team

created shaded outdoor space by raising three legs of the building

off the ground. The legs contain services, equipment, and water.

The house is built solely of wood, cut from laminated timber

It took a contractor six months to hand-craft the ovoid shape

of Blob, a guesthouse out of polyester. The interior is lined

with a gridlike storage system, which also has compartments

for lounging and sleeping, along with some eating space.

The idea for this house has its origins in a bike shed. a structure

made of curved steel ribs and covered in semi-opaque poly

carbonate. This nano house is compact living at its finest , as its

sufficient for a single person-with kitchen space and sleeping area.

Designed by students Christian Zwick and Konstantin Jerabek

as a competition entry, Roll-It is the ultimate mobile home.

Not only does its barrel shape allow it to be easily transported

but its interior rotates like a round Rubik’s cube.

ROLL IT

The moon

shone for her,

In perfect

circles for

young, flushed

cheeks,

In diamonds

for the

scales of well

worn arms.

MALVIKA TEWARI

When you simplify your

life, you’re cutting back

on the complexity of what

you do and what you

own. Minimalism is about

the same things. So how

is minimalism different,

you ask? It’s basically an

extension of simplicity,

wherein not only do you

take things from complex

to simple, but you try

to get rid of anything

that’s unnecessary.

All but the essential.

By eliminating the

unnecessary, we make

room for the essential,

and give ourselves more

breathing space. The

only universal measure is

whether the space feels

comfortable and right to

the people who use it.

Minimalist design is one

of the most significant

design movements of

the 20th century and

early 21st century. It

has arguably penetrated

more fields than almost

any other art or design

trend. The reason for this

is because it’s more of

a principle than a visual

style. In architecture, the

vision is comprehensive

and seamless, a quality of

space rather than forms;

places, not things. It is

not an architecture of

self-denial, deprivation

or absence: it is defined

not by what is not there,

but by the rightness of

what is there and by the

richness with which this

is experienced. The works

of Minimalist architects

like Luis Barragan,

Claudio Silvestrin, and

Tadao Ando explore the

fundamentals of space,

light and materials

while avoiding stylistic

mannerisms. Minimalism

is where everyone in

is slowly but evidently

heading. Nevertheless,

minimalism is a style. Like

any style, it’s not an all

purpose solution to every

situation.

“Why do we assume that simple is good? Because with physical products, we have to feel we can dominate them. As you bring order to complexity, you find away to make the product defer to you. Simplicity isn’t just a visual style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep.” -Jonathan Ive

Miracles occur when you choose to think big! Organic

forms spread out across the screen, at times explosive,

at times hardly noticeable, fascinating the observers.

The scientific principle of complexity, as counterpart to

a reductionist view of the world, has a central influence

on the design scene. People tend to home in on the idea

of removal, believing that it is all somehow a case of

throwing out the furniture and painting the walls white.

The architecture of the twenty-first century found in

Maximalism the ideal vehicle through which to express the

configuration of an ever-growing desire for uniqueness as

well as a way of accentuating the personality of the most

important architects of the contemporary world. Rather

than excluding indiscriminately, focusing time, energy,

and effort on more of the good things in life and ruthlessly

excluding the bad. is considered being maximalism by

some who choose this lifestyle. Get more of what you

really want. To truly accept the idea of maximalism, one

has to to be a bit of an extremist; there isn’t much room

for existing “in the middle.” Being a maximalist provides

a new edge to looking at things. One can avoid looking

generic and develop a unique personality in their design,

work or even lifestyle for that matter!

Less is more

Geoffrey Gilson

Barcelona, Spain

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