Minimalism in architecture is shaping modern architecture in a brand new manner. While “minimalism in architecture” is the term taken into account since the late 80s. It emphasizes the idea of less is more, which follows the ideology of filling the space with the necessary object and decluttering unnecessary things, to make space for meaningful material and objects. Minimalism creates a peaceful aura with clean lines and shapes, using a neutral color palette, and basic textures. As of now, minimalism is not associated with just a design style but it’s becoming our way of living these days, focusing on what’s important.

Pros and Cons of Minimalism in Architecture
Examples of Minimalism ©Selo

It sounds basic and easy to make, but when you get into a glass of minimalism, you get to know the nuances of designing spaces with minimal stuff, and it’s going to be a huge challenge for designers.

Minimalism has a lot of good things about it, but even with that, it still has some pitfalls. Let’s throw some lights on the following:

Pros

1. Breathing Space | Minimalism in Architecture

Minimalism is synonymous with the decluttering of things and thus functions well to establish an important field of breathing in space. We don’t accept that our physical possessions are tied to mental and emotional well-being, but the bond between them is undeniable. These breathing spaces, thus also allow us to relax our minds. Minimalism works well for small apartments and homes.

2. Saves Money 

Less is more: this ideology is what goes throughout the process. As to design the space with fewer objects or fewer colors and ornamentation in facades, minimalism can be a good option for an elegant design with less budget. But as stated earlier, this is not a straightforward task, but a challenge for the designer. And at the end of the day, everybody wants a good design with less expense.

3. Quality over quantity | Minimalism in Architecture

Rather than loading the rooms with a lot of things, minimalism in architecture goes hand in hand with the idea of quality things over quantity. Your space might not have many things around, but it will certainly meet your needs to preserve the elegance and aesthetics of space. Quality reduces the cost of the repair for furniture or other architectural elements.

4. Easy maintenance

Fewer objects make the room less chaotic, so it’s easy to use and clean the place. Smooth and empty surfaces only clean, there’s no need to scrub out the countless figures on the shelves. Minimalism follows the simple, elegant style of the home, and it’s convenient for one to get a house to renovate after a certain period without any special supervision.

5. Psychological discharge | Minimalism in Architecture

With the use of clear shapes, neutral shades, and open horizons, rest is not only a view but also a psychological one. This is a perfect style for those who are given life for a lot of stress factors. It is a fallacy to assume that the minimalist interior is cold and unpleasant arranged accents, pleasant fabrics, and light play help to escape this misconception.

Cons

6. Expensive

To reduce the chaos in the spaces while fulfilling the client requirement, many of the time the furniture is required to be customized as per the requirement and this might turn into expensive pleasure. However, minimalism accepts one expensive thing rather than a ton of cheap ones. 

7. Maintain the interior theme | Minimalist Architecture

The minimalist style specifically embraces a certain theme that runs throughout the house. It can come as an enemy to people who like to carry souvenirs from several trips and display them in their homes since the minimalist style doesn’t encourage one to add something else.

8. Boring 

For many people, the neutral color palette and empty spaces come up as boring spaces. It may look soulless for some of us, because of the monotony in the design style, that follows up from the wall to the furniture. It takes the potential to make a minimalist design functional and to prevent the appearance of a badly performed design.

9. Psychological complexity

We’ve always said that minimalism is a way of life. If it’s hard for you to part from your most precious things, and there are quite a few of them in your house, there’s no reason to torment yourself. Being a minimalist does not mean getting rid of all things and being an ascetic, soberly evaluating all things and leaving the most cherished, the most beautiful, and the most important.

10. Can’t cover the flaws | Minimalism in Architecture

Minimalism is synonymous with more open space and smaller artifacts and thus struggles to cover up a design flaw. While on the other hand, if anyone doesn’t want to get into a minimalist design philosophy, it’s simple to cover the mistake with different elements and artifacts. 

If anyone among us had to clarify the meaning of minimalism quickly, many would prefer the succinct expression of Mies van der Rohe, “less is more.” For us at present, minimalism is rooted both in architecture and in our lives. Perhaps the reason why minimalism has become a symbol.

Author

Divya Singh Rathore is a graduate in Architecture who believes in learning through exploration. For her, architecture is creative freedom and a way to connect to the people. She wants to amalgamate her passion for writing with her architectural practice and share it with the world.