MSRED Architect-Developer Dialogue: Steven Holl + Petri Ylivuori

Steven Holl | Principal, Steven Holl Architects

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 joined the Architectural Association in London and in 1977 established STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS. Considered one of America’s most influential architects, he 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 projects both in the United States and internationally including the Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle, Washington (1997); the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (1998); Simmons Hall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2002); the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (2007); the Horizontal Skyscraper, Shenzhen, China (2009), the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark (2009); the Linked Hybrid, Beijing, China (2009); Cité de l’Océan et du Surf, Biarritz, France (2011); Reid Building at the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland (2014); the University of Iowa, Visual Arts Building, Iowa City, Iowa (2016); the Lewis Arts complex at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (2017); Maggie’s Centre Barts, London, United Kingdom (2017); the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (2018); the Glassell School of Art for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (2018); The REACH, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. (2019); Hunters Point Library, Queens Public Library, New York (2019); the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (2020); Cofco Cultural and Health Center in Shanghai, China (2021), the Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (2022), and Meander Housing in Helsinki, Finland (2024).

Steven Holl received the 2016 VELUX Daylight Award in Architecture, the 2014 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award for Architecture, the 2012 AIA Gold Medal, the 2010 RIBA Jencks Award, and the first ever Arts Award of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in 2009.

Steven Holl is a tenured Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He has also taught at the University of Washington, Pratt Institute, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Petri Ylivuori | Founder & CEO, Newil & Bau

Petri Ylivuori, born in Finland, holds an M.Sc. in Economics from Aalto University, complemented by a semester at the University of California, Berkeley. After more than a decade in strategy consulting, he founded Newil & Bau in Helsinki with a mission to make the world more beautiful and sustainable—one building at a time.

Since its inception in 2020, Newil & Bau companies have sold over 1,500 apartments and earned recognition for its collaborations with world-renowned architects such as Steven Holl. The company is also known for transforming culturally significant buildings, such as a former office designed by Alvar Aalto, into high-quality residential spaces that honor heritage while embracing modernity.

Under Petri’s leadership, Newil & Bau has redefined housing by treating homes not merely as properties, but as thoughtfully designed consumer products that deliver a holistic living experience. This philosophy has positioned the company closer to a premium lifestyle brand than a conventional real estate developer. In 2026, Newil & Bau will unveil its next generation Gen 2 concept, further elevating design, services, and personalization to new heights.

Beyond Newil & Bau, Petri has served on the boards of Bo LKV, a leading Nordic real estate brokerage, and Esperi Care, Finland’s second-largest care home operator.

MSRED Architect-Developer Dialogues are open to all GSAPP students.