John Pawson

Monastery . Novy Dvur

John Pawson . fotos: © bas kegge . models: Niels Wergin-Cheek . + Architectural Record

In 1999 John Pawson was commissioned by Cistercian monks to design a new monastery for a site in Bohemia.

The scheme combines elements retained from the original baroque complex with entirely new architecture.
While some of the vocabulary is without literal precedent, the design remains true to the spirit of St Bernard's twelfth century architectural blueprint for the Order, with its emphasis on the quality of light and proportion, on simple, pared down elevations and detailing.