Steven Holl

McCarter’s prodigious output of architectural monographs (2005’s Louis I. Kahn, 2007’s Frank Lloyd Wright, 2013’s Carlo Scarpa, etc.) reaches new heights with this penetrating volume on contemporary American architect Steven Holl. McCarter hails the idiosyncratic Holl for rejecting “the disengagement of design methods from the phenomenon of inhabitation” and describes the architect’s work in ways that Holl, a longtime acquaintance of McCarter, would likely approve. The monograph is organized around design binaries such as “Anchoring/Intertwining” and “Luminosity/Porosity,” rather than the tired residential or civic taxonomies. This organization is an immense help in understanding Holl’s animating design principles, aided by ample quotation of his own writings and a deft selection of photos and plans. Holl’s manipulation of light in his designs is explored through the examination of different structures, including the Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington state and private residences. A chapter on tactility and topography demonstrates Holl’s ideas on the navigation and maintenance of existing topography, through his designs of the School of Art and Art History at the University of Iowa, which spans a lagoon, and an addition to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City, Mo., which steps down a hillside in an effort to emphasize rather than efface its sloping location. Rather than focus on Holl’s resume, McCarter wisely explores his processes and conceptual insights, adeptly placing his architectural career into its historical and intellectual context. (Nov.)