Studio

Steven Holl was born in 1947 in Bremerton, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington and pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970. In 1976 he attended the Architectural Association in London and in 1977 established STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS in New York City. Considered one of America’s most important architects, Steven Holl is recognized for his ability to blend space and light with great contextual sensitivity and to utilize the unique qualities of each project to create a concept-driven design. He specializes in seamlessly integrating new projects into contexts with particular cultural and historic importance. Steven Holl has been recognized with architecture’s most prestigious awards and prizes. Recently, Steven Holl received the 2014 Praemium Imperiale, the 2012 AIA Gold Medal, the RIBA 2010 Jencks Award, and the first ever Arts Award of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards (2009). In 2012, Steven Holl received the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award from the University of Washington, and has received honorary degrees from Seattle University and Moholy-Nagy University in Budapest. In 2003 he was named Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In 2002 the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institute, awarded him their prestigious National Design Award in Architecture. In 2001 France bestowed the Grande Médaille d’Or upon him, for Best Architect of the Academy of Architecture; and in the same year Time Magazine declared him “America’s Best Architect” for his ‘buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye’. Steven Holl is a tenured Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Planning. He has lectured and exhibited widely and has published numerous texts including Anchoring (1989), Intertwining (1996), Parallax (2000), Idea and Phenomena (2002), Luminosity/Porosity (2006), House: black swan theory (2007), Architecture Spoken (2007), Urbanisms: Working with Doubt (2009), Hamsun Holl Hamarøy (2010), Horizontal Skyscraper (2011), Color Light Time (2012), and Scale (2012). Most recently published is Urban Hopes (2013). Steven Holl is a member of the American National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the American Institute of Architects, the American Association of Museums, the Honorary Whitney Circle, the Whitney Museum of American Art; and the International Honorary Committee, Vilpuri Library, of the Alvar Aalto Foundation.

As a partner at Steven Holl Architects, Dimitra Tsachrelia (b. Patras, Greece), has been instrumental in leading designs and competitions for academic and art institutions since 2008 as well as residential projects, coordinating efforts between the New York and Hudson Valley offices. Accomplishments include winning the competition for the Expo Center in Tirana, Albania (2024), and completing projects such as the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (2018), the Reid Building, Glasgow School of Art (2014), and the Campbell Sports Center at Columbia University (2013). In the broader New York area, she has completed the L-House in Hudson, NY (2024), the Architectural Archive and Research Library Building in Rhinebeck, NY (2019, extended in 2023), the Ex of IN House (2016), and is currently directing pre-construction work for ‘Z’ Space Art Studio in Pound Ridge, NY.

As an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, she teaches design studio and seminars in the Architecture Program. Recently, she delivered lectures on the “Architectonics of Music,” an ongoing exploration into the connections between music and architecture, both of which are inherently spatial and space-defining endeavors. Her presentations took place at the University of Granada, Spain, and at the Center for Architecture in New York.

Dimitra played a key role in designing and coordinating the launch of the exhibition “Steven Holl: Making Architecture,” which toured globally from 2018 to 2023. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors of the Steven Myron Holl Foundation, providing guidance to the non-profit organization at the intersection of art, architecture, music, poetry, and ecology.

Dimitra is a registered architect in New York. She holds a LEED Green Associate certification and Living Future Accreditation for holistic sustainable design standards. She received her Master of Architecture with honors from Columbia University, and her Diploma from Patras University.

Noah Yaffe has been with Steven Holl Architects since 2004 and was named partner in 2011. He attended Colorado College and received his Masters in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He is currently the partner-in-charge for several projects, including the Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advance Study, and recently completed the Lewis Arts Complex at Princeton University and the new Seona Reid Building at the Glasgow School of Art, in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Associate in Charge for several projects, including the Knut Hamsun Center in Hamarøy, Norway, and the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art in Herning Denmark, which both opened in 2009.

Roberto Bannura (b. Santiago, Chile) joined SHA in 2007, was promoted to director of the Beijing office in 2010, and was named partner in 2018. He has been responsible for the studio’s award-winning portfolio in Asia and throughout the larger region, undertaking projects in mainland China, Taiwan, the Middle East, Australia, and Russia. Roberto is partner in charge of iCarbonX Headquarters, Cifi International Headquarters, and ChinPaoSan Necropolis, all currently under construction, and is also overseeing a large portfolio of cultural projects and masterplans in the Middle East. Roberto realized Cofco Cultural and Health Center (2022) and led the design for Powerhouse Precinct at Parramatta (2019) as partner in charge. He was responsible for Sliced Porosity Block (2012) and the Civic Center and Planning Museums in Tianjin Eco City (2013) as project director.

Prior to his involvement in China, Roberto spent 10 years living and working in New York City, six of which he spent working at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects as a project architect. He was responsible for the design development and management of high profile educational, commercial, and residential projects. Roberto is the recipient of the Claude Françoise Brunet de Baines Medal (2023) bestowed by the Universidad de Chile, where he received his Degree of Architect and Urban Planner (Summa Cum Laude). He continued his studies in Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile where he obtained a Degree on Urban Economy.

Olaf Schmidt (b. Kleve, Germany) joined SHA in 2002 and was named partner in 2024. Olaf is leading the Ostrava Concert Hall, currently in bidding phase. He has overseen several national and international projects as associate in charge, including the Nancy and Rich Kinder Museum Building, Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2020), Hunters Point Queens Public Library (2019), Campbell Sports Center at Columbia University (2013), and the Sail Hybrid casino competition (2009). Olaf has contributed to many designs as project architect, including the Residence at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C. (2006) and the Loisium Hotel and Visitor Center (2005).

Olaf received his Master of Architecture from ETH Zurich.

Molly Blieden (b. Port Jefferson, NY) joined SHA in 1992 and was promoted to managing associate in 1999. Molly leads financial and legal management of the New York City and Hudson Valley offices. Her responsibilities include contract management for all projects, financial management, HR, and liability management. Molly brings considerable experience to the studio’s business development efforts, both nationally and internationally. With over 30 years at SHA, she is also the unofficial office historian.

Molly maintains an independent career as a practicing artist, educator, and mom. Her artwork has been exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, among others, and she participated in the Whitney Independent Studio Program in 1992. She serves on the board of directors of the Steven Myron Holl Foundation. Molly received her Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University and her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.

Eleanore Ho (b. Kaohsiung City, Taiwan) joined SHA in 2007 in the Beijing office and was promoted to managing associate in 2017. Eleanore leads financial and contractual management of all projects in the Beijing office. Her responsibilities include spearheading the development of competition proposals for the studio’s projects in China and preparing bidding proposals, fostering client relationships, and facilitating project communications.

Eleanore’s background in arts management informs her creative and meticulous methods for supervising the studio’s business operations in China. She received her Master of Performing Arts Administration from New York University.

Jongseo Lee (b. Seoul, Korea) joined SHA in 2003, was promoted senior associate in 2017, and named director of development in Korea in 2022. Jongseo has overseen several national and international projects as associate in charge, including Meander Housing, which he has contributed to since the competition phase, the Student Performing Arts Center at University of Pennsylvania, currently in construction document phase, Hansae Factory and Office, Malawi Library and Masterplan (2016), Sliced Porosity Block (2012), and Daeyang Gallery and House in Seoul (2012). In addition, Jongseo has contributed to many designs as project architect, including The REACH Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2019), for which he oversaw envelope design and construction administration, Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (2018), Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University (2017), Visual Arts Building at the University of Iowa (2016), and the Reid Building, Glasgow School of Art (2014). He has acted as project designer on the Beirut Marina Zaitunay Bay (2014), Nanjing Sifang Art Museum (2013), Linked Hybrid in Beijing (2009), the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (2009), Horizontal Skyscraper in Shenzhen (2009), and NYU Department of Philosophy (2007). In addition to his experience with realized projects, Jongseo has led the team for several international competitions, including WDPC (2007) and the Busan Cinema Complex (2005), both in Korea.

Jongseo received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University, and a Master and Bachelor of Architecture Engineering from Yongsei University.

Michael Haddy joined SHA in early 2015 and has since been in charge of developing and maintaining the firm’s state of the art prototyping and fabrication facility. Over the past few years he has been involved with many of the active projects at SHA, playing both architect and fabricator roles. His main research area is concentrated on interaction between digital fabrication methods and artistic craft, building and maintaining relationships with partnering fabricators and artists from all over the world.  Many of the custom details the firm is known for originate in SHA shop such as lighting fixtures, castings, metals, glass, CNC millwork, 3D printed items, and much more. He holds a BA from Miami University and a Master of Architecture from University of Cincinnati’s DAAP.

Kelly Pope (b. Pittsfield, Massachusetts) joined SHA as Communications Manager in 2024. Previously, she served as the Programs and Development Manager for the Steven Myron Holl Foundation (2023-2024), and currently serves on the Foundation’s Advisory Board.

Kelly manages external communications, in addition to creative and cultural production efforts for the firm, including press, publications, exhibitions, outreach, and digital content. She is currently leading the coordination of the exhibition “Steven Holl: Drawing as Thought” in and several publication projects.

Kelly previously managed all aspects of the Foundation’s programming and exhibitions, including the annual ‘T’ Space Synthesis of the Arts Series. Her background researching, writing, and curating architecture, as well as her previous experience as an architectural project coordinator, inform her multidimensional role at SHA. She received her Master of Arts in Design History, Theory and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Yvonne Fang received her Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard GSD and practiced as an urban designer with a focus on culture-centric, climate-responsive placemaking. Having extensive design research experience, she was awarded the H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship by Dartmouth College in 2017. Yvonne joined Steven Holl Architects in 2023, where she crafts competition proposals, fosters client relationships, and manages design communications.

Filipe Taboada (b. Oporto, Portugal) joined SHA in 2006 and was promoted to associate in 2013. Filipe is project architect for the Aegean Horizon in Turkey, currently under construction. He has worked on several realized projects, including the Nancy and Rich Kinder Museum Building, Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2020), Hunters Point Library, Queens Public Library (2019), Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2014), Cite De L’Ocean Et Du Surf (2011), Horizontal Skyscraper – Vanke Center (2009), and Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (2009).

Filipe’s breadth of experience allows him to contribute to and fully develop international projects of varying scales and programs, from art museums to housing projects to university buildings. He received his Architecture Degree from Oporto Lusíada University.

Ruoyu Wei is a New York State registered architect. He holds a Master degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor degree in Architecture from Tianjin University.  He is currently in charge of several international competitions and a residential project in Saudi Arabia. Ruoyu has been invited as a guest critic at Columbia University, Syracuse University, University of Nebraska Lincoln, New York City College of Technology and Pratt Institute.

Wenying Sun joined Steven Holl Architects in 2012. She received a M.Arch degree from Iowa State University and her B.Arch from Harbin Institute of Technology in China. Wenying is currently project architect on the University of Pennsylvania’s Student Performing Arts Center and designer on a new hotel project in Gran Sasso, Italy. She has also worked on Taiwan ChinPaoSan Necropolis as project architect, Copenhagen Gate L&M in Denmark, Shan-shui Hangzhou and ICarbonX headquarters in Shenzhen.

Lirong Tan (b. Nanjing, China) joined SHA in 2018 and was promoted to project architect in 2022. Lirong is project architect for the Ostrava Concert Hall and a Manhattan office renovation, both currently in bidding phase. He has worked on iCarbonX Headquarters (2019) and the Loisium Hotel Expansion (2018), as well as contributed to several competitions: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2022), Qianhai International Financial Exchange Center (2019), Powerhouse Parramatta (2019), and Chicago University in Paris (2018).

Lirong is a registered architect in New York. He is skilled in Revit management and 3D modeling, incorporating all systems and program requirements into the amorphous form of the Ostrava Concert Hall. He received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University, where he was awarded the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize, and his Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University.

Yining He (b. Shaanxi, China) joined SHA in 2020 and was promoted to project architect in 2023. Yining is currently project architect for the Hudson L-House, under construction, and ‘Z’ Space, pending construction, as well as the completed Catskill Creek Addition (2022) and the Chungnam Museum competition (2021). Yining has contributed to several projects such as the Art-Life Interlock House (2021) and the Songshan Lake Complex competition (2020).

Yining obtained his Living Future Accreditation (LFA) in 2023 and has extensive experience in sustainable design. He is actively involved in projects pursuing LEED platinum and Living Future Challenge accreditation. Yining received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Tongji University, where he received the JWDA travel fellowship and UA travel fellowship.

Han-Yuan Edward Chang (b. Taipei, Taiwan) joined SHA in 2020. Han-Yuan is currently the project architect on ChinPaoSan Necropolis in New Taipei, Taiwan. He has worked on a residential project in the Hudson Valley (2024) and the Kaplankaya Dense Pack (2022), as well as contributed to several competitions: Bratislava Mix-Use Complex (2023), urban masterplanning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Songshan Lake Science and Technology Convention Center (2020).

Han-Yuan’s resourceful approach to design, design development, and project coordination has allowed him to participate and manage design scopes of complex projects with diverse exploratory characteristics. He received his Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he was awarded the Merit Graduate Thesis Prize, and his Bachelor of Science in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture from National Taiwan University.

Zhenya Li (b. Anhui, China) joined SHA in 2019. Zhenya is the BIM manager on the Student Performing Arts Center for University of Pennsylvania, currently in CD phase, and he is responsible for the main Revit material production and interdisciplinary BIM coordination. Since 2020, he has been the assistant project architect for iCarbonX Headquarter, a 200m-tall skyscraper in Shenzhen, China, through DD to CA stage, developing architectural designs and managing the onsite execution. Zhenya has worked as the project architect for various competition projects, such as Dubai Creek Harbour Iconic Tower, UAE (2024) and the Tiran and Sanafir Master Plan, Saudi Arabia (2023). He also contributed to other conceptual designs across different regions, such as Powerhouse Parramatta in Australia (2019).

Zhenya’s interest in architecture extends beyond design to domains such as research and employment of digital tools, including AI-based tools and Grasshopper, and the establishment of BIM standards for efficient team collaboration. He received his Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Architecture from University of Liverpool.

Peiwei Chang joined Steven Holl Architects in 2021. She completed M. Arch II program at University of Texas at Austin in 2019. She is currently working on ChinPaoSan Necropolis located in Taiwan.

Hannah Hill (b. Minneapolis, Minnesota) joined SHA in 2023 as an intern and was promoted to junior architect in 2024. She has worked on a variety of projects ranging in scale and type, such as a private residence in Manhattan, an urban planning project in upstate New York, and an international competition for a new concert hall. She also served as coordinator and host of the 2023 Summer Architecture Residency program at ‘T’ Space / Steven Myron Holl Foundation. Hannah enjoys the tactile experience of hand-drawing, painting, model-making, and other analog methods of design. Her fascination with architecture stems from a desire to understand its experiential and environmental impacts, and its engagement of the senses through material and form.

Hannah has fulfilled multiple positions as a teaching assistant while pursuing her degrees, equating to over three years of experience. She received her Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin in 2023, where she was the recipient of the 2023 AIA Austin Chapter Scholarship and received several Design Excellence Award nominations for her studio projects. She obtained a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Minnesota.

Fei Fan (b. Shanghai, China) joined SHA in 2024 as a junior architect. He is currently working on a mixed-use tower in Tirana, Albania. Prior to joining SHA, Fei individually completed various architectural, interior design, and exhibition design projects across Shanghai, Hainan, Hokkaido, and Myanmar. His experience in diverse cultural contexts prepares him for SHA’s global ventures.

Fei’s proficiency in physical model making and sketching ideas onto paper allows a fluid physical to digital workflow, fostering both efficiency and a joyfully creative process. He received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Architecture from Tsinghua University.

Maxwell Funk (b. Ontario, Canada) joined SHA in 2020 as an intern architect and returned in 2023 as a junior architect. He is currently junior architect on a new residence in upstate New York, and recently completed the extension to the Architectural Archive and Research Library (2023). Maxwell has also worked on a variety of projects, including the Ostrava Concert Hall (2020), Student Performing Arts Center at University of Pennsylvania (2023), and the Kerhonkson Residence (2023), along with multiple competitions such as the Riga Philharmonic Concert Hall (2023). He received his architecture degree from the McEwen School of Architecture in Canada, completing work focused on mass timber, ecologically conscious design, and a unity of the arts and architecture.