GLASHAUS_01 | tec ARCHITECTURE
Glashaus-Partner 2006/07
DAZ_AGENDA
13. November 2006 - 19. Januar 2007
The new DAZ_Glashaus series begins with tec ARCHITECTURE. The architectural firm tec ARCHITECTURE, based in the US and Switzerland, is lead by German architect Sebastian Knorr, together with his partners Heiko Ostmann and Moritz Knorr.
Central to the new series at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum are projects that have been realized by young architects, both in Germany and abroad. “The younger generation of architects contributes decisively to today's architectural culture,” explains Kristien Ring, director and curator at DAZ. “With the DAZ_Glashaus series, we would like to draw more attention to these achievements in an international context.” The series is supported by the Bund Deutscher Architekten BDA and corporate partners from the industry. The opening of the first exhibition took place on November 10, 2006 and will be on view until January 19, 2007. Subsequently, every two months another architectural firm will be introduced as part of the DAZ_Glashaus series.
Tec ARCHITECTURE was founded in 2000 in New York City by Sebastian Knorr (born in 1964 in Regensburg), shortly after he won the international open architecture competition Pier 40 in Manhattan. A year later the company moved to Los Angeles, and after Heiko Ostmann (born in 1964) and Moritz Knorr (born in 1969) joined, it started working on several major international projects. Today, the company has a staff of fifteen in LA and the office in Tägerwilen in Switzerland. Tec ARCHITECTURE specializes on large-scale projects with high demands in terms of form and function. The projects include not only science and technology parks, but also residential and commercial buildings—stretching from the masterplan to product design. The name of the company is programmatic: tec ARCHITECTURE combines highly complex technological solutions with sophisticated building designs. Recently, the company received the Honor Award for design from the American Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles for the Inotera headquarters in Taipei.
This was the first time a German architect received this award in the 149-year history of the institute.
Up until now, the company has primarily received attention for its work abroad, such as Infineon Technologies' Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore. But the firm has also realized several projects in Germany, including Campeon in Munich and the Infineon Development Center in Duisburg. Among the firm’s current projects are several residences in Mallorca, Germany, Switzerland, design hotels in Germany and Mallorca, commercial buildings in Bahrain, as well as two solar power stations in Los Angeles.
Tec ARCHITECURE has in the past often explored the realm of global corporate architecture, with several projects for international companies. The firm refuses a purely formalist approach. Infineon’s Asia Pacific Headquarters, for example, is not based on a design idea imported from Germany or California, but rather a concept custom-made for the site. Tec ARCHITECTURE integrates local cultural, ecological and social aspects into its designs. As the firm describes its own approach, “tec pursues a type of architecture that is inspired by the structures and processes of nature, shaping tomorrow’s environment into an informal coexistence of people, technology and nature. Tec ARCHITECTURE merges the knowledge of the information age with creativity and new ideas towards creating a spirited ambiance.”
The firm will present its approach at GLASHAUS 01 not only with its own architectural projects, but also in the design of the intimate exhibition space. It is part of the concept of the DAZ_Glashaus series that the architectural firms selected will also be responsible for the design of the exhibition area, two floors of 50 square meters each. Thus Glashaus itself becomes part of the presentation. In this way, the exhibition series will not only offer insights into to the current work of young successful architects, but surprise through the always changing presentation of the space.
The GLASHAUS series is made possible by a new kind of cooperation with a small selection of corporate partners. These partners have made not only a financial contribution in order to help make the exhibition and publication possible, but have also optimized the space itself with technical know-how.We thank the GLASHAUS Partner, as well as the BDA Bund Deutscher Architekten for their support in providing this new international forum for current architecture by the young generation.
A book is available online.
GLASHAUS_01
Curator: Kristien Ring
Exhibition Concept + Design: tec ARCHITECTURE
Project Management: Andrea Nakath
Public Relations: Franziska Eidner
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