storp_weber_architects
‘begin at the beginning,
go on till you come to an end: then stop’
are the directions given by
the king in carroll’s ‘alice in wonderland’.
when designing, this isn’t at
all that simple. you might have an idea but the route to the final projects
isn’t at all that linear. you might go for a while into one direction then turn
round on your heels to go back, try a different route, struggle there, find a
way ahead, go on until you realise that this one sketch you dismissed for so
long actually holds does exactly what you wanted all along.
while on route obstacles have
to be overcome, dragons fought and gravity has to be defied more than once.
all what is true in the kings
statement is that there is a beginning and that there will be a finished
project/product in the end.
everything in-between is in constant flux- is being stretched and bend
constantly until it almost reaches breaking point.
we understand ourselves as an
architectural practice actually trying to create spaces/buildings/environments
for people to live in and to live with. if it is a house or an interior or a
piece of furniture or a shop or an exhibition space – there are always the same
things we are obsessed with:
space – light – colour
– atmosphere. and every project
sets a new challenge for us.
after founding our office
partnership 1997 we never actively looked a client, they find us. how this
happens is a constant mystery to us. they are always embarking with us onto a
the journey through the rabbit hole. the briefs they give us are always wired.
some of them, like a transformation of a small ‘one bedroom flat’ into a ‘three
bedroom flat’, seem impossible to fulfil. so far we took on every challenge and
we like to be challenged. conventions of living are questioned, the client gets
measured to make sure that he/she fits into the space and the budget gets
stretched in order to meet the demands of the client. emotions are running
high, we all fight for it because we are passionate about it.
teaching architecture is for
both of us the recipe to prevent us from ‘stopping to think’. as a teacher you are (at least sometimes) in the role of the client. not understanding what this guy in front of you is
talking about, desperately trying to get a grasp on what this illegible
scribble in front of you is. misunderstandings, misreads and misinterpretation
are inevitable. they lead actually often into a new and innovative way of
seeing it from another side – they are truly an innovation.
there is already a new windmill
for don quichote and sancho pansa to fight.
(unless otherwise credited
all projects were solely designed, developed and realised by sabine storp and
patrick weber.)