April 2025

A few days ago, the time had finally come and we celebrated the opening of the 8-court sports hall in Monheim am Rhein after just two years of construction!

What makes the hall so special? Not only is it one of the few 8-court sports halls in Europe. It is also designed to be extremely efficient and sustainable. For example, the outer walls of the two parts of the building, the sports halls and the annexe, are made of timber frame construction. The sports hall with its large spans combines four hall units on 4400 square metres and two levels, which can be connected if required. The annexe building houses a further 3000 square metres of changing rooms, sanitary and technical facilities, storage and a foyer.

The different spatial requirements have resulted in a constructive diversity that has been summarised in a uniform language through a clear façade design: While the sports hall has a curtain-type, light grey façade, the outbuilding has a characteristic larch wood façade.

Many thanks to the city of Monheim and our project partners Nüssli and Schlaich Bergermann Partner, with whom we realised this fantastic project. And of course a big thank you also goes to Timo, Hans and Anna, our project team in Berlin!

Fotos by Tim Kögler

April 2025

Innovation in knowledge work today is based more than ever on diversity, networking and exchange. At the same time, there is a growing realization that cities, in the sense of a productive city, are not only dependent on knowledge and service work, but also on material production as an economic activity.

Against this backdrop, Markus Weismann and Nadine Funck have written an essay on the further development of monofunctional industrial and commercial areas into industrial districts. In their text, they analyze the drivers of this transformation, identify potential and use examples and five theses to show what such further development could look like in concrete terms.

The essay is part of the comprehensive publication “Traumfabriken”, which has now been published by Penguin Random House. On the opening day of the world’s most important industrial trade fair, the Hannover Messe, the book premiere was celebrated this week with all those involved.

The publication is dedicated to the importance of industrial architecture and, in its breadth, becomes a mirror of economic power in German-speaking countries. In addition to essays by various experts from business, architecture and industry, 25 outstanding production sites in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are shown.

March 2025
2024 was exciting! This is shown by the new ranking from competitionline. We came 8th in the architecture category and 4th in the urban design category. This makes us one of the few planning offices to make it into the top 10 in both the urban design and building construction rankings.

We are delighted and super proud of this result! We would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank all our planning partners and, of course, our employees!

April 2025

Update competition “Urban development of the areas between Janup and Löhrstraße in Herford”!
At the end of last year, our design was awarded second prize, as was the design by Pesch und Partner. Following a revision over the past few months, we are now delighted to have won first prize!

The competition was prompted by the poor building fabric, derelict areas and above-ground parking spaces that characterize the areas between Janup and Löhrstrasse in Herford’s Radeweg district. Our guiding idea: the development of two robust building blocks that enable a gradual transformation of the area and integrate sensitively into the historically evolved urban structures.

Many thanks to our team for this work!

March 2025

The educational campus of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation in Heilbronn is to be expanded in several construction phases. Having already been among the finalists in the 2022 non-open urban planning competition, our design in cooperation with HPP Architekten has now been awarded 1st prize in the “Bildungscampus West, Baufeld H” competition. A future-oriented teaching and research center for ETH Zurich is to be built on construction site H. An attractive and lively place for students and researchers that creates a representative address for ETH Zurich on the campus.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Our guiding principle: to develop a building ensemble that thrives on networking and exchange, thereby promoting knowledge and innovation. Modern and inspiring spatial concepts should enable flexibility and openness and attract all users of the campus. High-quality common areas with work facilities for students offer plenty of space for student life and support interdisciplinary interaction.

In terms of urban planning, the buildings form different sides: Clear spatial edges and higher buildings develop an urban presence towards the campus. Towards the Neckarbogen, on the other hand, the ensemble interlocks more and more with the landscape through gradations, recesses, terraces and balconies.

Both buildings are constructed using prefabricated timber hybrid construction and are connected to each other via the overlapping balcony band on the 1st floor. This allows both buildings to open up the first floor as much as possible. At the same time, this creates generous areas for communication and greenery, which lead up to the lush roof garden.