watercolors
A translucent wash of color on paper is the first spark of a Steven Holl design. Watercolor painting is more than a representational tool for SHA – it’s a mode of thinking. Holl begins nearly every project in the quiet dawn hours with a 5x7 inch watercolor sketch. The free-flowing qualities of watercolor allow ideas to emerge intuitively, capturing the atmosphere or “phenomena” Holl seeks in built form. Watercolor is a bridge between imagination and reality – a way to paint space, light, and feeling before a single wall is built.
