Since its founding as a studio for architecture, urban planning, design, music and the pursuit of happiness, music has been an integral part of GRAFT’s company culture. Music, as a universal language, brings people together and spans national and cultural boundaries. The artistic expression represented by the interplay of multiple musical parts transcends individual perspectives. Consequently, the transformation of polyphony into harmony can be seen as a goal of music. From the early music-making days of GRAFT’s founders through architectural metaphors drawing on set design, scenography and performance to the ‘architectural jam sessions’ that have been part of the company’s design process since the very beginning, creating the winning entry for the Carl Bechstein Campus in Berlin brings this world of reference full circle.
Artificial intelligence and architecture
Artificial intelligence and architecture: From externalized imagination to physical implementation, AI technology will change daily working habits in the architectural world. What can this innovation, which is currently challenging human understanding, draw from the wealth of experience of architects, strategists, and designers? Which potentials can be reimagined – and how? GRAFT presents an insight into the core issues of AI and extrapolates how they will influence the creative process in the foreseeable future.
TASTE IS THE LACK OF APPETITE - Behind the scenes
This is a big thank you contribution that accompanies the exhibition "25 Years of GRAFT - Taste Is the Lack of Appetite - Hybrid Approaches of Architecture" from the concept phase to the event management and provides an insight into the creation process. It is, so to speak, the credit at the end of the film with which one we would like to say goodbye to these months of inspiring creative work and slip into the new year..
The magic of the ICC – a trip back to an optimistic future
The vacant Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC) has been a talking point in Berlin since its closure in 2014. Since then, various parties have publicly voiced their desire for an economically viable restoration of the building and a reactivation of the entire site. A fresh look at the origins of this aluminum colossus shines light on important aspects of Berlin’s recent history. It reveals that the ICC is much more than an architectural icon. Crossing the threshold into its soft interior is to embark on a journey back to an era in which an optimistic vision of the future prevailed.
The Hybrid City Façade told through Three Designs
A significant proportion of GRAFT’s façade concepts are characterized by hybrid forms and the ambivalence of their elements. In the following introduction to the concept development process, we outline three designs in which the façade plays a defining role. Charlie Living, BRICKS, and A LASKA are three recent Berlin projects – two already built, the third currently under construction – that exemplify our approach to the idea of the city façade.
A Manifesto on Mediatecture - Ten thoughts on the evolving relationship between people, media, and the built environment
This manifesto identifies the essential trends and their solutions for a successful future of our media environments. Design and knowledge come together to redefine architecture - Through decades of experience through international projects around the globe, founding partners Thomas Willemeit, Wolfram Putz and Lars Krückeberg (GRAFT) and Prof. Nikolaus Hafermaas (GRAFT BRANDLAB) sketch the outlines of this world in all its dimensions.
Healing Architecture
For many years GRAFT has been working intensively and also in cooperation with medical professionals and scientists on the topic of "Healing Architecture" and the question of how a carefully planned environment can contribute to health as well as accelerate recovery processes. We would like to present you some examples of projects planned and already realized by GRAFT, which are not only architecturally convincing, but also link the topics of building and health in a forward-looking way. Language: German
Unbuilding Walls Travel Grant 2019
We’re happy to share the realized projects of our two TRAVEL GRANT 2019 winners: Brooke Adams’ UNBUILDING HERE and Antonio Giráldez López’ MORE THAN WALLS.
New Mobility
The development of a city is inextricably linked to mobility - the movement of people and goods. The combination of zero-emission, low-noise mobility with profound digitalization and AI will have an enormous impact on the development of cities and rural areas, while new mobility concepts are likely to change our understanding of municipal spaces and infrastructures. In an interview with expert Stefan Liske, GRAFT discusses the mobility of the future.
Stories are the Social Currency of the World
Hotels and residential buildings are two architectural typologies that cater to very similar fundamental human needs, on the one hand providing shelter and privacy and on the other acting as stages for social interaction. As boundaries between the private and public blur, we are seeing a transformation of residential typologies. But have apartment buildings been learning from hotels? Or is it the other way around, as the “home away from home” slogans of hotels around the world would have us believe?
Reinventing Workspaces
A city’s development is inextricably linked to mobility—the movement of people and goods. Urban planning in the 20th century was based on the separation of dirty, noisy traffic from the unpolluted, human urban fabric, but global megalopolises today still suffer from the growing implications of traffic. The combination of zero-emission, low-noise mobility with deep digitization and AI will have an enormous impact on the evolution of cities and rural areas, while new mobility concepts are expected to change our understanding of communal spaces and infrastructure.
