Minimalism in Architecture? Is it possible?
Minimalism in Architecture? Is it possible?
#32 A thought piece on trying to become a minimalist
From the Curator 😎💻
Yo, What's up! Joseph here
Thursday almost flew right past me and I almost forgot to send this out.. 😅 I bet you’re tired of hearing it but it seems like these days are moving so much faster and it’s getting hard to keep up with everything! I need a vacation, I think that’s what it is.
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Thought of the Week 💭
There have been a few things on my mind this week, one being my work sketchbook and the other being a minimalist and what that means in architecture..
Let's unpack the minimalist one because I hope to make a video about my sketchbooks soon.
So what does it mean to be a "Minimalist in Architecture?"
I'm sure you've heard the term minimalist be thrown around recently and although we may all strive to become one, we just have too much stuff.. yeah, I've been on this journey of trying to become a minimalist for over a year now and I look around my house and my desk and I'm pretty ashamed to even say that I'm trying to become a minimalist. So, what do we do about it? We watch youtube videos of other minimalists and try to emulate them and get inspiration! At least I do..
One of the biggest things I've learned while watching these videos and on my journey is that it's not about the amount of stuff but how you deal with all of it. Sure you can get rid of everything you own to declutter but what about the things you find truly valuable like all of my plants or your ever growing library of unread books? The saying goes, "if it sparks joy then keep it." Well, what about architecture sparks joy?
That's a deep question for a lot of people... what about architecture sparks joy for you? It could be the profession as a whole doesn't spark joy or making sure the quality of the building is the best it can possibly be. Two extremes I know.. but sometimes I feel like the profession doesn't spark joy and that's because of the types of projects I'm working on or the things we are adding to the build that I feel might be sub-par.
Is it hard to create design standards that bring you joy? Is that the solution to becoming a minimalist in architecture? Could be.. What if I get to design a green wall in every one of my projects? That would be awesome 1. because I think they look bad ass but 2. because even if the rest of the build is super simple and basic, as long as I get to have that feature that sparks joy in my design then why not relish in the final product? I guess what this might be getting at is more so designing as a minimalist or a minimalist design process vs minimalism in architecture?
I dropped this in my "thoughts" tab because there is no right or wrong answer. There is no complete thought, just something that I need to think about the next time I design and hopefully something you start to think about to.
Resource of the Week 🔗
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