Buildings and Projects

The work of New York architect Stephen Holl is hallarked by a minimalism. This process of refinement - reference to Japanese modernity - is expressed by an authenticity of construction, and an architecture that is at once simple and complex. His work expresses his curiosity about, and passion for, forms and detail, as well as sensibility to the essence of materials. To Stephen Holl's mind, architecture goes beyond physical and functional requirements by merging with the site in a relationship that is both metaphysical and poetic. He draws abstract compositions which are the springboard for the conceptual developments of the project. Forms, colours and materials are all worked out using water-colours and small-scale models, in which figurative and abstract features are juxtaposed. This linkage in turn gives rise to a particular formal and conceptual langauge. This work sheds light on more than 20 projects drawn up between 1983 and the present, seven of which have been constructed in the US, Japan and Europe.