John Pawson

London-based architect and designer John Pawson has always been driven by the pursuit of simplicity. “The art of subtracting—of paring back—is both an intellectual and a sensory undertaking and is a practice that has defined my entire working life,” says Pawson, who is an ardent admirer of the modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. “It is the essential prelude to achieving the sense of ease and stillness that, for me, is essential to feeling at home in a place.” Born in Halifax, England, in 1949, Pawson took a circuitous path to architecture and design. After attending Eton, he spent a year traveling the world, then worked for his father’s clothing business for six years, before moving to Japan with the intent of becoming a Buddhist monk. Although he discovered that he did not have a monastic vocation, he remained in Japan for four years, supporting himself by teaching English. During this period he also met and became friends with designer Shiro Kuramata, who showed Pawson what life as a designer could look like. “He taught me the value of discipline. . .His determination to get things right was absolute,” Pawson wrote. It was on Kuramata’s recommendation that Pawson, when he returned home, attended the Architectural Association School of Architecture.