Designing through Metaphor

Yesterday's CBDS feedback completely opened our eyes to new possibilities with our building. It's incredible what the shifting of a few blocks of wood can do to push something in an entirely different direction. One of the comments we got was to look at Steven Holl's MIT dorm for its use of subtractive form. And, of course when I went to his website, I was sucked in to the amazingness which is Steven Holl for an entirely different reason. As I was looking through his master plan for MIT and the dormitory photographs, I read one of the press clippings that commented on how Holl tends to develop mythical or metaphorical reference that guides him through the design process. I certainly was seduced by his metaphor of a sponge (porosity) connecting campus housing:

And also for the dorm itself as a series of lungs that allow light and air to pass through the building:

All images from Steven Holl Architects.

The Poetry of Space

After traveling through "the woods" since May 26th, we finally returned to Helsinki last week and were gifted our first free weekend to settle in and do some much needed laundry. Saturday afternoon, several of the graduate students walked to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Steven Holl. After spending last semester reading a lot of Steven Holl's ideas on Phenomenology, I was anxious to experience a work of his. The experience greatly surpassed my expectations. While I have never thought myself to be a great writer, even the best, I think, would lack sufficient words to describe the poetry of space in Kiasma. Light, shadow, texture, color, materiality, undulating forms and movement - a place I will no doubt return to many times while in Helsinki.

Skateboarder paradise near the cafe entrance.

Entry Hall from second floor.

A stunning exhibit by Denise Grunstein.

Textured concrete made by wood forms - a nod to Finnish culture.

Rear auditorium wall wrapped in cerulean velvet panels, asking to be touched.