Meander housing is architect Steven Holl’s tribute to Alvar Aalto

“THE ARCHITECT HAS to continuedly switch back and forth between something intuitive, something artistic, and something rational and pragmatic,” Steven Holl shares his thoughts on his field. “You can't just take it from either side. That's what makes architecture to me one of the most interesting of all the arts.”

The creations of Holl, who set up his architectural firm in New York in 1976, can be found not only in the United States but also to some extent in Europe. Maybe the best-known of his projects to people in Finland is right in the center of Helsinki: Kiasma, the museum of contemporary art that is made of aluminum, glass, and concrete, was completed in 1998. In Holl’s work, lines move freely as in a draft, and structures seem to defy gravity and written rules. The result is wonderfully fresh and impressive architecture.

The next work by Holl in Helsinki will be in Töölö, where he has designed Meander housing, to be developed by Newil&Bau.

During his architectural studies, Holl learned about and fell in love with Alvar Aalto’s work. He visited a building designed by Aalto as a student when we went to the library of Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon. As Holl entered the building with his father, his father said he instantly understood why his son wanted to study architecture. Later, in the 1990s, Holl travelled to Finland to see more of Aalto’s work.

The light changes and travels on the surfaces of the Meander, creating an exceptional optical impression on homes and the environment.

“My work as an American architect owes a lot to him. I have every book that was ever written on Aalto and I have visited almost all of his buildings over the years,” Holl says.

Meander housing fits in beautifully with its environment, its shape designed by the sun’s position across the sky. The meandering shape created in the glass exterior allows light to enter all apartments.

The building is the combination of Holl’s vision of statuesque and practicality and Newil&Bau’s resident-oriented implementation.

Holl uses natural light with a steady hand. Considering the northern location of Finland in particular, it is by no means easy to ensure that light enters the interiors of all the apartments, as during the darkest part of the year sunlight hits the building almost horizontally.

“I've been to Finland all times of the year. I know what it's like to be at the midnight sun and I've been there when the sun doesn't even seem to rise,” he describes.