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Who

One of the most prominent and cutting-edge architects working today, Holl is best known for his design of the sponge-like MIT dormitory Simmons Hall.

Backstory

The Washington state native founded Steven Holl Architects in 1976, but didn't actually execute one of his designs until 1987, when he completed a showroom for furniture retailer Pace Collections on the Upper East Side. Holl spent the early 1990s designing residences and offices around town (such as those of David Shaw's hedge fund, D.E. Shaw), but the project that really put him on the map was his curvy Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland, completed in 1998. He's since brought his unorthodox aesthetic to a broad range of projects, from museums to homes to commercial facilities. When not tending to his private practice, Holl is a professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, his alma mater. In 2001, Time declared Holl "America's Best Architect."

Of note

Holl's most recognizable creation is the MIT dorm Simmons Hall, which was completed in 2002. Deliberately designed to resemble a sponge, the edifice contains over 500 windows, concavities, and assorted other architectural quirks. (While critics praised Holl's radical design—it won a number of awards including a National AIA Design Award—students have consistently complained about a number of functional deficiencies.) More recently, Holl finished work on the Bloch Building, a $200 million add-on to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City that may well go down as his masterpiece—The New Yorker's Paul Goldberger described it as "one of the best museums of the last generation." Three projects that are currently keeping him busy: the redevelopment of Beirut's marina—a massive waterfront project that's expected to be the largest construction project in the history of Lebanon—an S-shaped 30-story condo he's designing for Gary Barnett in Chelsea, and a sprawling housing complex in Beijing.

Drama

Holl suffered a couple of setbacks in 2006. In May, a couple for whom he'd designed a house in New Mexico told the Times that the house was "unlivable," issuing an rare (and embarrassing) public rebuke. In October 2006, he stormily walked away (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) from one of his most high-profile projects, the $127 million Denver Justice Center.

Personal

Holl's second wife is the Brazilian artist Solange Fabiao; the couple lives in the West Village. They're sometime business partners too, having collaborated on a design proposal for the High Line in 2004. Holl's first wife was Janet Olmstead Cross, a fellow architect and the great-great-granddaughter of Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park.

No joke

Since 2002, the New York Times has misspelled his first name four times, spelling it Stephen, not Steven. A correction has been issued each time.