The Chapel of St. Ignatius

by Steven Holl

If the recently completed and highly praised Kiasma museum in Finland is architect Steven Holl's largest and most public work to date, his much smaller Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle is his most private and, in many ways, his most inspiring. In it, we see distilled the themes and concerns taht have made Holl one of the most respected architects practicing today. This jewel-like chapel, while small, contains the essence of Holl's vision-his interest in the phenomenology of space, his passionate investigations of form and material, and his use of reflected light and color. This book functions as a journal in the life of this extraordinary building. From Holl's preparatory watercolor sketches, to design development and working drawing details, to construction shots showing the unique precast system, to a large photographic portfolio of the completed building, this book reveals Holl's working method as well as the finished building. Essays by Steven Holl and client Fr. Jerry Cobb introduce the book. The color photographs present the unique aspects of the design and its details.

Genres: Architecture

96 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Steven Holl (born December 9, 1947) is an American architect and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri,[1] and the praised 2009 Linked Hybrid mixed-use complex in Beijing, China.

Holl graduated from the University of Washington and pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970. In 1976, he attended graduate school at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and established his offices New York City. Holl has taught at Columbia University since 1981.

Holl's architecture has undergone a shift in emphasis, from his earlier concern with typology to his current concern with a phenomenological approach; that is, with a concern for man's existentialist, bodily engagement with his surroundings. The shift came about partly due to his interest in the writings of philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty and architect-theorist Juhani Pallasmaa.