The Bare Minimum
Minimalism is a movement in music, visual arts, fashion, design and architecture that “simplifies” a concept or creation to the very basic. The Japanese aesthetic principle of Ma refers to empty or open space. In architectural space, this removes all the unnecessary internal walls and blurs the distinction between the interior and the exterior; once again influenced by the design element of the Japanese sliding door that allows the two spaces to extend and merge into each other seamlessly. The emptiness of spatial arrangement is another idea that reduces everything down to the most essential quality.
Architecture, like all arts, has an inborn element of subjectivity. The aesthetic language employed in any creation is open for analysis, interpretation and criticism. Even landmark architectural projects have their share of opposition and criticism – because subjectivity always initiates a polemic. If Design Genre, Volumetric Expression, and Internal Circulation may be regarded as serious concerns, the contempt could even arise from a Material or Colour! In this highly subjective arena, it is therefore a challenge to produce a work of architecture that transcends the boundaries of space and structure and evokes a sense of tranquility and oneness with nature – which almost no one can refute!
Contributed by: Ar. Rajesh Patel
Complete Article and Images are available in Building Giants May-Jul 2014 Issue
