Steven Holl Designs a Watch as a Tribute to Álvaro Siza

American architect Steven Holl has designed a wristwatch for Cauny, a Portuguese watch brand, as a tribute to fellow architect Álvaro Siza, Dezeen reported.

The watch is called The Sculpture Watch. Its dial has raised colour blocks in red, green, yellow and blue. Those blocks stand out from the face rather than sitting flat, and they are made of brass. The round case is modelled on a watch that Siza designed for Cauny earlier.

Holl says the piece is an homage to Siza, and it was shaped by conversations the two architects have had. The link goes back to 25 July 2018, when Holl gave a summer lecture at the Porto Academy in Portugal. Siza attended. Holl recalls Siza telling him: "Steven, you use colour like Matisse, I must try in my next project." Henri Matisse was the French painter known for his bold use of colour. Holl also called Siza "the greatest living architect."

The Sculpture Watch is the fifth model in Cauny's The Architects of Time Series. The brand describes the series as a way of inviting leading architects to design unique watches, where, in its words, architecture meets the art of timekeeping. Siza designed the first watch in the series. Rafael Moneo, Eduardo Souto de Moura and Tadao Ando have also created watches for it.

Cauny's website lists the existing Architects of Time watches at prices that give a sense of the range. The Siza White, with a 35mm case, costs €175. The Ando Green, at 37.5mm, is listed at €198. The Souto Moura Grey, at 38mm, is priced at €185.

Cauny says it ships worldwide. Shipping and returns are free to Portugal and most European countries, and returns are free within the EU.

For watch fans, the story is as much about the friendship as the object. A remark made over a lecture hall in Porto has ended up as a dial with coloured blocks standing proud of the face.