21 February 2012
Stephen Holl, founder and Director of Holl Architects, New York and Beijing, has been awarded the American of Institute of Architects Gold Medal for 2012. Holl is most famous for his Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki.
But, his firm has been exceptionally active in China. His recently, and extremely controversial project, Beijing's Linked Hybrid is situated along the waterfront. A series of 8 mixed-use towers, connected by an enclosed 20th floor walkway, the project is located adjacent to the ancient Beijing walls and is claimed by some to have destroyed the character and history of this part of Beijing. Linked Hybrid contains 220,000 sq. m. of space. Open passages at ground level are said to allow for permeability but the view below of the large reflecting pool doesn't make that clear!
It must be said, though, that the architecture is pretty slick and much in the 'Holl-style'.
Vanke International in Shenzen, China Vanke Centre tower and offices with residential and other uses is a wonder and is apparently one of very few LEEDS platinum-rated buildings worldwide and is said to be 'tsunami-proof'.
This 'horizontal skyscraper'-it is as long as the Empire State Building is tall-floats above a lush tropical garden. 'Shenzen windows', glass cubes sunken into the floor, give 360-degree views of the garden.
A lesser known Holl project is the work for Loisium, the Austrian 'World of Wine' up the Danube from Vienna in the wine village of Langenlois. Here in the midst of a medieval wine village and set amoungst the vines is a gem of a Visitors Centre.
Holl's design is based on the essence of wine and the wine country. His image takes the ideas for materials from those of a wine bottle: green glass, brown cork and silver aluminium foils around the top. So the building is faced in sparkly silver-coloured nautial aluminium panels and the slits, reminiscent of the old cellar lanes connecting the vineyards and the wine-growers houses and cellars far below ground in the loess soil. These meandering cellar lanes have been renewed and made safe and form part of the visitor experience at Loisium.
The adjacent hotel is altogether different. Four stories tall and hovering above the ground to permit views to the vineyard slopes beyond from the Visitors Centre and the village itself, the hotel rooms on the upper floors are supported by a 'forest of trees', columns of different diameters, harking back to links with the landscape itself.
Bright yellow-gold is used for the 'trees' and the surrounds of the projecting window pods; perforated aluminium panels form the basic facade with glass at the ground and first floors to enhance transparency.
Holl has been responsible for much of the interiors, too, designing door furniture and light fittings amoungst other elements. The 'frog lighting' in the bar is echoed by a 'frog feature' in the floor of the spa.
A final clever twist is the design of the bathtubs, inserted into what look like old oak casks. Anyone for trodding grapes?
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