Dating back to the 1970s, minimalism is considered an offshoot of the contemporary style. It has a strong influence on fields such as fashion, music, photography, graphics,.. And architecture – interior is not out of that rule. Find out how Minimalism affects architecture and interior design!
What is Minimalism?
Minimalism is a style that expresses the diverse tendencies of art, especially in the visual arts and music whose works are minimalist to their most essential requirements.
The minimalist style originated in Western art after World War 2, most clearly in the visual arts with the paintings of Mark Rothko. The concept was gradually expanded to include musical tendencies characterized by repetition, typically the works of Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley. The minimalist style has its roots in the purity and succinctness of Modernism, which is associated with Postmodernism and is seen as the opposite reaction to Expressionism in the content as well as in the composition of the work.
Minimalism style in architecture
Minimalism – can be understood as getting to the bottom of simplicity, as simple as possible. Minimalist style has a wide influence across the arts, design and creative industries. Minimalist style is present in painting, music, photography, graphics, industrial posing, fashion,… and of course in architecture – when architecture is still close to the classic arts.
German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969_ – one of the masters of modern architecture in the world, considered the father of minimalist architecture. His views are expressed in the maxim “Less is more”. The works of this time by Mies van der Rohe laid the foundation for a minimalist architectural style with new perspectives on the organization of architectural space, with new structures and materials such as steel and glass. After the upheavals of politics and times in Europe, he moved to live and work in the United States in 1937, continuing to pursue his school of architecture. The architecture of Mies van der Rohe is pure, simple, delicate, orderly spaces: lines, planes, right angles,… clearly reveal the structure of the structural system.
In the East, Japan is considered the master of minimalism in architecture. This style is present in most Japanese architecture, from modern architecture to traditional buildings. Minimalism is consistently expressed from the architectural form to the interior of the building, smoothly combining a modern trend with traditional Japanese cultural and spiritual values. minimalism in architecture, typified by architect Tadao Ando. Tadao Ando’s works are truly works of art of space and light, of the harmony of architecture and nature, with a unique and creative personality.
The basic features of Minimalism in architecture
Less is more – it is the origin, the thought, the philosophy, the guiding principle that architect Mies van der Rohe set out. In contrast to the classical school and many other schools of filling, beautifying, perfecting architecture with details, by interior decoration; Minimalist architecture completes itself with the least possible – that’s a lot. At the very least, it’s about perfection and success. From that origin, “restriction” is one of the principles – the specific expression of minimalist architecture.
Towards the value of space – the essence of architecture is space. Minimalist architecture aims at that value and creates a tight, curvy, condensed, airy, light-filled space. The simplicity of the overall form, architectural details, the moderation in the use of materials, colors … to bring focus on space and make space the main content of the project. The space of minimalist architecture is balanced, static, pure, made up of walls, flat, uniform ceiling arrays, straight lines, simple shapes and large gaps. The elimination and limitation of details, colors, unnecessary things to direct the focus to the architectural space. It is the space that creates the emotion, not the decorations, furniture or anything else.
Towards nature and ego: in terms of pure form, it can be seen that minimalist architecture brings dryness, boredom and monotony, even cold and unfriendly. But the essence of architecture is not in the superficial shell. And to feel that, in addition to the eyes to see, it takes an open, exploratory mindset. An architecture is minimalist when the owner understands his or her ego, and the architect transforms in the language of architecture. And only when you know yourself well, the owner can really own and stick with the house.
Minimalist architecture has similarities with traditional culture and Japanese Zen (Zen). Zen emphasizes the importance of contemplation rather than the reading of scriptures and religious rites as well as the reasoning of the teachings. Zen conveys free thoughts and the nature of life. Minimalist architecture aims at the essence of architecture as space, upholding the nature of space and materials. Therefore, minimalist architecture integrates with traditional Japanese culture, creating Zen spaces and new cultural values through architecture.
Art of light: light is a constituent element of architectural art. With minimalist architecture, lighting is very important and even more meaningful, especially natural light. Color in minimalist style is limited, so light is a key component for decoration and creates aesthetic value through visual effects. Natural light is always changing and changing the feelings and emotions of the person standing in that space. The lighting is intended in the design to emphasize the main components and areas; highlighting architectural and interior shapes; used to lead the line or create blocks of light, shadows according to the intention … Light and shadow effects are exploited through doorways, glass walls, roofs, gaps, structural components, curtains or even trees. Artificial lighting is also very well researched, carefully calculated in the intention of describing the spatial structure and interior components.
The “minimalist” interior layout style is currently very popular because of the simplicity and sophistication in the space that it brings. Minimalism style means using simple lines, very few details, minimizing furniture, every detail makes sense in its place. This school is currently flourishing in Europe – the cradle of interior decoration. Minimalism style strongly influenced the trend of interior decoration in the Nordic countries in the late 90s to the present, and has a considerable influence in the Americas. In Asia, Japan is considered the master of this modern and sophisticated style and one can find the sound of Minimalism in most contemporary and traditional Japanese architecture.
The Fundamentals of Minimalism Interior Design
Less is more: minimalist style as its name suggests, focusing on minimizing the decoration in the interior space.Going against the traditional interior decoration standards of enriching the interior space with complex items and decorative details this style aims to eliminate superfluous items in order to retain a perfect free space. Heavily influenced by Japanese concepts and styles of design and decoration, and built on the foundation of the “Less is more” philosophy, minimalism interior decoration draws attention to the lines and textures hidden beneath. The walls, flooring and lighting efficiency on these planes are the key elements that make the style minimalist. Using simple lines and a calculated combination of planes, the interior space in this style is a unified, coherent whole in terms of layout and especially retains a beautiful, airy and spacious architectural space.
All that is unnecessary is considered superfluous and removed, from lines, architectural shapes to interior decorations. The functional furniture itself is also minimized, is a component of the decorative element, and is considered as sculptures. Of course, with the form, the details are also minimalist but delicate.
The limited use of color in the décor is the most recognizable feature of this style. Typically, there are no more than three colors in a minimalist style interior space: a background color, a dominant color, and an accent color. The color of the wall arrays is neutral to create a cushion for the decorative items inside, directing the observer’s attention to important accents. Neutral color fonts also work to create a strong contrast between decorative elements and have the effect of creating a strong contrast between decorative elements and have the effect of connecting these components together. White wall arrays are very commonly used in Minmalism style as a plain background to increase the value of the surrounding furniture, while providing the visual effect of a more spacious, airy space.
Use light as an interior: due to the restriction of the use of color in the interior, light in minimalism style is considered an important decorative component to create visual and aesthetic effects. The use of light, especially natural light, is focused on emphasizing important areas and creating highly effective shadows to enhance the shapes of objects and other architectural components. Natural light is filtered through the curtains, screens, through the outside trees purposefully so that when penetrating to the interior space, the lighting and aesthetic effect that the designer has predetermined. Artificial lighting is carefully selected to emphasize the shape and structure of interior decoration components.
Interior decoration components as well as furniture, tables and chairs are used at a minimalist level, but still meet the requirements of comfort. Tables and chairs in the interior in Minimalism style have a simple, harmonious and modern shape, made from unfussy but delicate lines. These items on the one hand meet the needs of human use and living, on the other hand, they are also decorative components for the interior. Tables and chairs are not only a place to sit but also considered sculptures that make the interior space beautiful.
A suitable lifestyle: minimalist style is applied in office interior design easily. The workspace is often required to be arranged and arranged neatly, while still meeting the best use. This fits the criteria of the minimalist style school. And although the majority of offices use artificial light as the main source of illumination, the trend of making the most of natural light is increasingly popular.
Not only an interior decoration and architectural style, Minimalism also expresses the lifestyle of the owner. With the motto of eliminating what is unnecessary, this style is really suitable for those who like to be tidy, free and liberal. Plato, the famous ancient Greek philosopher once said: “The beauty of style, of harmony, of grace and rhythm depends on simplicity.” Europeans, after a long fascination with elaborate details and complex patterns, turned to beauty in simplicity. With the fast pace of life, increasing competition for work and increasing population density, an airy, light-filled space becomes what people dream of. That is probably the reason why this style has achieved such great influence and success in interior decoration in particular and architectural design in general on this continent.
