Belarusian designer Kanstantsin Remez had a unique view of the philosophy of minimalism, and tried to combine wabi-sabi aesthetics with Oriental Zen to create a personal and intense minimalist style, using natural materials to create a romantic contemporary poetry.

Yinjispace：What inspiration and influence does the Belarus give to you?

Kanstantsin Remez：Belarus is a poor country and it has lots of very important issues to solve at the moment. So there are not many examples of good architecture now and it seems that it becomes more and more difficult to practice architecture and design there. I would say that my family influenced me much more than my country… I grew up in a small village and my grandfather was a carpenter. I used to spend lots of time growing up in his workshop. We used to make toys, swords, bows, and other stuff from wood. 

Remembering it now makes me think that it was my grandfather who taught me the value of craftsmanship, and attention to detail. You could make a toy really quickly but it would be very rough and sharp and it wouldn’t be much fun to play with it. Or you can spend a bit more time making it, do a simple sketch of what you were going to make, work with a piece of sandpaper… and eventually it wasn’t just fun to play with such a toy, it was extremely satisfying to simply hold such a toy, to feel smooth wood with your hands. I am extremely grateful that I had such a wonderful grandfather who was happy to spend time with me and my sister in his workshop. 

Yinjispace：How do you think Minimalism?

Kanstantsin Remez：In my opinion, minimalism is not necessarily about emptiness or cleanliness. It’s more about awareness of yourself. I mean about having a clear understanding of what you need and what you don’t. So from my perspective, it’s not about materials or forms but more about a healthy portion of rationalism. 

Yinjispace：Your works are clean and serene. How do you achieve this?

Kanstantsin Remez：I am not sure if there is a specific recipe for any design or architecture… For me, every project is a struggle and it takes me quite some time to get from a blank canvas to a point when I feel that the project is complete. So the answer is probably very ordinary: lots of passion, patience, and work:)

Yinjispace：How you think the relationship between architecture and its surrounding? Also the sustainable architecture?

Kanstantsin Remez：There is always a dialogue between architecture and its surroundings. However, I don’t feel that architecture should necessarily blend with the environment. It can be very prominent and conspicuous if it’s justified by architecture. As for sustainability, it’s a very broad term and something it’s unclear what one means by that. Do you mean independence from a centralized water system? From energy? Or maybe you mean that sustainability is when we grow our own vegetables or meat? For me personally, it’s hard to answer what a sustainable house is… but the fact that we start asking ourselves and each other these questions makes me think that we are on the right path. 

Yinjispace：The color tone in your work is harmonious. How do you not make it visuallly dull or boring with similar colors used?

Kanstantsin Remez：The color tone of my projects is determined not by paint, but by nature and it’s never boring. So when I use stone tiles or wooden panels it’s even in terms of color but when you look close enough you see that every tile or panel is unique and beautiful on its own.

Yinjispace：Do you pay attention to the design trend? What do you think would be the direction of tomorrow's architecture and design?

Kanstantsin Remez：I am not sure if it’s possible nowadays not to pay attention to any trends… There is a lot of architecture and design on my Instagram or YouTube. But I do my best in limiting myself from those sources. However, there are many great architects and designers that I deeply respect and look up to but in the end, I am trying to think about what’s important for me personally and convert these thoughts into architecture and design.