Since his landmark project for the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek in Berlin, Steven Holl has become one of the most influential contemporary architects. Beyond his extraordinary built work, the architect stands out from the rest for his extensive artistic oeuvre and his ability for architectural drawing.
The more than 50,000 black-and-white sketches and drawings and watercolors that make up his artistic oeuvre have been of vital importance throughout the American architect's career.
Holl's work is based on his three main objectives: art that drives architecture, the need for ecological excellence, and the importance of space, light, material, and detail as experimental phenomena.
The centerpiece of the exhibition at the Tchoban Foundation Museum of Architectural Drawing are the black-and-white drawings of his award-winning project for the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek in Berlin, which launched the architect's international career.
Among other works, the exhibition includes unrealised projects for the Palazzo del Cinema in Venice (1990) and the Porta Vittoria in Milan (1986), as well as sketches for such well-known buildings as the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki (1993-1998), the Chapel of St. Ignatius for Seattle University (1994-1997), Maggie’s Centre in London (2012-2017) and The REACH, Kennedy Center in Washington (2012-2019), culminating in sketches for Holl’s lakeside retreat in Rhinebeck, near the Hudson River.
Visitors will be able to see a small part of the architect’s work in the exhibition, which traces the architect’s history to the designs for his retreat in his “ideal place” for drawing.
Since its founding, the Tchoban Foundation Museum of Architectural Drawing has promoted the art of architectural drawing, offering each drawing a space for individual study and exploration.
The exhibition, curated by Kristin Feireiss, will open on February 6, 2025 at 5 p.m. at the Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory with a conversation between Diana Carta, architect and academic (Rome), Steven Holl and Sergei Tchoban.
