Overview
Named America's Best Architect by Time magazine in 2001 "for buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye," Steven Holl is known for an experimental approach to architecture that is at once romantic, humanistic, and resplendently modern. Ranging across the globe, his multifarious body of work-including the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; Beijing Looped Hybrid, an apartment complex in China; and the highly anticipated Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City-demonstrates a profound appreciation for the subtleties, power, and possibilities implicit in the materials of his trade: light, space, form; concrete, steel, glass. Marked by what has been called a "unique husbandry of space" (Time), Holl's work invites the participation of the observer in a joyful celebration of light and shadow, a festival in which movement becomes integral, where clouds passing through the night sky interact with shifting planes of heaven-bound glass. Steven Holl: Architecture Spoken offers the reader unprecedented access to the thought processes and work of this groundbreaking, cutting-edge architect through his own words-and more than 300 sumptuously photographed illustrations.Synopsis
Named America's Best Architect by Time magazine in 2001 "for buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye," Steven Holl is known for an experimental approach to architecture that is at once romantic, humanistic, and resplendently modern. Ranging across the globe, his multifarious body of work-including the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; Beijing Looped Hybrid, an apartment complex in China; and the highly anticipated Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City-demonstrates a profound appreciation for the subtleties, power, and possibilities implicit in the materials of his trade: light, space, form; concrete, steel, glass. Marked by what has been called a "unique husbandry of space" (Time), Holl's work invites the participation of the observer in a joyful celebration of light and shadow, a festival in which movement becomes integral, where clouds passing through the night sky interact with shifting planes of heaven-bound glass. Steven Holl: Architecture Spoken offers the reader unprecedented access to the thought processes and work of this groundbreaking, cutting-edge architect through his own words-and more than 300 sumptuously photographed illustrations.
Paul Glassman - Library Journal
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, described by The New Yorkeras "one of the best museums of the last generation," chose Holl (architecture, Columbia Univ.) to design its expansion. Holl is admired by practitioners for the abstract and theoretical aspects of his work, by critics for his boldness and by clients for his clear and expressive geometries. The architect himself compiled this monograph around four lectures he delivered on architectural concepts: "Pro-Kyoto," "Compression," "Porosity," and "Urbanisms." Although compromised by occasionally opaque language, each lecture makes a point that relates to an understanding of the buildings. Interspersed among the lectures are chapters on specific residential, educational, cultural, or religious buildings; the descriptions are simultaneously specific and presumably related to the preceding concept. The roughly 300 richly colored and highly informative photographs appearing throughout are accompanied by plans and sections. Although the project chronology is helpful, the absence of an index is an unfortunate limitation. This work is not as comprehensive as Kenneth Frampton's Steven Holl: Architect, but its graphic material, combined with the architect's words and current work, makes it essential for all architecture collections.
Editorials
Library Journal
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, described by The New Yorkeras "one of the best museums of the last generation," chose Holl (architecture, Columbia Univ.) to design its expansion. Holl is admired by practitioners for the abstract and theoretical aspects of his work, by critics for his boldness and by clients for his clear and expressive geometries. The architect himself compiled this monograph around four lectures he delivered on architectural concepts: "Pro-Kyoto," "Compression," "Porosity," and "Urbanisms." Although compromised by occasionally opaque language, each lecture makes a point that relates to an understanding of the buildings. Interspersed among the lectures are chapters on specific residential, educational, cultural, or religious buildings; the descriptions are simultaneously specific and presumably related to the preceding concept. The roughly 300 richly colored and highly informative photographs appearing throughout are accompanied by plans and sections. Although the project chronology is helpful, the absence of an index is an unfortunate limitation. This work is not as comprehensive as Kenneth Frampton's Steven Holl: Architect, but its graphic material, combined with the architect's words and current work, makes it essential for all architecture collections.
—Paul Glassman