studio gollwitzer architekten GmbH is an architectural design office with its headquarters in Munich. A Berlin branch was established in 2017.
Architect Wolfgang Gollwitzer is the owner / partner of studio gollwitzer architekten GmbH. The firm operates across the globe and is built upon international networks of research institutions in New York, Beijing, Vienna and London.
The work of studio gollwitzer architekten GmbH spans across all scales, from master planning and institutional work to the scale of interiors and furniture designs.
Within the context of today’s ever-changing socio-economic demands, the firm develops unique yet flexible design solutions involving the latest technologies and through examining formal-programmatic typological building organization in order to create high-quality environment / spaces with a high level of economic and ecological awareness throughout the process.
Formal organization seen in nature and static organic systems are often investigated and utilized to inform the firm’s design process as well as its potential. In addition, traditional building typologies are constantly examined, rethought, or sometimes, augmented depending upon the individual project’s needs – the principle of ‘What’s needed the most.’
The use of digital tools and structural principles seen in biological models is evident throughout the firm’s design process from the initial design stage through the production of building components. As a result, the best design solution is developed specifically for each project while the firm consistently strives to optimize the use of materials, energy, time, and thereby optimizing the costs – the principle of ‘Where is the investment needed the most.’
With the engagement of a three-dimensional planning method, the building envelope and its structure are regarded as one entity. Here, urban massing and the massing of interior spaces are derived simultaneously from the functional, programmatic, and/or social requirements for each project – the process of ‘sculpting.’ This method allows for high-quality designs with awe-inspiring spaces with a rather simple means of construction. In effect, building skin is considered a responsive system that reacts to the environment while at the same time influencing what surrounds it.
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Wolfgang Gollwitzer
CEO
Dipl.-Eng. Architect, AIA
M.S.AAD
Wolfgang Gollwitzer is a registered architect and the CEO of the company. He holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from Columbia University in New York and the Technical University in Munich. Prior to becoming the CEO of studioGA, he worked at Studio Daniel Libeskind (Berlin) and Reiser + Umemoto RUR Architecture PC (New York). He is a member of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) and DGNB (German society for sustainable buildings).
Education and training
1999 Master in Advanced Architectural Design (Columbia University New York)
1997 Diploma in Architecture (Technical University of Munich)
1996 Guest semester (ETH Zurich)
1993 Intermediate diploma Architecture (University of Kaiserslautern)
Professional experience
since 2001
studio gollwitzer architekten gmbh, Munich and Berlin
05/2000-12/2000
Daniel Libeskind, Berlin [D]
01/2000-04/2000
RUR architects Reiser & Umemoto, New York [USA]
06/1999-12/1999
Daniel Libeskind, Berlin [D]
05/1999-06/1999
RUR architects Reiser & Umemoto, New York [USA]
Lectures
2019 Lecture series Städelschule
2010 Guest critic, Applied Vienna
2007 Tsingua University, Beijing
2003 Guest critic, Princeton University
2003 Lecture series, Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences
2002 Digital consulting, Princeton University
2002 Guest critic, Princeton University, Undergraduate Studio
2002 Guest critic, Ben van Berkel, Städelschule Frankfurt
2001 TU Munich, guest critic, Advanced Studio for Prof. Kiessler
2000 Princeton University, NJ [USA], Assistant, Jesse Reiser
Scholarships
1998 DAAD Stipendium, Columbia University New York [USA]
1994 Florence [I] Italian Institute of Culture
Publications
Honorable Mentioning Lower Austria Building Award 2007 [A]
BSW Award German Pool Association 2007 [D]
Dichte, Werkstattbericht TUM 1995, Munich, [D]
Abstract 98.99, 1999, New York, [USA]
Wettbewerbe aktuell, 01/2003, Vienna, [A]
Prototypo #008 “Gravity & Grace”, BMW Factory in Leipzig
AIA New York Award for BMW FACTORY in Leipzig
Wettbewerbe Aktuell, 12/2003, [D]
Bund Deutscher Baumeister, 4/2003, Munich, elypso [D]
Timber Construction, Beratende Ingenieure,5-2005, S.10-12, VBI, Berlin
Interview “Architecture in Motion”, 2005, Nemetschek Review, Munich
Hisa Matsunaga
Head of Design
Dipl.-Eng. Architect
MArch.
Hisa Matsunaga is a registered architect and the head of Design for the company. He holds a Master´s degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute in New York and a Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture from Tokyo Denki University in Tokyo. Previously he worked for Reiser + Umemoto RUR Architecture PC (New York) and UNstudio (Amsterdam).
Key projects
O-14 Dubai (UAE)
(Project Architect while at Reiser + Umemoto RUR Architecture PC)
Aeon II (UAE)
(Project Architect while at Reiser + Umemoto RUR Architecture PC)
Shenzen Airport Terminal 3 (China)
(Project Architect while at Reiser + Umemoto RUR Architecture PC)
Raffles City Hangzhou (China)
(Lead Design Architect while at UNstudio)
Suzdal Resort & Spa (Russia)
STUBAY Resort & Spa (Austria)
Lazdynu Swimming Stadium (Lithuania, Awarded 2nd Prize)
Klaipeda State Music Theater (Lithuania, Awarded 1st Prize)
Teaching
2006-2009 Princeton University Graduate School of Architecture, Assistant, Jesse Reiser
2006 Cooper Union, Assistant, Nanako Umemoto
2004 Pratt Institute Graduate School of Architecture, Assistant, Franklin Lee / Anne Save de Beaurecueil