JSWD Architekten

The Cologne office of JSWD Architects has existed since 2000. The four partners, Olaf Drehsen, Jürgen Steffens, and the brothers Konstantin and Frederik Jaspert started with a small team and now direct a company that employs more than 50 people. Teams of three to four people are working on projects in Germany and abroad.
The four partners who originate from the Rhine and Moselle all began their career in architecture at RWTH Aachen. The offices of Günter Behnisch, Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg (gmp) were important stages followed by teaching work and the founding of their own offices. In 2000, these offices were joined to form JSWD Architects.
We have a culture of trust among our employees that is characterized by mutual recognition. The quality of work at JSWD Architects is characterized by base and consensus. Among our employees there is an equal balance between experienced and innovative people. Everyone is required to contribute according to his or her talent and personality, and to ensure progress of our development.


About the Partner office Chaix & Morel et Associés, Paris:

The Atelier’s projects are the result of teamwork, the only possible response to the challenges facing architects today. Established in 1983, the practice currently comprises a team of eight partners of different nationalities: Philippe Chaix, Jean‐Paul Morel, Ržmy Van Nieuwenhove, Walter Grasmug, Anabel Sergent, Denis Germond, Benoit Sigros and Ržmi Lichnerowicz. Project leaders, architects and administrative staff form a team of around thirty employees. The presence of many different nationalities creates an international, polyglot working environment based on openness and exchange.
In over 25 years the firm has developed a special way of working, realizing both public (concert halls,theaters, museums, stadiums, and school and university buildings) and private projects (office and administrative buildings, industrial buildings, residential buildings). The practice has been working increasingly outside France, not least thanks to its office in Vienna and intensive collaboration with other architects abroad. The ThyssenKrupp Quarter in Essen, designed in association with JSWD Architekten, is the first large‐scale example of this approach to be completed.
In the course of the years, certain design priorities have imposed themselves. They include ecologically sustainable design and building, the search for architectural forms of expression with a strong identity, and the use of innovative techniques in building design and development. One design principle that has come to the fore and can be experienced in a large number of projects is an architecture of sober elegance, a contextual form language and a subtle use of natural light. Each new project represents a fresh start.
A specific answer is sought to every challenge, without falling back on preconceived architectural or aesthetic categories. This mindset enables the practice to handle all kinds of projects and further develop its work in innovative ways.