"Our work combines conceptual directness with limited utilization of formal means. This “economical utilization of resources“ in general and in architectural detail is an important prerequisite for the longevity of our ideas".
“Baukultur” is a concept that is difficult to translate; for this very reason, many think therefore that it is a German virtue. Baukultur stands for the holistic approach to the built environment, at any scale, both in terms of function and from an aesthetic point of view combined with the understanding of the cultural heritage and focusing on the future. With this in mind, we claim to arrive at the best possible solution for each task assigned to us - from the school building to the corporate headquarters. We have succeeded in this endeavor due to the well-developed culture of lively discussion among the four partners and our staff members. We consider the diversity of the resulting resources and possibilities to be our strength.
History
The Cologne-based firm JSWD Architekten was founded in 2000. Starting out as a small team, today the four partners Jürgen Steffens, Olaf Drehsen and the brothers Konstantin and Frederik Jaspert head an office with 140 employees from 27 nations. The partners come from the Rhine and Mosel regions and started on their architectural careers as RWTH students in Aachen. Günter Behnisch, Schuster Architects as well as Volkwin Marg (gmp) influenced their further professional development, followed by teaching posts and the establishment of the firm. In the last several years, JSWD has realized many projects in Germany and increasingly in other European countries, for the most part following successfully entered competitions.
JSWD finds further architectural, technical and intellectual inspiration in cooperative ventures with other architectural firms in France and Luxembourg, in the USA and in China while maintaining a collaborative exchange in the realization of joint construction projects.
