Architectural Cookware
So, would you pay almost $600 for a stock pot?
I had to wonder when I noticed this new line of cookware by British architect John Pawson.
After some clicking around, I quickly realized the cachet behind his name. He is credited with bringing the minimalist look into public consciousness. His architectural commissions include Calvin Klein’s flagship store in New York, a monastery in the Czech Republic, and the renovation of a London car dealership into a retail temple for B&B Italia, among many other celebrated works, including homes, museum galleries, restaurants, and stage sets. He literally wrote the book on minimalism, called Minimum.
The new line for Belgian cookware manufacturer Demeyere is Pawson’s latest homewares design, introduced on the occasion of Demeyere’s 100th anniversary in May.
This is what Pawson has to say about it on his Web site:
“A museum director once said of my work, ‘Everything starts with the kitchen.’ What he meant was that houses are the heart of the work and kitchens are the heart of the houses. My collaboration with Demeyere started with the idea of providing these most important of contemporary living spaces with a set of core equipment which would combine functional sophistication with the highest design values.”
Pawson’s other homewares:
Several tabletop objects for Belgian manufacturer When Objects Work (aka Wow):
Flatware,
This lovely lacquer dish inside a wooden tray,
Starkly architectural candlesticks,
And this perfect little bowl, which he calls “a perfect, seamless hemisphere of bronze.”
He’s designed furniture for Italian maker Driade, such as this kitchen storage system and table.
And he has door levers and pulls for the Italian Valli & Valli:
His most recent U.S. commission has been for renowned hotelier Ian Schrager and Schrager’s first residential project, the now-sold-out 23 apartments at 50 Gramercy Park North in New York.
Schrager is known for making rock stars out of designers, as he did with Philippe Starck (Royalton and Paramount hotels in New York, Delano in Miami), Andree Putman (Morgans in New York), and most recently, Julian Schnabel with the Gramercy Park Hotel, which also serves the residents at 50 Gramercy Park. With 50 Gramercy, Pawson may be on his way to a lot more recognition in the United States.
For your own piece of Pawson, you can start with the stock pot, available with his other housewares at Moss.