you tell your architect to bunch up the windows, the passage-ways, because you want immense uncluttered / neutral wall space to hang your art. on the other hand if you don’t have a ton of art you can tell the architect you wish your home to be the art statement. the armella house is such a house.






one wonders what one wears in a house like this. all white, black, or grey ? and one also wonders if after a time the color palette needs to be changed. that said, this is indeed a beautifully conceived and festive home built in mexico, rich in local colors.

Designer: bosco gutierrez cortina
Date: 1994

1. Accumulate little
Gandhi believed in possessing little except the clothes he wore and some utensils for cooking and eating. He used to give away or auction any gift that was ever given to him.

It may not be possible these days for us to get down to less than ten possessions like Gandhi did, but start cutting down to bare basics. Recycle, give things away, or auction your unwanted possessions.

We tend to spend a lot of time and energy looking after our possessions. By having fewer things to possess and look after, your life naturally becomes simpler.

2. Eat simple food
Gandhi never had a problem with being overweight. He followed a strict vegetarian diet and frequently cooked his own simple food, which was locally produced.

He ate this simple food from a small bowl, a reminder to eat moderately, and at the same time he ate mindfully, often accompanied by prayers. So eat simply and moderately.

3. Dress simply.
Gandhi wore simple clothes that conveyed his message.

There is this anecdotal story of the time when Gandhi met the King of Great Britain in London and he wore his simple wrap around cloth. A journalist asked Gandhi, “Mr Gandhi, did you feel under-dressed when you met the King?” Gandhi replied, “The King was wearing enough clothes for both of us!”

Though it may not be practical to weave your own cloth and make your own clothes, you can simplify your life by dressing for comfort, not to impress. A simple hairstyle can shorten your grooming routine. You could even go as far as Gandhi and Leo Babauta and shave your hair off.

4. Lead a simple, stress-free life
Gandhi never got stressed. He meditated daily and spent hours in reflection and prayer.

Though he was a world leader and idolized by millions, he continued to lead a simple life with few distractions and commitments. He would even interrupt his political meetings to go off and play with children.

And despite all his needs being taken care off, Gandhi still insisted on doing his own simple things. He advocated self-sufficiency and simple work. So don’t take life too seriously — remember to take time out to play.

5. Let your life be your message
Though he was a prolific writer and powerful speaker, in private Gandhi spoke very quietly and only when necessary. He was also very punchy and concise in his writing. He preferred to let his life do the talking for him.

By living a simple life, Gandhi was able to devote his life to his chosen higher purpose. He was totally focussed on his commitment to his people and the world. Even if you don’t wish to be another Gandhi, your life will be much simpler and happier by following his life lessons.

“If one has wealth, it does not mean that it should be thrown away and wife and children should be turned out of doors. It simply means that one must give up attachment of these things!” ~Gandhi

note: the author of this article makes a point to “take up the 100 thing challenge and see if you can get down to owning less than 100 or even less than 50 things.” on his list was a “minimalistic desk”.





above: one less desk by heckler design

from zen habits | keep in minimal…simple

On June 23, 2007, a few quiet groups began arriving in New Canaan, Conn., to tour Philip Johnson’s modernist home, the Glass House–the first official tours of the property in more than 50 years. The house, the centerpiece of an estate that Johnson added to over the years, is a 56-foot-long box.







above: more images from photographer michael moran seen in arcspace.com









above: more images from photographer paul warchol seen at metropolismag.com





above left to right: andy warhol, david whitney, johnson, dr. john dalton, and robert a. m. stern in 1964. (david mccabe)





above: guesthouse, aesthetic counterpoint to glass house, the brick house holds most of its utilities. (paul warchol)





above: the pavilion 1962. the six foot tall pavilion is situated by a man-made pond. {michael moran)





above: the brick house





above: entrance to the painting gallery





above: a model of the glass house on display at MOMA in NYC

“The house forms a nucleus of 40- acre landscaped complex that contain many other structures. Michael Moran’s photographs present the Glass House in this greater context, and demonstrate that neither part – the house nor its surroundings – would make sense alone”. Hilary Lewis, Philip Johnson’s biographer.

we are reminded that along with the farnsworth house, the glass house is also a national trust for historic preservation ( NTFHP ) site.

Designer: phillip johnson

Resources:
philipjohnsonglasshouse.org
metropolismag.com
time.com
arcspace.com
wikipedia
NTFHP
the farnsworth house

My early clients included Fujikawa Conterato Lohan ( formerly the office of Mies ) and then Lohan Associates, Dirk Lohan is Mies’s grandson. The relationship exposed me to the process of Mies and his desciples. Their strength, and sometimes flaw, was an unwavering loyalty to core principles that made their structures immediately recognized.

The architects almost exclusively built towers, both commercial and residential, and yes, the buildings are very similar, both inside and out. The majority of the buildings until the mid 80s are dark bronze to match the patina of cor-ten steel which is used quite a bit.

It’s not a stretch to say the house resembles the street level lobbies of the towers. It also looks and feels like a white mini-McCormick Place, a convention center. Mies applied the concept of the unobstructed space of exhibit halls that is flexible for use by people.

Effective January 1, 2010, Landmarks Illinois transferred operation of the Farnsworth House to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the property’s owner.






















above: the core to all mechanicals. the house built on a flood plain, the main slab is 5-3 feet high.

The vitals:
The total cost of the house was $74,000 in 1951.
Materials almost exclusively are glass, steel, and travertine stone.
The main deck is 5-3 feet high to prevent flooding ;-(
The house is now a museum and in the process of restoration due to severe flood damage.
Landmarks Illinois transferred operation of the Farnsworth House, effective January 1, 2010, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the property’s owner.

Designer: ludwig mies van der rohe

Resources:
wikipedia
wired new york forum
pruned
farnsworthhouse.org
strangeharvest
channel4
mr watson
prusikloop
architectural guidance
skyscraper page

]]> http://designapplause.com/2010/farnsworth-house-revisited/7651/feed/ 8 http://designapplause.com/2009/the-minimalist-luxury-credo-or-a-little-black-dress/7285/ http://designapplause.com/2009/the-minimalist-luxury-credo-or-a-little-black-dress/7285/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:25:11 +0000 PRand http://designapplause.com/?p=7285 lbd's somehow can work with flip-flops or stilettos.]]> lbd’s somehow can work with flip-flops or stilettos.

window dressing(s) on the luxury venues this time of year does put you in a mood. it’s only fitting to read THIS account from a self-proclaimed connoisseur via her blog, privilege…

<< In the beginning I thought minimalism meant pared-down design. Mies Van der Rohe chairs. The opposite of baroque, or ornate.

Or, the current indie frugality trend? Canning peaches, attaching toilet paper rolls to your walls as art*, reusing plastic bags.

But a few weeks ago I bought a very expensive little black dress, and I believe it was the most minimalist action I’ve taken in the last 5 years. Luxury isn’t the antithesis of minimalism, unnecessary is.

Let’s be clear. It wasn’t a virtuous purchase. No self-denial involved. I love my dress. Made from a cashmere wool blend, and therefore not itchy, but even so, lined in the bodice. Sleeves. I no longer have the need or wish to show my upper arms. Knee length, applying similar principles to the legs. Structured, seamed, perfectly fitting. Narciso Rodriguez, for those who care, as I confess I do, about designers’ bodies of work.

But it’s not the aesthetic, the lack of ruffles, lace, sheer panels, nor the usefulness alone that makes me cry minimalism. I present the minimalist luxury credo, for your review.

1. Be clear why you need what you plan to buy. For what uses? They must be multiple, or critical, i.e. many times, or one time so important it is nigh-historic. I will wear this little black dress, as I have two others in my life, for 5-10 years. With joy. Over and over and over again, each time feeling fantastic and honoring the occasion I celebrate.

2. Be sure you have no happy way to do without. None. When I am called to dress up, if I feel I have nothing appropriate to wear, my upbringing calls in the ghosts and I become sad, anxious, and resentful. This may not be true for you. You will have your own ghosts and your own non-negotiable needs to either burn from your soul or make peace with. Which brings us to the next point.

3. Understand the requirements of your heart and your circumstances point by point. Make sure you know what you want and that you have realistically assessed the likelihood that this purchase will answer your needs. I don’t go to Burning Man. I can see, even now, the times and places I will wear my dress and I can feel looming anxiety dissipate.

4. Do homework to understand price banding. Luxury does not relieve us of the responsibility to assess value. I had looked at J. Crew and found nothing, tried on Barney’s New York private label version to no avail, and vintage clothing gives me the creeps. I am familiar with Rodriguez and his reputation for quality. I also knew, that though his dresses are expensive, I could afford the purchase. Or I would never have walked into the store to begin with. Minimalism means do not stir up undue desires that you cannot fulfill without consequence.

5. Never make anyone else feel bad for what they can’t have. Because, if you pare away everything unnecessary, courtesy has to make the cut.

(Because Little Black Dresses are as flexible in philosophy and meme as they are on the body. Hence the enduring appeal.) >> more pov’s from privilege

DA— the following dresses / designers, and many more, found by googling “minimal little black dresses” and doing an “images” search…

below:
Designer: katarina danisová
Photographer: vivienne bolla

Designer: louis vuitton
Photographer: vivienne bolla

Designer: orsolya kránitz
Photographer: vivienne bolla

Dieter Rams (born May 20, 1932 in Wiesbaden) is a German industrial designer closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the Functionalist school of industrial design.

In 1993 I asked Dieter to speak to the Architecture & Design Society at the Art Institute of Chicago. The society recently had a name change: “design” had been added. We joked ( ahem ) at the time that the real estate economy was so bad that the Architecture Society needed new members. We needed a credible and passionate design icon to speak to this group. Dieter became the first designer to speak under the society’s new name.

What I remember that night and again recently while watching the Objectified movie was Dieter’s 10 design principles. Honestly, I can’t tell you for sure that these are the same principles. Hoping Dieter will set the story straight.

I think I like the earlier stuff better. Maybe it was the materials or maybe it was so different than the pack at the time. The first Braun product I remember making a design connect to me was an electric razor. Much of Dieter’s work has long seemed more connected to brutalism than minimalism. Let’s say beautifully, brutally, minimal.

* Good design is innovative
* Good design makes a product useful
* Good design is aesthetic
* Good design helps us to understand a product
* Good design is unobtrusive
* Good design is honest
* Good design is durable
* Good design is consequent to the last detail
* Good design is concerned with the environment
* Good design is as little design as possible

resources:
vitsoe
designmuseum
gizmodo
victoria and albert museum
dieter rams flickr
braun flickr
37 signals
tendesignprinciples
new: a bit late

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Here’s an article from a Zen blog that’s more about a minimal lifestyle than aesthetics.
As a designer who loves minimal aesthetics, the process of pealing away to the bare essentials, this was a most interesting find…

“Omit needless words.” – William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

Minimalism is something people might strive for, but they don’t know where to start.

Start with the advice of William Strunk Jr. in his classic minimalist treatise on writing (quoted above), but apply it to life in general, and everything you do: “Omit needless things.”

You could (and probably should) stop writing there, because that’s really all the advice you need. However, the idea needs a little expanding. Strunk, for example, wrote:

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

This is the addition to “Omit needless things” that is necessary: not that you have as little as humanly possible, but that every thing you do have counts.

Let’s apply this to various areas of life:
• Possessions: Look around you, at work and home. Is everything you own important? Can you get rid of things, and keep only the things that really matter? Edit vigorously, until you’ve whittled it down to the minimum for the life you want to lead. Read: A Guide to Creating a Minimalist Home.
• Buying: It’s a waste of time to reduce your possessions if you just buy a bunch more. What’s important is being content with life, not stuff, and thereby reducing your needs. If you don’t use buying to fulfill your needs, you’ll only really buy what you need. Or maybe you’ll be able to go without money.
• Eating: How much do you really need to eat? Do you need the big plate of chili cheese fries? The fully loaded nachos? All those slices of cakes? All those cream-filled sugary coffees? Often the answer is no. Omit needless food, and make everything you eat count — by making your food nutrient-dense, fiber-dense, healthy and filling.
• Doing: Do less. Make everything you do count. Look at your to-do list and see what’s really important. In fact, examine your work life in general and see whether you’re really making every day count. Omit needless activity.
• Goals: Do we really need 101 goals? Can we do with just a few, or even one? By focusing on less, you can really pour yourself into it.
• What you produce: If you produce something, whether it’s writing or music or software or clothing, see if you can simplify and keep it more focused. If you create a website, can you give it one single purpose, with one call to action? Can you do that with your writing or music? Figure out what that purpose is, and edit ruthlessly so that everything that remains counts.
• The rest of life: In anything you do, see if you can apply these principles. There’s no need to get obsessive about it, of course, but it’s always useful to examine what we do, how we do it, and whether we really need to do it.
For those who want more minimalism:
• Minima
• Becoming Minimalist
• Minimal Mac
• Why the Minimalist Lifestyle Appeals to Me

Note: our household keeps getting more minimal in terms of visual, possessions, and buying each year. KISS.

The extremely graceful and inviting chair has been especially designed for places where informal encounters happen.

Places where a light and loose atmosphere can be created that also projects quality. The smooth lines of the foot section and the distinctive seat frame are fascinating due to their subtle, organic minimalism – plus a high degree of seated comfort that is provided by an innovative, seamless and structured cover using shaped knitting technology. The range is completed by a footstool and a matching three-legged side table.

Available from mid-2009 Introduced at Orgatec 2008

Design: Eric Degenhardt
Producer: Wikhahn