Supergarten

Our young practice is nomadic, optimistic and enthusiastic. We believe utterly in the power of architecture to reflect and enhance joy. We have worked widely, but not only, in ephemeral installations, taking advantage of its open requirements to explore conditions that we consider highly relevant in terms of spatial experience. The diversity of the interventions is a consequence of using contextual inputs to articulate designs deeply rooted in their site and time. We work hard to unveil unexpected connections between the architectural space and its material memory. Following a strategy of non-strategical process, we fled to Bangkok in 2015 where we taught at INDA in Chulalongkorn University. That academic experience boosted with such a radical change of context, from our hometown in Barcelona to a tropical, chaotic Asian metropolis. The informality, the dynamism of the urban scene, the negotiation skills, the sharp inventiveness, the availability of material and resources of the local creative society have impacted our imaginary repertoire. Our professional and academic trajectory lead us into a taking risks and facing projects as challenges in an open, uninhibited and adaptive way. Whether we drift away with postmodern irreverences or twisted interpretations, we always keep in mind that our work is, after all, a service to the community. We believe that architects should take a position, not only as technicians, but as mediators within a continuously evolving society

Co-founder and partner of Crossboundaries, established in 2005 in Beijing. She graduated from architecture in Germany and the United States and worked in both countries, before moving to China in 2002. She is a registered architect in Germany and appointed member of the BDA (Association of German Architects) and has been practicing for about two decades working on diverse projects in Germany, Holland, the US and China. Her approach to projects of any given nature and scale is always driven by the curiosity to examine and expand the designated programs so that they reach their highest and most community beneficial potentials. Binke follows the projects of the office all the way to realization, always with keen attention to details and readiness to learn and improve on available technical solutions. She engages actively in any stage of project development and welcomes the exchange and interaction with the client and user whenever possible. Crossboundaries’ work has been published across a range of leading industry magazines and is also frequently featured in online design media. The practice has received multiple international accolades, most recently it was a finalist in the 2021 Architizer A+Firm Awards, Winner of the 2020 Iconic Award, Winner - Best of Best of the 2020 Masterprize, and nominated for the DAM Prize 2021, among many others, also in the previous years.

After having worked as a project manager for french and international agencies among which Naço and Architecture-Studio, Olivier Palatre created in 2006 his own agency: it is present in the public and private sectors, working on projects of different nature (education, cinemas, offices, buildings...). We are laureate of the Europe 40 under 40 prize. This prize rewards the 40 most promising architects and designers under 40 in Europe. Our agency has a lot of experience in the construction and renovation of nurseries, kindergartens and schools (projects like the colorful Preschool Pajol and the Second Chance School in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, the Max Jacob nurseries in the 13th arrondissement of Paris). For our team, a school or kindergarten is as much a place of learning school fundamentals as of good manners for young children, and must therefore reflect the image of a positive building, turned towards the youngest, promoting play, meeting and social interaction. The peculiarity of our architecture lies in its sensitivity and in the forms/subjects/colors articulation. It is a question of offering sensory experiences which go with the « everyday life ».

Born in Bolzano / Italy in 1965. He studied at the University of Innsbruck / Austria where he graduated in architecture in 1993. During his studies, he worked as a freelancer in different architecture offices until he opened his own office in Bolzano in 1994 after passing the state exam in Venice / Italy. Besides his daily working-routine, he is also working as vice president of the architecture foundation of South Tyrol, board member of the Südtiroler Künstlerbund - South Tyrolean artist association as well as member in several work groups and commissions. Furthermore Roland Baldi is a co-founder of the architecture foundation of South Tyrol. Roland Baldi incorporates South Tyrol’s cultural mix in his office – where he is often working together in project teams with architects from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds.