What sets internationally renowned American architect Steven Holl apart is not merely his extraordinary buildings—spanning museums, art centers, concert halls, libraries, and universities worldwide—but equally his remarkable graphic body of work: over 50,000 sketches, drawings, and watercolors spanning his entire career. Holl's rise to international prominence came in 1988 when he won a competition to expand the American Memorial Library in Berlin. The large-scale black-and-white drawings from that winning design take center stage in this exhibition at the Museum of Architectural Drawing.

His practice is grounded in three "principal missions": the art that drives architecture, the pursuit of ecological excellence, and the conviction that space, light, material, and detail function as experimental phenomena. The exhibition brings together unrealized projects—including the Palazzo del Cinema in Venice (1990) and Porta Vittoria in Milan (1986)—alongside designs for his most celebrated works: the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki (1993–1998), St. Ignatius Chapel at Seattle University (1994–1997), Maggie's Centre in London (2012–2017), and The REACH at the Kennedy Center in Washington (2012–2019). The exhibition concludes with Holl's sketches of his lakeside retreat in Rhinebeck, near the Hudson River—what he considers his ideal sanctuary for drawing.

While visitors experience only a portion of his vast body of work, each drawing deserves close study and individual reflection—a principle Steven Holl deeply values. The exhibition, curated by Kristin Feireiss, is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue. On February 6, 2025, at 5 pm, architect and scholar Diana Carta (Rome) will engage in conversation with Steven Holl and Sergei Tchoban at the Aedes
Metropolitan Laboratory to mark the exhibition's opening.

www.tchoban-foundation.de