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 realized cultural, civic, academic and residential projects both in the United States and internationally. Notable work includes the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland (1998), Sarphatistraat Offices, Amsterdam (2000), Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle, Washington (1997), and the much-celebrated Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building in Kansas City, Missouri (2007). Steven Holl has been recognized with architecture's most prestigious awards and prizes. Recently, Steven Holl received 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). Steven Holl 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), Scale (2012), and Color Light Time (2012). Most recently published is Urban Hopes: Made in China by Steven Holl Architects (2013).