In this new book, Steven Holl applies concepts from neuroscience, literature, social science, and philosophy to develop the idea of compression: the condensation of material and social forces to create meaningful and sustainable architecture.
Steven Holl celebrates the 30th anniversary of his landmark book Anchoring with his newest book, Compression, a collection of 35 major projects from the past decade, including The REACH, the widely praised addition to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Hunters Point Library, cited by The New York Times as “one of the finest public buildings New York has produced this century.” Steven Holl Architects will celebrate the launch of Compression with a conversation between Steven Holl and Sanford Kwinter at 192 Books on November 19th, at 7pm. The event is free and open to the public.
Compression (November 2019, $40) is Holl’s fifth volume in the same format, all by Princeton Architectural Press, following Anchoring (1989), Intertwining (1996), House (2007), and Urbanisms (2009). In it, he applies concepts from neuroscience, literature, social science, and philosophy to develop the idea of compression: the condensation of material and social forces to create meaningful and sustainable architecture. The book also includes an essay by Sanford Kwinter, entitled “The Analogical Relation.”
In addition to the recently completed works by Steven Holl Architects, the book features a diverse roster of upcoming and award-winning completed works, including the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; academic facilities for Columbia University, Princeton University, and the Glasgow School of Art; urban plans; a harbor gateway for Copenhagen; and the headquarters of Médecins Sans Frontières in Geneva. All demonstrate Holl’s poetic attention to light, space, and water; a subtle and tactile employment of material and color; and an awareness of architecture’s potential to connect people through inspiring public spaces.
“In this book, the focus is on the micro: architecture activating the brain and the importance of expressions of inner vision,” Holl explains in a chapter titled “Non-Conclusion.” “Architecture, planning, and environmental preservation play a decisive role in a positive future. They are antientropic inventions of humanity. The micro scale, the neglected human scale of today, can be reached via the arts and culture of our time.”
For more information or to request a review copy, please contact:
Wes Seeley; Princeton Architectural Press; wes@papress.com; (18) 671-6100 ext 314