John Pawson's perfection through simplification

John Pawson's renovation of the Archabbey of Pannonhalma has finally come to completion this year, after a duration of a suspenseful six years. It is an immaculate project that achieves its goal not through addition but rather subtraction and simplification of elements in order to achieve the project's very specific needs with respect to space and volume.

A renowned UNESCO World Heritage designated site, the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannohalma sees the coming together of structures dating back as far as the Medieval period, Baroque period, the nineteenth century, and later still.

Pawson's main challenge with this significant project was in turning the interior of the abbey to a space that reflected contemporary patterns of liturgical use, whilst also recovering something of the spirit and spatial quality of the original architecture, and thus, a meticulous process of simplification and clarification was undertaken, one that saw the restoration of volumetric integrity and improvement of natural light penetration.

Within the bounds of the existing architecture, and with every intention of keeping the wealth of structural history dating back centuries, the interior has been subtly refined to enhance the sense of connection between congregation, altar and celebrant and to underscore the ascending section and axial plan of the church, symbolising the individual’s ascent to God. 

Through the use of two key materials, limestone and onyx, Pawson has achieved a symbiotic effect between old and new. The limestone is used not only as the material that drives the eye through the abbey, beginning at entry, through the nave, then to the altar, but rather holds, I dare say, en even more important role. The limestone is placed in such a way that it reflects the maximum amount of light in a chosen direction, again enhancing the natural way forward towards the altar that all the architectural instruments are playing together to achieve. The limestone's reflective character is further enhanced by the fact that the top layers have been sliced very thinly meaning that their reflective properties are optimised.

I love this project, very simply because it is John Pawson, and call me biased, but I am generally blown away by all his work. Moreover, however, there is a sophistication and perfection in the simplicity of the execution that sends me completely quiet as I sit in awe. To have the master talent of being able to make an abbey renovation look so pristine amongst the layers of not only old structures but, furthermore, historical, social and cultural notions, calls for nothing short of a deep appreciation for a project, and an architect, that will influence generations to come.