Steven Holl
Encyclopedia
Steven Holl is an American architect
and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
in Kansas City, Missouri
, and the praised 2009 Linked Hybrid
mixed-use
complex in Beijing, China.
Holl won first prize in the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek
International Library Design Competition in 1988, an expansion and renovation of the
American Memorial Library
in Berlin
. In February 1989 Holl's work was exhibited in a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) in New York City
. MoMA later purchased twenty-five works by Holl for the museum's permanent collection. In the 1992 competition for a new contemporary arts museum in Helsinki, Finland, Holl's competition entry, entitled "Chiasma," won first prize out of more than five hundred international entries. The museum opened to the public in 1998, having permanently adopted the name "Kiasma
," the Finnish translation of "chiasma."
Holl graduated from the University of Washington and pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970. In 1976, he attended graduate school at the Architectural Association School of Architecture
in London and established his offices New York City
. Holl has taught at Columbia University
since 1981.
Holl's architecture has undergone a shift in emphasis, from his earlier concern with typology
to his current concern with a phenomenological
approach; that is, with a concern for man's existentialist, bodily engagement with his surroundings. The shift came about partly due to his interest in the writings of philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty
and architect-theorist Juhani Pallasmaa
.
. In 2000, Holl was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In July 2001, Time
named Holl America’s Best Architect, for "buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye." Other awards and distinctions include the New York American Institute of Architects
Medal of Honor (1997), the French Grande Médaille d’Or (2001), the Smithsonian Institution
’s Cooper-Hewitt
National Design Award in Architecture (2002), Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
(2003), the Arnold W. Brunner Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the 2008 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Arts category. In 2007, Steven Holl Architects received the AIA Institute Honor Award and the AIA New York Chapter Architecture Merit Award for Art Building West for the School of Art and Art History
(University of Iowa
, Iowa City). The Higgins Hall Insertion at Pratt Institute
(Brooklyn, New York) and the New Residence at the Swiss Embassy both received the AIA New York Chapter Architecture Honor Award in 2007. In 2010, Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (Herning, Denmark) was awarded the RIBA International Award. The Horizontal Skyscraper-Vanke Center received the 2011 AIA Institute National Honor Award, as well as the AIA NY Honor Award. In 2011, he was named a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
.
, Holl wrote essays for a 1994 special issue of the Japanese architectural journal A+U under the title "Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture." The publication was reissued as a book in 2006.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and the praised 2009 Linked Hybrid
Linked Hybrid
Linked Hybrid is a building complex built in Beijing, China designed by Steven Holl Architects. It was built from 2003 to 2009. Linked Hybrid consists of 644 apartments. It is recognized for its environmental design and uses geo-thermal wells for cooling and heating...
mixed-use
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
complex in Beijing, China.
Early works
Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek
Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek is one of the largest public libraries in Berlin, Germany. It was a donation from the United States after the Berlin Blockade, which took place in 1948/49. The building was designed by American and German architects, including Fritz Bornemann and Willy Kreuer...
International Library Design Competition in 1988, an expansion and renovation of the
American Memorial Library
Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek
Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek is one of the largest public libraries in Berlin, Germany. It was a donation from the United States after the Berlin Blockade, which took place in 1948/49. The building was designed by American and German architects, including Fritz Bornemann and Willy Kreuer...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In February 1989 Holl's work was exhibited in a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. MoMA later purchased twenty-five works by Holl for the museum's permanent collection. In the 1992 competition for a new contemporary arts museum in Helsinki, Finland, Holl's competition entry, entitled "Chiasma," won first prize out of more than five hundred international entries. The museum opened to the public in 1998, having permanently adopted the name "Kiasma
Kiasma
Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990...
," the Finnish translation of "chiasma."
Career
Architectural Association School of Architecture
The Architectural Association School of Architecture, more usually known as the AA, is an architectural school in London, United Kingdom...
in London and established his offices New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Holl has taught at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
since 1981.
Holl's architecture has undergone a shift in emphasis, from his earlier concern with typology
Typology (urban planning and architecture)
Typology is the taxonomic classification of characteristics commonly found in buildings and urban places, according to their association with different categories, such as intensity of development , degrees of formality, and school of thought...
to his current concern with a phenomenological
Phenomenology (architecture)
Phenomenology is both a philosophical design current in contemporary architecture and a specific field of academic research, based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties....
approach; that is, with a concern for man's existentialist, bodily engagement with his surroundings. The shift came about partly due to his interest in the writings of philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir...
and architect-theorist Juhani Pallasmaa
Juhani Pallasmaa
Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa is a Finnish architect and former professor of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology and a former Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture . He runs his own architect's office – Arkkitehtitoimisto Juhani Pallasmaa KY – in Helsinki...
.
Recognition and awards
In 1998, Holl was awarded the prestigious Alvar Aalto MedalAlvar Aalto Medal
The Alvar Aalto Medal was established in 1967 by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Finnish Association of Architects . The Medal has been awarded intermittently since 1967 when the medal was created in honour of Alvar Aalto. The award is given in recognition of a significant contribution...
. In 2000, Holl was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In July 2001, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named Holl America’s Best Architect, for "buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye." Other awards and distinctions include the New York American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
Medal of Honor (1997), the French Grande Médaille d’Or (2001), the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
’s Cooper-Hewitt
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution, is the United States' national museum of design history and contemporary design and the only museum in the U.S. whose collection is solely focused on contemporary and historic design...
National Design Award in Architecture (2002), Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(2003), the Arnold W. Brunner Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the 2008 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Arts category. In 2007, Steven Holl Architects received the AIA Institute Honor Award and the AIA New York Chapter Architecture Merit Award for Art Building West for the School of Art and Art History
University of Iowa School of Art and Art History
The University of Iowa School of Art and Art History is a school of the University of Iowa located in Iowa City, IA which awards undergraduate and graduate degrees in Art and Art history...
(University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, Iowa City). The Higgins Hall Insertion at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
(Brooklyn, New York) and the New Residence at the Swiss Embassy both received the AIA New York Chapter Architecture Honor Award in 2007. In 2010, Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (Herning, Denmark) was awarded the RIBA International Award. The Horizontal Skyscraper-Vanke Center received the 2011 AIA Institute National Honor Award, as well as the AIA NY Honor Award. In 2011, he was named a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
Design Futures Council
The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment...
.
Notable works
- Hybrid Building, Seaside, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(1984–88) - Berlin AGB Library, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(entry for a competition in 1988) - Void Space Housing, Nexus World, FukuokaFukuoka, Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(1989–91) - Stretto House, Dallas, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(1989–92) - Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture' is a contemporary art and architecture institution founded in 1982 in New York City.-Background:Founded in 1982 by Kyong Park, Storefront for Art and Architecture is a nonprofit organization in New York City committed to the advancement of innovative positions in architecture, art and design...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1992–93) - Chapel of St. Ignatius (at Seattle UniversitySeattle UniversitySeattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...
), Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
(1994–97) - Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MichiganBloomfield Hills, MichiganBloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
(1993–98) - KiasmaKiasmaKiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990...
, Museum of Contemporary Art, HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(1993–98) - Sarphatistraat Offices, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1996–2000)
- Bellevue Arts MuseumBellevue Arts MuseumThe Bellevue Arts Museum traces its roots back to street fair art in 1947. After several temporary locations, it moved to the third floor of Bellevue Square, a large shopping center in the center of downtown Bellevue, Washington in 1983...
, Bellevue, WashingtonBellevue, WashingtonBellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
(2001) - Ralph Rapson Hall, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (2002)
- Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
Higgins Hall Insertion, Brooklyn, NY (1997–2005) - Turbulence House, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(2001–05) - Planar House (Cottle Residence), Paradise Valley, ArizonaParadise Valley, ArizonaParadise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
(2002–05) - School of Art and Art History, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
(1999–2006) - Residence of the Ambassador of Switzerland, Washington, DC (2006)
- Bloch Building expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of ArtNelson-Atkins Museum of ArtThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
(1999–2007) - Linked HybridLinked HybridLinked Hybrid is a building complex built in Beijing, China designed by Steven Holl Architects. It was built from 2003 to 2009. Linked Hybrid consists of 644 apartments. It is recognized for its environmental design and uses geo-thermal wells for cooling and heating...
, BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
(2003–09) - Knut Hamsun CentreKnut Hamsun CentreThe Knut Hamsun Centre is a museum and educational centre in Hamarøy in Northern Norway dedicated to the life and work of the writer Knut Hamsun....
(Hamsunsenteret), Nordland, Norway (1994–2009) - Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark (2005–2009)
- Horizontal Skyscraper - Vanke Center, Shenzhen, China (2006-2009)
- Nanjing Museum of Contemporary Art, NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
(2003–11) - Cite de l'Ocean et du Surf, Biarritz, France (2005–2011), in collaboration with Solange Fabiao
- PhD Building, National University of ColombiaNational University of ColombiaThe Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
, BogotáBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. (2012).
Recent competition success
- 'Sail Hybrid' casino development, Knokke-HeistKnokke-HeistKnokke-Heist is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006 Knokke-Heist had a total population of 34,063. The total area is 56.44 km² which gives a...
, Belgium (2005) - 'Horizontal Skyscraper', Vanke Center, ShenzhenShenzhenShenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, China (2006) - 'Meander', Taivallahti Residential Area, Helsinki, Finland (2006)
- LM Project, CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark (2008) - Glasgow School of ArtGlasgow School of ArtGlasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
, new art building, Scotland (2009) - Hangzhou Music Museum, HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, China (2009) - 'Shan-Shui' masterplan, HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, China (2010)
Selected publications
Along with Pallasmaa and Alberto Perez-GomezAlberto Pérez-Gómez
Alberto Pérez-Gómez is an architectural historian and is also known as a theorist and a promoter of phenomenology. Born December 24, 1949 in Mexico City, Mexico, he graduated as an engineer and architect from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico and pursued graduate studies in the history...
, Holl wrote essays for a 1994 special issue of the Japanese architectural journal A+U under the title "Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture." The publication was reissued as a book in 2006.
- Steven Holl: Educating our Perception, in “Magic Materials II”, Daidalos, August 1995.
- Steven Holl: Pamphlet Architecture 1-10, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1998.
- Steven Holl: The Chapel of St.Ignatius, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999.
- Steven Holl: Parallax, BirkhäuserBirkhäuser VerlagBirkhäuser Verlag is the leading European publisher for architecture, landscaping and design. Since 2010 it is part of the ActarBirkhäuser Group.-Scientific publishing:Founded in 1879 by Emil Birkhäuser the publishers program focused on regional literature...
, New York, 2000 - Steven Holl: Urbanisms: Working with Doubt, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009