One Day with John Pawson

ONE DAY WITH | MASTERS & MUSES | WORLD OF CABANA

In this series, we glimpse into the daily routines and rituals of artists, creatives and tastemakers. Architect John Pawson reveals a life as considered as his work—with projects spanning "from monasteries to teacups". Based in London, John shares the moments of stillness he finds in the Cotswolds and reflects on travels through Japan and India—places of endless inspiration to his practice.

INTERVIEW BY VIOLET CALDECOTT | MASTERS & MUSES | 14 JULY 2025

John Pawson, photographed by Gilbert McCarragher

Since founding his London studio in 1981, John Pawson has become a defining voice in contemporary architecture. Celebrated for his minimalist, yet warm, approach, his esteemed portfolio includes the Design Museum in London, the Calvin Klein flagship in New York, and the Lake Crossing at Kew Gardens. John shares the rhythms of his daily life, between his homes in Notting Hill and the Cotswolds, and his studio in Kings Cross.

I've always been a lark. These days, I don’t have much choice but to get up early—Lochie, our cockapoo, sleeps in our bedroom and starts rustling around as soon as the sun’s up.

Weather permitting, we have breakfast in the communal garden behind our house in Notting Hill. We’re very lucky to have this - a little oasis in the city. When the children were growing up, they loved playing with the neighbours and would disappear into other people’s houses for hours on end. These days, Catherine [my wife] and I sit out and have fruit and granola; although my elder son Caius insists it’s not good to start the day with fruit. He’ll usually make himself eggs and avocado.

I used to leave the house at 7 and come back at 7 earliest. I needed to be in the studio. Nowadays I come in at 9ish and leave at 5 - I say that, it’s usually later. I’ll get distracted and then end up working for a couple more hours.

John's open-plan architecture studio in Kings Cross. © Gilbert McCarragher 

When I’m not travelling for work, I’m at my studio in Kings Cross every day. Catherine found the space back in the 90s. At the time, it was the cheapest square footage in London. There was nothing around—Kings Cross was known more as a station to the North more than anything else. We’ve been here throughout the regeneration. Pret A Manger opening next door felt like a major event back then. Now, of course, Kings Cross is buzzing - it’s transformed into a dynamic hub.

The studio is open-plan; I have a desk right in the middle of it all. I’ve never known it any other way. Architecture is inherently collaborative, it isn’t a genius sitting in a room on his own; so this layout works well. Early on, we were asked to design a few offices, including layouts for Calvin Klein. It really made us stop and think about what an office is—how people interact with space, how communal environments function.

I’m better at the beginning and end of a project. I love the bookends, but stay involved throughout. My team is fantastic: 22 design architects in the studio, plus eight working remotely from Germany and Italy. At any one time, we have around 25 live projects; about five are completed each year. They range wildly—from a monastery to a teacup.

Lunch is nothing special. I eat at my desk; if I go out and eat I keep on thinking of things I should be doing so I usually order in. If I feel extravagant there’s Ottolenghi, but it’s usually Gail’s. I never listen to music when I’m working and only rarely do so at home. I like silence. When my publisher, Phaidon, requested my playlist, Caius helped me with some suggestions. He works in the music industry; it’s his passion.

For dinner, I much prefer eating at home. Catherine is a brilliant cook (a recent favourite is her wild garlic risotto). When we do go out, it’s usually for Japanese food - we love Umu on Bruton Place. Recently, Caius generously took me to the Araki, a Omakase sushi restaurant where you eat at a counter with only 6 seats. The food was exquisite.

A few years ago, Catherine and I wrote a cookbook, Home Farm Cooking. It’s a pretty comprehensive list of our favorite recipes. It was my second cookbook. The first came about because Catherine once told me she didn’t mind cooking, provided I told her what I wanted to eat, so I set to and did a cookbook, with the food writer Annie Bell. I was lucky that Catherine didn’t simply hit me over the head with it!

The Barn, Farm House © John Pawson

I unwind in the countryside. I never felt the urge to have a house in the country—I’ve always loved living in London. It’s such a fabulous city. But Catherine had the idea of getting a small cottage where we could go to switch off. Eventually, she found a sprawling farmhouse in the Cotswolds—complete with 66 windows, a barn, and large gardens. A far cry from the modest cottage we had in mind. We ended up redesigning it entirely. And now, we absolutely love it.

I had imagined setting up a studio in the Cotswolds, a creative idyll where I could retreat and work. But when I get there, everything goes out of my mind—I find myself in a state of total relaxation. I go on long energetic walks with Lochie, or cycle. There is a method to it, though. Even when I’m unwinding, I find myself daydreaming about architecture.

"Catherine’s great love is India whilst I adore Japan, where I spent 4 years in my twenties and discovered my love of architecture." Images © John Pawson

I’ve always been interested in space, atmosphere—what makes you feel different, or good. During my childhood in Halifax, it was the 19th-century industrial architecture, the Methodist chapels. You can take the lad out of Halifax, but you can’t take the Halifax out of the lad. We love travelling. Catherine’s great love is India whilst I adore Japan, where I spent 4 years in my twenties and discovered my love of architecture.

The last exhibition I saw was a show in Tokyo, which had a Mies van der Rohe 1:1 model of his unbuilt courtyard house. I also loved the Great Mughals exhibition at the V&A.

I’ve just finished reading Precipice by Robert Harris.

I’m lucky to be working on a variety of interesting projects at the moment - a winery for Dom Perignon in the Champagne region of France, a ‘Public’ hotel in Hollywood for Ian Schrager, a second chapel for the Cistercian monks in the Czech Republic, a resort on an estate in Portugal and several private houses as well as furniture and objects.