ian shaw architekten

Villa S, near Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
White cast in-situ concrete, slate, steel & glass
Completion date: July 2013

PROFILE

Studio

Ian Shaw Architekten is an award winning, interdisciplinary practice based in Frankfurt and London. We offer a full architectural service together with urban design and master-planning; interior architecture; furniture and product design; and acoustics & sound system design.

The practice has extensive experience, gained both nationally and internationally, working on a wide range of projects - these include theatres and live music venues; hotels, industrial buildings and offices; apartments and private houses; and mixed-use schemes.

Ian Shaw Architekten holds membership of both the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA); the practice is also a member of the German Federal Architectural Associations in the states of Hessen (AKH) and Thuringia (AKT).

Principles

Understanding and appreciating materials - their structural properties, their aesthetics - inspires how we design and how we build. In our work we are interested in the capacity of architecture to communicate through its tectonic construction.

Every scheme we undertake is developed with efficiency, elegance and authenticity, and always articulated with close reference to context and function. Within this framework we explore enduring interrelated themes: light and materiality, space making, and composition of form.

In essence, our buildings aim to generate a strong sense of place through visceral, experiential content; it is about rooting an architecture in its culture and topography.

Process

Everything we create is the outcome of an intensive dialogue between our clients and ourselves. Each detail is carefully considered. From concept design to completion - encompassing working drawings, specifications, rigorous site supervision and cost control - our methodology is exacting.

Unlike many conventional practices, we make extensive use of models in developing a new project. This process is fundamental; it keeps us grounded. We design; computers assist. Technology facilitates but is never a substitute for the art of space making, the art of building.

ian shaw architekten

IAN SHAW ARCHITEKTEN

GRAEME RUSSELL