Architecture - Craft and Art - But Above All, a Gift for the Soul and Spirit of Humanity
STYLE INTERVIEW
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Your Ostrava project is already quite
well known to the public thanks to
your exhibitions and lectures around
the country, and the aforementioned
book. However, few people know that
you are preparing two more interesting
projects here. How did they come
about? Could you tell us more about
them and perhaps reveal what stage
of preparation or implementation they
are in?
The client for the Inner Light Villa in
Liberec called our office asking if we
might like to design a special house for
him. When he spoke to my wife, Dimitra
Tsachrelia, who is also an architect,
I realized that they were not speaking
English, but Greek. So, the presentations
we prepared for him were held in Greece,
which we already visit annually to see
Dimitra’s family. The local architect we
work with is Marcela Steinbachova. This
is someone whom I collaborated with
on the Franz Kafka Society Office and
Library in 2008. Working together again,
we entered the Terezin Ghetto Museum
competition in 2022 and won first place.
This project is still in development and
is now facing many challenging local
requirements. We also made a model
of our “Space of Light” design as part
of our Making Architecture traveling
exhibition, which opened in Prague
October 2023.
Lately, even architects that have made
a name for themselves have said that
architecture is more of a craft and
the artistic scope of the field is only
as wide as the investors allow. I know
you've answered this question countless
times before, but please try to explain
again what architecture is for you.
What is most important about it and
what are your sources of inspiration?
Winston Churchill said, “first we shape
our buildings, then they shape us.”
Today, with much deeper knowledge
of neuroscience and the brain’s
perception, this 1944 statement rings
ever true. The arts are a gift to the soul
and spirit of humanity. Of all the arts,
realising the concept for a public building
is perhaps the most difficult — and yet, it
has the greatest potential to give back
to future generations. Architecture
requires dedicated collaboration.
First in the design, models, and
construction drawings, and finally in the
communication with the builders who
master the craft.
Your unique ritual of creating watercolor
paintings in the morning has already
been widely publicized. Near Ostrava
lies the small town of Příbor, where
Sigmunt Freud was born and not so long
ago his great-granddaughter established
a chamber gallery here that also focuses
on the role of the subconscious in
art. Would you agree to an exhibition
of your watercolor paintings at the Jane
McAdam Freud gallery in Příbor?
Certainly, I would agree to an exhibition
of my watercolor paintings in the town
of Příbor. Every day at dawn, I spend
around an hour on these paintings.
They are a way for me to tap into
the subconscious at the break of day
when the mind is fresh. In fact, this
question of: “What is consciousness?”
makes the idea of an exhibition in
the town where Sigmund Freud was born
deeply interesting. Perhaps we could
coordinate the opening of the Přibor
gallery with an event in Ostrava…I am
looking forward to it.
You are undoubtedly a very busy
person, but I would still like to ask if you
have noticed anything interesting or
remarkable in the field of architecture
within the framework of our Moravian-
Silesian region?
Yes, the PLATO Gallery in Ostrava by
Robert Konieczny and KWK Promes was
quite interesting to me, and we published
it in the May 2023 issue of Domus when
I was guest editor. On my future visits,
I hope to see new works in the region.
I know there are many young talented
architects just realising their first works—
which is an important moment.
Discussions regarding the use of the new
Ostrava Concert Hall have made it clear
that the expenses of a cultural venue
of this size cannot be solely covered
by the philharmonic’s program. Maybe
I misunderstood you, but the last time
you were in Ostrava, I thought you
indicated that you would be happy to
help if needed and that you would also
reach out to your jazz friends.
Who would they be?
My good friend Laurie Anderson, who
bridges all types of music with her
creative art, would be a terrific concert
event at the new Ostrava Concert Hall.
My friend Steve Reich’s music may also
make a fine event. Today, there is a new
generation in modern jazz re-inventing
the original genre, creating what they call
“nu jazz.” From London, there is Steam
Down, Nubya Garcia, Ezra Collective,
Moses Boyd, and Kamaal Williams—
the new hall could feature these or similar
jazz events.
As I mentioned before, with your scope
of work you must be a very busy person.
How do you relax?
Since the 2020 pandemic, my family has
lived in Rhinebeck and I work from our
archive building there, which is a five-
minute walk away from my home (I’m
in the NYC office only twice a week).
Therefore, I have much more time with
my wife Dimitra and our children Io
Helene (eight years old) and Thevos
Myron (three and a half). It is a great joy
to be an older father! In the second grade
now, my daughter Io has already written
a book on how to be an architect.
Interview with Steven Holl for POSITIV
Business & Style magazine was
conducted by Tadeáš Goryczka
| Cabinet of Architecture.
“
Weimmediatelysawthe
goodnewsbyemail,andIam
eagerlylookingforwardto
beingbackinOstravaforthis
groundbreakingevent.
”
STYLE INTERVIEW
Model liberecké Inner Light Villy
Model of Inner Light Villa for Liberec
zdroj | source: Steven Holl Architects