The exhibition: John Pawson Plain Space

John Pawson Plain Space, on show at London's Design Museum until January 2011, promises to be the most comprehensive exhibition of British architect John Pawson's work to date. Featuring architectural models, film and, of particular note, a site-specific 1:1 full-sized installation designed by Pawson, offering a direct experience of his work, John Pawson Plain Space charts the architect's career and covers all manner of projects, from a house for Bruce Chatwin to the gently snaking Sackler Crossing at Kew Gardens.

To some, Pawson is the embodiment of the 'minimalist' movement; his oeuvre is one of rigorous simplicity, a quality grounded in the early influence of Japanese architect Shiro Kuramata, with whom Pawson studied while still in his early twenties. Pawson's approach of architectural reduction has been applied to a varied collection of projects and for a seemingly disparate selection of clients that include Calvin Klein and the monks of the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Nový Dvůr in the Czech Republic. 

John Pawson: Plain Space, Phaidon's new monograph of the same name, presents an intimate look at Pawson's recent works and is published to coincide with the opening of the Design Museum's show, so visitors can have something else to take away from this great exhibition.