Architecture Matters 2016

peter haimerl . architektur, Munich

Peter Haimerl was raised in a Lower Bavarian village in the Bavarian Forest. This experience imparted him with a certain sense of tenacity, directness and autonomy, which have helped to make him one of the most interesting architects leading the German architecture scene today. He is often drawn back to his home region, most recently in 2014 with the construc-tion of the imposing concert hall in Blaibach. Haimerl has received numerous awards, inclu-ding the German Architecture Award and the Bavarian Cultural Award.

www.peterhaimerl.com

Euroboden Gruppe, Munich

Stefan F. Höglmaier is managing director of Euroboden Gruppe, which the 42-year-old founded at the age of 24. He is one of the few developers who earn money with good architecture and not only with gross floor area. When Höglmaier is convinced of an idea, he fights to make it happen, longer than most others would, and even by legal means. He works with some of the best in the industry, including David Adjaye, David Chipperfield, Peter Haimerl and Muck Petzet. Of course, his own home is equally spectacular, being a converted bunker with its own art space on the ground floor.

www.euroboden.de

© Julian Baumann (portrait photo)

Artistic director of the Munich Kammerspiele

Matthias Lilienthal has served as the artistic director of the Munich Kammerspiele since the 2015/16 season. Long before “Shabby Shabby Apartments” – his answer to the gentrification in Munich’s city centre – he had a solid reputation as an intrepid border crosser. He concluded his recent tenure at Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) in Berlin with “Infinite Jest”,
a 24-hour marathon through iconic West Berlin locations. His arrival is a guaranteed breath of fresh air for Munich’s theatrical community.

www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de

Bompas & Parr, London

Sam Bompas and Harry Parr are experts in culinary events, architectural installations and the titillation of our taste buds. They have drawn widespread acclaim for their extraordinary architectural replicas made from jelly – from Foster’s Millennium Bridge to Barajas Airport. They cook with lava and lightning, create walk-in cloud cocktails, work with companies such as Selfridges, Louis Vuitton and Mercedes-Benz, and stage spectacular spaces in institutions such as the Serpentine Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, Salone del Mobile and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

www.bompasandparr.com

Firm OS Group
in Beijing, Hongkong, Bangkok and Berlin

Radical Chinese: Ole Scheeren started working in architecture at age 14, realised his first building at age 21, travelled through China, and at age 31, became a partner at OMA, responsible for business in Asia, planning with CCTV the second-largest office building in the world. In 2010, he founded his own architecture firm with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok. A branch in Berlin was added in the fall of 2015.

www.buro-os.com

Office Kersten Geers David van Severen, Brussels

Half modern, half something else – Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen is one of the most fascinating young architecture firms today. Their approach is idiosyncratic, uncompromising and reduced to the essential. Kersten Geers (*1975) and David van Severen (*1978) established their firm in 2002. They first garnered international attention in 2008 as the curators of the Belgian pavilion at the Architecture Biennale in Venice, with “After the Party” and its confetti-covered floor. At the 2010 Biennale, they were awarded the Silver Lion. They have taught at the Berlage Institute, at Columbia and Yale University, and are the curators for this year’s Biennale Interieur in Kortrijk, Belgium.

www.officekgdvs.com

© Tine Cooreman (portrait photo)

Wowhaus, Moscow

Wowhaus was never interested in buildings as eccentric objects. Their focus from the start has been on cultural buildings and public space – subjects that long received little attention in Moscow. Dmitry Likin (*1966) and Oleg Shapiro (*1962), both trained architects, estab-lished their firm in 2007. Unwilling to design bombastic palaces for the nouveau riche in the wild 1990s, Likin worked as head designer at the television station Channel One Russia, while Shapiro sold helicopters. Their building period began during the wave of change after the dismissal of long-time Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Likin and Shapiro came to prominence with their design of the Strelka Institute and their redesign of Gorky Park. Today they are one of the most important architectural firms in Russia.

www.en.wowhaus.ru