Donald Judd describes John Pawson’s work as ‘The simple expression of complex thought’. The exhibition on Pawson’s work at the Design Museum, which ended recently, shows a great overview of his design approach and methodology to architectural practice.

In order to understand some of the complex thought which goes into his projects, there is the global methodology of the architect and then the attention to detail which is given to each project.

‘The state of minimum is not one of austerity nor deprivation. It is clarity of space’. - John Pawson

This quote explains his overall approach to minimalist design. Concentrating on the pure form, importance of space and the use of a lot of white paint.

Some of the attention to detail explained by the exhibition and especially within the Monstary project was quite interesting. One of the Monks’ specific requests were to have no individual lighting within the dormatory, but general lighting only. And a certain section of the dormatory was required to be specifically set aside for those who snored!

The level of detail within the requirements on this project was fascinating. Sound levels and materials, light and other things you don’t think about during the course of everyday life.

This project, the requirements, the final piece and the models which were created along the way gave a great insight into how Pawson’s architectural methodology allowed them to explore creating the best use of space, and the models really helped to show how much consideration went into the physical art form of the buildings.

John Pawson’s starting point for every project is a minute and detailed examination of its context. He explores landscapes… in order to trigger ideas. He looks for ways of making the most of the light conditions. - Words from Design Museum on Landscape and Material

A full understanding of the context and the requirements, knowledge about the materials used and an understanding of how to use space are just some of the qualities shown within the exhibition, which should be understood by all architects. Indeed, this could even be applied to any form of art and design. Understand what you are doing, how you’re going to do it including the materials you are going to use, and then produce something with meaning in the right context.

If you do get to check out any of John Pawson’s work in the future, take a look. It’s totally worth it.

A couple of photos below show the level of detail which is communicated in John Pawson’s models.

More photos from John Pawson Plain Space.

Recently, I have been thinking about what helps me generate ideas. When do they occur the most? What sort of ideas do I find myself having most frequently? And can I put myself in a position where ideas naturally occur more often?

After thinking about the ideas which I have thought of in the past, the big ones usually come when i’m starting a project. Whether the idea is related to that project or not varies, but the ramp up to full steam ahead is when the start magic happens.

The next influx of ideas seems to happen when my workload quietens down a little bit. This is the reflection point in time. Mostly unconsciously, I reflect on things that have happened over the duration of the previous period of work. It’s then that these ideas just pop up.

So, two main ideas happen here. New ideas and reflective ideas. The first are usually the biggest, and the second are usually more efficiency and process driven.

There are also situational based ideas. These come in the form of solutions to problems. I might witness something, experience something or be aware of something which isn’t working. This kind of idea generation can’t be predicted though, but it helps to constantly ask questions.

I call the space between low and high points of work the idea zone, represented above on the ideagraph. When work is slowing or increasing, the idea phase kicks in. But, if the workload is too much it overloads all senses. And in the same respect, if workload is too low, it under-stimulates the brain.

In the latest of Seth Godin’s books, Linchpin, he attempts to explain a new view on the world of work involving emotional labour, giving gifts, creating art and drawing maps. And it’s extremely interesting and thought prevoking!

Since reading Tribes by Seth Godin last year, I bought Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? as soon as it became available. After getting into motorcycling over the summer, with my Honda CB600F, the train journey to read books was no longer there. So recently, as the leaves have started to fall, I have had more time to finish off those books I meant to!

Seth Godin is very good at changing the way you think. Sometimes it takes a whole book and sometimes it can be done in a blog post. Linchpin is about the changing world of work, how you can make yourself indispensable, and drive your career and create a remarkable future. Although this message could have been communicated in one or two blog posts, it takes the whole book to make sense of it and drive the message home.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to Drive Your Career and Create a Remarkable Future explains the changing world of work. How we have reached the limit of manufacturing and production line optimisation. Things can no longer be made quicker, cheaper and faster. This means that there is an opportunity to make things better, with a higher quality and more value.

We’re also moving away from the factory style management vs. worker structure and mentality. Companies aren’t as structured as they once were, and there is more knowledge and opportunity available to anyone wherever they are in the company. As opposed to only the management knowing what they know, everyone now has access to the same knowledge and information to make decisions possible.

So, this takes us into Seth’s new world of work. Where the way to be noticed, make important changes, learn more and prove your advantage to your employer is effectively to fight the cheaper, faster, less=more way of working. This brings us to becoming an artist, giving gifts, creating your own direction, and partly ignoring the rules which have been set out by the world before us.

Step away from fitting in, it’s about standing out. Stop following orders, find your own way through the mess. Take control of what you do through informed choices, giving more than just time in return for money.

There are a number of key ideas which are set up well and communicated excellently, in the typical Seth Godin way. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to Drive Your Career and Create a Remarkable Future is an excellent way to kick start a new way of thinking, help you realise and think about how you work and how much you give to other people through your work. I would definitely recommend reading Linchpin, and find out more about the changing world.

There is also an excellent bibliography in the back of the book which is all to tempting to wade through and purchase.

I have just completed a new project involving the design and build of a new website for Quartz-Lite. The company specialises in providing quartz, granite and stone kitchen worktops for kitchens in the south west of England. The quartz worktop is a lighter version of quartz made with resin to provide a thinner and less expensive alternative to quartz, granite and marble. It’s also more durable, scratch and heat resistant. It is designed to fit around existing worktops or can be specified as a new worktop for a new build.

For the website design, I went for a simple design which aimed to include a large number of pictures for visitors to see previously completed kitchens, both new and renovations. The website navigation is simple and the content is aimed at driving visitors through the website and onto a contact page in a logical order. There are a large range of products available to view in detail and a gallery which showcases in detail many different projects.

The website employs a number of different javascript features. These include jCarousel and cyclelite which use the jquery library and lightbox 2. Using these various javascript libraries I have hoped to allow for graceful degradation as much as possible.

If you’d like to take a look at the website, you can do so here: Quartz-Lite – The ultimate stone work surface