Minimalist Architecture - All You Need to Know [The Definitive Guide]

I think that the best way to understand the impact of minimalism on architecture is by comparing architecture to the phone industry. Phones first started with wires (telephones), they were embellished and ornamented using different colors, materials, button styles, and many more.

At some point, phones were liberated (cellphones) and became portable with numerical buttons where each number referred to 3 letters, a thick outlook and a bit heavy.

Minimalist Architecture is actually the shift in appearance phones did that made them become thinner, with a faster typing method, less buttons and adjustable font and keyboard size, simple and better looking. In other words, aesthetically appealing and highly functional at the same time.

What designers did is that they actually reinterpreted the phone design, removed all unnecessary features and only kept its “essence”. 

For a better understanding of the architectural shift caused by minimalism, take a look at the following. 

Minimalist Architecture Origin Story

Although the Minimalist movement hit its peak in the late 20th century, the simple design mindset dates back to the 1800s. As a matter of fact, the two philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau evoked this manner in their book called Walden.

Ever since the 1800s, Minimalism kept struggling under different names and movements until the 1960s when it was first entitled in the visual arts field and here’s how.

In the post-world war II era, artists, sculptors, painters and designers, started rebelling against abstract expressionism, a dominant style in New York schools between the 1940s and 1950s.

Empowered by the Netherlandic artistic movement De Stijl and the German mass production Bauhaus that started around the 1920, those artists produced their artwork using abstraction, simplicity and geometric forms as key criteria.

In that matter, one of the leading figures of this cubist-inspired art is the American painter and sculptor Frank Stella known for his black canvas equipped with geometric strips paintings called Black Paintings. 

In 1965, the British philosopher Richard Wollheim assigned the term “Minimalism” as a critique for the “minimal art contents” created by the artists of that time and that’s when the term was brought into common use.

But how did that affect architecture you ask? The answer is quite simple.
After World War II, cities were highly damaged. Architects, engineers, and urbanists were looking for a way to bring back order to chaotic cities and demolish the war traces.

With the rise of modern materials (concrete, steel and glass) and the emergence of commercial consumerist lifestyle, architects, inspired by the latest artistic trends, saw minimalism as the perfect antidote to the existing urban chaos.

Minimalist architecture by the end of the 19th century, became a global aesthetic.

Minimalism: Made in Japan

Although minimalist architecture was influenced by De Stijl’s abstraction and simplicity combined with Bauhaus’ interest in industrial materials, this new simple aesthetic trend seems to be highly established around the Japanese culture and philosophy.

In fact, the Japanese culture, following the zen philosophy, the wabi-sabi, the ma and the seijaku design principles transmit their moral values into the design.

In philosophical terms, Zen philosophy outreaches simplicity that values the free manifestation of materials and forms within a space.

The Japanese aesthetic principle wabi-sabi is a form of acceptance of natural forms and materials imperfections, etc. Thus, conserving them in their natural essence with the absence of ornamentations or in other words, unnecessary features.

The ma, seen in design practices as large empty spaces equipped with minimal internal partitions, cherishes the large emptiness or the void which serves in the contemplation of the true essence of the design.

The seijaku provokes stillness, a stage of meditation that is often translated in design with the use of clean and simple lines which arouses tranquility, harmony and balance.

The fascinating thing is that you don’t even have to be a designer or a philosopher to understand the last stated philosophy!

The Japanese simplify their complex vocab in their clothes (kimonos), homes furnishing (Tatami floor carpets), tea ceremonies, Zen gardens, and more to let you easily guess that their philosophy is stated upon freedom of movement, simplicity, comfort and durability.

Minimalist Architecture Main Characteristics

Minimalism strips everything in the design down to the essence of the architecture. What is the essence of a minimalistic design you may ask?

The essence is found in the details, in the lighting, the space, the materials, the forms. All other elements that do not have a function or a purpose are to be eliminated in order to contemplate the essence and enjoy the journey. 

The essence of minimalist architecture is characterized with the following:

Photo Credit: Jeremy Mason McGraw

Leading Minimalist Architects & Best Examples

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 

He is actually the first architect one could think of when it comes to minimalist architecture. This German architect behind the “Less is more” motto, which later became a minimalist design statement, is considered to lay groundwork for minimalism. 

This architect had always established many years before the outbreak of minimalism, projects with simple framework, open space plans and modern steel and glass materials. Some of his works are Chicago’s Crown Hall and New York’s Seagram Building.

Tadao Ando

Japanese leading minimalist figure that implements traditional Japanese spirit into his designs. Ando is known for his raw material finishing (mostly concrete), simple geometry composition that showcases an interesting play of light and the integration of natural elements like water.

His philosophy is mainly based on haiku; the symbol of duality in existence. Something like the yin yang that emphasizes how two opposites complement each other such as solid and void; dark and light; stark and subtle.

As for his best projects; it’s hard to choose one or two projects that reflect the best of Ando’s work as they all feature unique touches but I’ll stick to the Church of Light and the Wabi House. 

This church is the master of the architectural realm. The cross is actually pierced in the wall and through the emittance of light that it actually appears reflecting an utmost form of purity.

The Wabi house is one of the architect’s latest projects. As its name signifies, the wabi house is inspired by the wabi-sabi Japanese principle.

Moreover, the main 312- meter long concrete wall that stretches along the land to form the house is left, true to how it was constructed, with the construction markings.

John Pawson

John is a British minimalist practitioner influenced by Japanese principles and Zen philosophy. For him, minimalist interiors with minimal clutters give a sense of clarity and richness.

His designs are advocated to understand the space, the surfaces within the spaces and the volume and bring order to them. One of his key design features is the use of natural materials because they reflect aliveness.

Some of Pawson’s works are Okinawa House and Neuendorf House. 

Okinawa House, Okinawa, Japan, 2013 -2016 / Photo Credit: Nacasa & Partners

This project is a luxurious holiday house that overlooks the ocean of Okinawa island. John Pawson designed a multi-sensory house that would relief his clients from their box-shaped house.

Neuendorf House, Mallorca, Spain, 1987-1989

Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor is a minimalist architect that highly incorporates sensorial features in his projects to stimulate the senses and achieve an overall sensory journey.

Two of his most important projects are Bruder Klaus Field Chapel and the Therme Vals.

Zumthor incorporates tactile sense in all his projects. In fact, for Zumthor, the physical touch of materials establishes a sense of place. 

This chapel in Germany, designed by Peter Zumthor, is in honor of the local farmers’ patron saint, Bruder Klaus.

This church is an outer rammed concrete rectangular box that incorporates an internal pyramid inspired shape constructed using 112 tree trunks to honor Bruder Klaus, local farmers’ patron saint. From the interior, visitors can see a small cavity at the top that adds a dramatic lighting. 

The Therme Vals, Vals, Switzerland, 1996

This thermal pool and resort in Switzerland exploits some of Zumthor’s potential in creating a full tactile sensory experience. The architect uses different materials to create a spatial sequencing. 

Alberto Campo Baeza

Alberto is a Spanish minimalist architect that explores in his design the full potential of essential architecture using light, idea and space.

For him, light is what actually guides the people in and helps establish a connection between people and the space. Whereas space, shaped using simple geometric forms hosts inhabitants. Space is the result of ideas that combine functionality, context, form, space and construction. 

Offices for the Junta de Castilla y Leon, Zamora, Spain, 2011 / Photo Credit: Javier Callejas

One of his well-known projects is the Offices for the Junta de Castilla y Leon. This glass boxed wrapped by large stone walls brought back, in a minimalistic approach, some of the modernist movement elements like ribbon widows, floating slabs, and nature framing.

The owner of this residential project wanted his house to be independent from its surrounding and muffle out the exterior noise. Therefore, the architect enclosed the project within high walls where he added the house functions and leisure courtyard.

The project had a horizontal white appeal in order for the natural light to dissipate horizontally into the building.

Other important minimalist architects working in the field are: Buckminster Fuller, Dieter Rams, Luis Barragan, Alvar Siza, Yoshi Tanigushi, Richard Gluckman, Michael Gabellini, Claudio Silverstrin, Vincent Van Duysen, etc.