Notes for Brief - Part One

Steven Holl

• gets up in the morning and draws
• “the morning is the time when the mind is the most subjective”
• conveys ideas best through a sharp pencil and fine paper, conveying his mind
• drawing is the way he thinks, the way he argues points
• you can watch the buildings taking shape through his drawings
• before computing was invented it was the way things were always done and he wishes to keep that aspect an influential part of his designing
• different projections allow for you to explore through a 2D form the spatial qualities of a building
• drawing= a way to shape space first
• designed cut lines through an elevation give a building shape and character
• buildings sliced by sunlight
• bringing the sunlight into to a building, making it apart of the building
• buildings within buildings = bamboo on the inside and cortex steel on the outside
• projections
• vision out of the building
• shaping public space & the building having the same morphology
• to really know people “you have to know their poetry”
• carving out of space
• pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970
• born in 1947 in Bremerton, Washington
• recognised for his ability to blend space and light with great contextual sensitivity and to utilise the unique qualities of each project
• creates concept driven design
• seamlessly integrated new projects into context with particular cultural and historic importance
• he did post-graduate work in an architectural association in London
• Steven Holl takes a few main ideas and bases his architecture around that
• imperative concepts
• the focus on materials is a personal consideration of Holl, all of his projects place emphasis on this aspect of architecture
• the articulation and selection of materials is important
• models based on materials are developed before the ideas and design concepts are steeled upon
• he considers materials to be significant to the design because of how they affect the character of the architecture
• he feels these material selections begin to inform the ideas from the onset
• an important understanding of aptly sequenced spaced, articulation of structure, infiltration of light, and attention to construction detailing
• places emphasis on a strong relationship formed between architect and client
• Holl is influenced by the surrounding environment and the characteristics of the environment to weave and invoke the outside in
• physical “stretto” (the musical imitation of the subject in close succession is answered before its completed)
• music can evoke into an idea about fluid connections between architectural spaces
• house is in four sections in correspondence with the four movements of music for strings
• heavy sounds expressed through orthogonal masonry
• light is conveyed and depicted by curvilinear metal
• the metal overlaps the masonry “spatial dams”
• in the main house “aqueous space” is created by the following measures: floor plan pulls the level of one space through into the next, roof planes pull space over walls and an arched wall pulls light down from a skylight
• use of materials are used to continue these spatial concepts
• view through main entries reveals the overlapping and internal spaces inside
• interior cogency Is maintained by slightly revealing the construction method with material and detailing
• materials and method of construction follow the concept of heavy orthogonal and light curvilinear
• light/heavy concept
• light/heavy & orthogonal/curved ideas were expressed structurally
• it is integral to the design and must be depicted throughout
• “unlike a beginning in form, the concept transcends the abstract, organising the experimental phenomenal”
• the pleasure of architectural experiences-the phenomena of light and spatial sequence, textures, smells and sounds