Quiet Spaces

British architect Smalley’s elegant debut showcases spaces that embody his “quiet” style, which artist Edmund de Waal, in a foreword, suggests is defined by “balancing objects and sight lines” in “an attempt to find correspondences between the made and the found.” Among his own projects, Smalley explains that he updated a 1950s modernist house in southwest London by doubling the length of a corridor between the sleeping and living areas “to give a sense of ease” and moving the main bedroom to a newly installed second floor that offers views of a nearby park. “Rooms and spaces must flow logically, though they should also give surprise and delight. Light and shade held in balance, the space in conversation with nature,” he writes. That philosophy is exemplified by a French chateau he designed in which daylight glows “up from the open eaves around the perimeter” of the sparsely decorated “cathedral-like” attic. Elsewhere, Smalley highlights artist Barbara Hepworth’s Cornwall sculpture garden, architect Luis Barragán’s Mexico City home, and architect Geoffrey Bawa’s Sri Lanka town house, the winding layout of which Smalley suggests provides “a sense of discovery.” Smalley’s minimal commentary, constituting a few brief paragraphs per location, complements the spare designs and leaves the emphasis on the attractive spreads. Despite the muted tone, this makes an impression. (Nov.)