Idea and Phenomena. Steven Holl

Opening: Wednesday, April 10, 2002, 7:00 P.M.

The exhibition “Idea and Phenomena. Steven Holl” approaches the oeuvre of this New York based architect, an outstanding exponent of contemporary American architecture, from different angles: watercolors and architectural models visualize Holl’s complex conceptional design process, the presentation of realized architectural projects moves phenomena of the interplay of space, light and material into focus.

For almost three decades now, the New York architect Steven Holl has been developing his architectural position and reflection with determined consistence. The success of Steven Holl’s architecture derives from his sculptural shapes, his interest in the poetics of space color, and material, as well as his fascination with scientific phenomena. His work refers to urban history and the potentials of modern science.

To Steven Holl, architectural design is a continual process of dialogue between `idea and phenomenon’. The idea is the starting concept of every project, which responds to the essential quality and unique architectural possibilities of a given site. “The connection of idea and phenomena happens when the building is built,” Steven Holl says unequivocally. Only then do the real “spatial fields” open up; this is when individual perception begins its activity, comparing that which is “new” about the space and its sensuous components with respective personal experiences.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue (link) in German and English language, published by Lars Müller Publishers, Baden

Opening adress: Dr. Hannes Pflaum, Az W President
On the exhibition: Dietmar Steiner, Az W Director

Thursday, April 11, 2002, 6:30 pm
“Idea and Phenomena”
Lecture by Steven Holl, lecture held in english

At the Cashier’s Hall of the Postsparkasse Main Building
A-1010 Wien, Georg-Coch-Platz 2
Opening adress: Dr. Stephan Koren, Dietmar M. Steiner

Tickets: EURO 7.00 / EURO 5.00
Available daily from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm at the Az W Shop
Reservation from outside of Vienna: Tel+43-1-522 31 15-30 or shop@azw.at

Friday, June 14, 2002, 7:00 pm
“Building Books”
Lecture by Lars Müller (Lars M¸ller Publishers, Baden – Switzerland), lecture held in german
In the Architekturzentrum Wien, Podium

colours. forms. light. WORKSHOP based on the exhibition, for children aged 6 and over

Guided tours of the exhibition on Saturdays at 2:pm
13. April 2002
April 27, 2002
May 11, 2002
June 08, 2002
June 22, 2002
July 06, 2002
July 20, 2002
August 03, 2002

Saturday, Mai 25, 2002 at 2:00 pm guided tour for Az W Partners

Supported by:
Geschäftsgruppe Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr, Stadt Wien
Wien Kultur
Kunst Bundeskanzleramt
Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur
Arch+Ing, W, NÖ, B

Sponsors:
UNIQA Versicherungen AG
Zumtobel Staff Österreich Vertriebs-GmbH

Ticket Partnership:
As an institution the Architekturzentrum Wien has always made every effort to support a public with an interdisciplinary approach. Accordingly, a co-operation has been established to make special reductions available on tickets to exhibitions held at both the Imperial Furniture Collection and the Vienna Technical Museum:

Hofmobiliendepot
Mariahilfer Strasse 88
A-1070 Wien

Alvar Aalto: Furniture
The Kossdorff Collection
January 18 – April 21, 2002
Tue – Sun 09 am – 06 pm

Technisches Museum Wien
Mariahilfer Strasse 212
A-1140 Wien

Margherita Spiluttini
“Beyond Nature. Constructions of Landscape”
March 22 – September 22, 2002
Mon – Sat 09 am – 06 pm, Thu 9 am – 08 pm
Sun 10 am – 06 pm

Press Release

Opening: Wednesday, April 10, 2002, 7:00 P.M.
Press preview: Wednesday, April 10, 2002, 11:00 A.M.

THE EXHIBITION
Idea and Phenomena. Steven Holl
is the first major monographic exhibition presented by the Architekturzentrum Wien after the inauguration of the new premises in October 2001. The show approaches the oeuvre of this New York based architect, an outstanding exponent of contemporary American architecture, from different angles: watercolors and architectural models visualize Holl’s complex conceptional designing process, the presentation of realized architectural projects moves phenomena of the interplay of space, light and material into focus. Conceptually, the exhibition in the new Az W hall reaches out beyond the common monographic presentation in that it offers a reflexive re-creation of architectural effort – the idea – and individual perception – phenomena, which in effect permits an approach to architecture as such and concentrates on the architect’s intentions.

THE ARCHITECT STEVEN HOLL
For almost three decades now, the New York architect Steven Holl has been developing his architectural position and reflection with determined consistence. Apart from exceptional contributions to architectural competitions he made, he was able to complete a number of significant building projects in the USA, in Japan and Europe.
To Steven Holl, architectural design is a continual process of dialogue between `idea and phenomenon’. The idea is the starting concept of every project, which responds to the essential quality and unique architectural possibilities of a given site. The crucial point for him is this analogous approach which becomes manifest in the drawing of `watercolors’ as the most immediate link between mind and hand. In this early design stage already, Holl goes about the building and its spatial effect with much insight into perceptional and psychological relations and effects. Digital construction plan drawing then has to follow this concept.
`The link between idea an phenomenon only comes about once the building is completed’, Steven Holl points out. It is only then that the real `spatial fields’ unfold, that individual perception sets in, confronting personal experience with the `newness’ of the built space and its sensory components.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF STEVEN HOLL
The success of Steven Holl’s architecture derives from his sculptural shapes, his interest in the poetics of space color, and material, as well as his fascination with scientific phenomena. His work refers to urban history and the potentials of modern science. Some of his most important buildings show iconic facades on the outside, behind which a daring web of spaces is hidden, full of overlaps and intersections, images, shapes and ideas fading into one another. Steven Holl is a virtuoso of light: starting from the specific requirements of use, he conducts a kind of basic research of the connections between light and space and their perception. The lighting of the interiors and the orchestration of varied shades of color in dialogue with the spatial layout results in a convincing whole. This is direct, empirical architecture which supplies a wealth of fundamental perceptual material. Steven Holl truly creates experiences with his buildings.

PROJECTS BY STEVEN HOLL FEATURED IN THE EXHIBITION
University of Iowa, Art and Art History Building, Iowa City, Iowa (USA) / Undergraduate Residence 2001, MIT, Cambridge, Mass. (USA) / Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington, D. C. (USA) / Museum of Human Evolution, Burgos (E) / Fondation Francois Pinault pour L’Art Contemporain, Ile Seguin, Boulogne-Billancourt (F) / Musée des Confluences de Lyon (F) / Wine Pavillion and Hotel, Langenlois (A) / Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (FI)

THE CATALOGUE
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in German and English language published by Lars Müller Publishers, Baden. Essential text contributions by Dietmar M. Steiner, Yehuda E. Safran and Wolf D. Prix and a large illustrations section provide in-depth information on the nexus of idea and phenomenon; with the comprehensive list of works, this is an up-to-date standard work on Steven Holl. In the person of Lars Müller as catalogue designer and publisher a partner was found who congenially translated Steven Holl’s architectural intentions into print. The catalogue will be presented at the press preview. (136 pages, numerous color illustrations, edited by Architekturzentrum Wien, museum edition Euro 35,- / bookstore edition Euro 50,-). German edition (ISBN 3-907078-94-2) / English Edition (ISBN 3-907078-88-8)

Thursday, April 11, 2002, 6:30 P.M.
“Idea and Phenomena”
Lecture by Steven Holl
at the Cashier’s Hall of the Postsparkasse (Postal Savings Bank) Main Building
Georg-Coch-Platz 2, A-1010 Vienna (lecture held in English)

Tickets: 7 Euro / 5 Euro
Available daily from 10:00 A.M.- 7:00 P.M. at the Az W Shop
Accreditation for members of the press Tel.:++43-1-522 31 15-23 or press@azw.at

Friday, June 14, 2002, 7 pm
“Building Books”
Lecture by Lars Müller (Lars Müller Publishers, Baden – Switzerland), lecture held in german
In the Architekturzentrum Wien, Podium

PRESS / INFORMATION:
Ulrike Kahr-Haele
Phone: (+431) 522 31 15-23
fax: (+43 1) 522 31 17
e-mail: press@azw.at

Supported by:
Geschäftsgruppe Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr, Stadt Wien
Wien Kultur
Kunst Bundeskanzleramt
Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur
Arch+Ing, W, NÖ, B

Sponsors:
UNIQA Versicherungen AG
Zumtobel Staff Österreich Vertriebs-GmbH

Biography

Steven Holl
born 1947 in Bremerton, Washington. Established Steven Holl Architects in New York in 1976. Steven Holl is an honors graduate of the University of Washington. He studied architecture in Rome, Italy in 1970, and did post-graduate work at the Architectural Association in London in 1976

Professional affiliations
American Institute of Architects
American Association of Museums
Honorary Whitney Circle, Whitney Museum of American Art
International Honorary Committee, Viipuri Library, Alvar Aalto Foundation

Teaching
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning, New York: Tenured Professor since 1989, Adjunct professor since 1981
University of Washington, Seattle
Pratt Institute, New York
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

AWARDS
2001
Grande Medailles D’Or, Academie D’Architecture

Seattle AIA Design Award
Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington

New York AIA Design Award
Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington

2000
Progressive Architecture Awards
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
MIT Undergraduate Residence 2001, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1999
New York AIA Design Award
Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

New York AIA Project Award
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri

National AIA Design Award
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

1998
Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design

Alvar Aalto Medal

National AIA Design Award
St. Ignatius Kirche, Seattle University, Washington

1997
Japanese Building Contractors Society Award
Makuhari Housing, Chiba, Japan

National AIA Religious Architecture Award
St. Ignatius Kirche, Seattle University, Washington

New York AIA Medal of Honor Award

1996
Progressive Architecture Awards
Knut Hamsun Museum, Hamarøy, Norway
Museum of the City, Cassino, Italy

1995
NYC AIA Design Awards
Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
St. Ignatius Church, Seattle University, Washington

1993
NYC AIA Architecture Project Award
Makuhari Housing, Makuhari, Japan

Graham Foundation Grant
Experimental Science Exhibition Design

AIA National Honor Award
Texas Stretto House, Dallas, Texas

1992
AIA National Honor Award
D.E. Shaw & Co. Offices, New York City

AIA New York Honor Award
Void Space/Hinged Space Housing, Fukuoka, Japan

1991
NYC Art Commission Excellence in Design Award
The Renovation of the Strand Theater, Brooklyn, New York

AIA National Honor Award
Hybrid Building, Seaside, Florida

Progressive Architecture Award
Void Space/Hinged Space Housing, Fukuoka, Japan

1990
Arnold W. Brunner Prize in Architecture
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

Progressive Architecture Awards
College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek, Berlin, Germany

1989
AIA National Honor Award
Berkowitz-Odgis Haus, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

1988
NEA, Graham Foundation & NYSCA Grants
MoMA Exhibition, New York City

AIA New York Chapter Awards
Urban Proposal, Porta Vittoria District, Milan, Italy
Giada Clothing Shop, New York City

1987
Progressive Architecture Citation
Hybrid Building, Seaside, Florida

1986
Progressive Architecture Citation
Berkowitz-Odgis Haus, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

AIA New York Chapter Award
The Pace Collection Showroom, New York City

1985
AIA New York Chapter Award
Andrew Cohen Apartment, New York City

1984
Progressive Architecture Citation
Haus Van Zandt, East Hampton, New York

1982
Progressive Architecture Citation
Haus Metz, Staten Island, New York

EXHIBITIONS

2002
Max Protetch Gallery, A New World Trade Center, New York City

2001
American Academy in Rome, Parallax, Rome, Italy
Van Allen Institute, Architecture + Water, New York City
Galleria Aam, Parallax, Milan, Italy

2000
Max Protetch Gallery, Parallax, New York City
Museum of Modern Art, Open Ends: Architecture Hot and Cold, New York City
Cooper-Hewitt Museum, 1st Design Triennial, New York City

1999
Museum of Modern Art, The Un-Private House, New York City
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
GA Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

1998
The Minories, The Art of Building, First Site, Essex, United Kingdom
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Present and Future: 100 Years of Architecture, Los Angeles, California

1997
GA Exhibition, GA Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
Nederlands Architectuurinstituut, Dutch architecture and the American Model, Rotterdam, Netherlands

1996
Venice Biennale: Architect as Seismograph, Venice, Italy
Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Present and Futures: Architecture in Cities, Barcelona, Spain

1995
Museum of Modern Art: Light Construction, New York City
Architectural League: Kiasma, New York City

1994
Galerie ROM, Oslo, Norway
Galerie für Architektur, Hamburg, Germany

1993
Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, Finland
AR/GE Kunst – Galerie Museum, Bolzano, Italy
Arc en Rêve Centre d’Architecture, Bordeaux, France

1992
De Singel, Antwerp, Belgium
COAC, Barcelona, Spain
GA Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal, Canada

1991
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnessota

1990
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1989
Aedes Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Fukuoka Jisho Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan
Werkbund Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany
Museum of Modern Art, New York City

1987
GA Gallery, Global Architecture-Houses, Tokyo, Japan
John Nichols Gallery, House/Housing, New York City
VII Triennale of Milan, Urban Section, Milan, Italy

1985
Whitney Museum, High Styles. American Design, New York City
Princeton School of Architecture, Anchorage, one man show, Princeton, New Jersey

1984
Architecture in Transition, Berlin, Germany
Facade Gallery, Cultural Connection and Modernity, one man show, New York City
Whitney Museum Downtown, Metamanhattan, New York City

1982
White Columns Gallery, Bridge of Houses, New York City

1981
Architectura Arte Moderna, Bridges, one man show, Rome, Italy
Cooper Union, Window, Room, Furniture, group show, New York City

1980
Yale School of Architecture Gallery, Young Architects, New Haven, Connecticut

PUBLISHED WRITINGS

2000
Parallax, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2000
Acconci, Holl. Storefront for Art and Architecture, archiv kunst architektur, Werkdokumente 17, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Hatje Cantz Verlag 2000

1999
The Chapel of St. Ignatius, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999
Steven Holl 1996-1999, El Croquis, Madrid, 1999

1998
Intertwining With the City: Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Harvard Architecture Review Vol. 10, 1998
Kiasma, The Finnish Association of Architects, Helsinki, Finland, 1998
Pamphlet Architecture 1-10, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1998

1997
Twofold Meaning, Kenchiku Bunka, Tokyo, 1997

1996
Intertwining, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1996
Steven Holl 1986-1996, El Croquis, Madrid, 1996
Stretto House. Steven Holl Architects, Monacelli Press, New York, 1996
Steven Holl, GA Document Extra, Tokyo, 1996

1995
Light Constructions (catalog for the exhibition), Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1995
Kiasma (catalog for the exhibition), New York, 1995
Pre-Theoretical Ground, Columbia Documents, New York, 1995

1994
Kain Tapper: The Artist and his Work, Kain Tapper: Tombs in Wood, New York, 1994
Raw Experience, Architectures of Herzog and DeMeuron, Peter Blum Editions, New York, 1994
Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture, A+U Special Issue, July 1994
Steven Holl: Intertwining Verweben, Color of an Architect, Galerie für Architektur, Hamburg, June
1994

1993
Steven Holl, Artemis & Arc en Rêve Centre d’Architecture, Bordeaux and Zurich, 1993

1991
Pamphlet Architecture #13: Edge of a City, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, March 1991

1989
Anchoring, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1989

1988
Within The City: Phenomena of Relations, Design Quarterly 139, Spring 1988

1984
Teeter Totter Principles, Perspecta 21: The Yale Architectural Journal, 1984, pp. 30-51

1983
Foundations, American House Types, Precis IV, Columbia University, New York, 1983

1982
Pamphlet Architecture #9: Urban and Rural House Types, New York, December 1982
Taylor, Liza, ed: Anatomy of a Skyscraper, Cities–The Forces That Shape Them, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, 1982
Conversation with Alberto Sartoris, Archetype, Fall 1982

1981
Pamphlet Architecture #7: Bridge of Houses, New York, July 1981

1980
Pamphlet Architecture #5: The Alphabetical City, New York, March 1980

1979
USSR in the USA, Skyline, New York, May 1979

1978
The Desert De Retz, Student Quarterly, Syracuse School of Architecture, Syracuse, December 1978
Review of the Blue Mountain Conference, Skyline, New York, November 1978

1977
Pamphlet Architecture #1: Bridges, New York, 1977
A New Wave of European Architecture, A+U, August 1977