Cistercian minimalism

From the 12th Century Cister to the 21st Century Minimum

Abstract

In this paper we will present the principles, foundations and bases of the Cistercian ideal with its architectural materialization, of great simplicity and asceticism, both in its genesis in the 12th century and now at the beginning of the new millennium. A Cistercian monastery is understood as a place full of ideals and spirituality, where God is sought. The Cistercian monastery is thus an ideal that has a representation and materialization that, with the passing centuries, underwent some transformations and adaptations. It will be the objective of this work to make a parallel between the austere architecture of the Cîteaux of the 12th century, the plan ad quadratum of the churches and all the influence of the apparent plan-type of its monasteries, in the architecture of the following centuries.
A connection will be made between all these principles and the recent rehabilitation of an old farm in present-day Czech Republic. The architect was the minimalist John Pawson and the farm is currently the Monastery of Novy Dvur, the first Cistercian monastery of post-communism in the Czech Republic.
There are questions for which an answer will be sought. What were the Cistercian architectural ideals and how did they materialize over the centuries? How was the Cistercian spirituality understood from the Apology of Saint Bernard until our days? What were the Cistercian ideals and reality in its genesis of the twelfth century and what was its legacy? And in our days, how are the Cistercian ideals materialized? That is, how is it possible that this spirituality has an architectural materialization and that it continues to influence contemporary architects, not only in their work but also instigating them to create an architecture full of spirituality as is the case of the Novy Dvur Monastery? That is, from the Cîteaux of the 12th century until the minimum of the 21st century.