Discover Germany | Business | Architect of the Month, Germany
Haus W, Caputh.
ARC HITE C T OF TH E MONTH , GERM A N Y
The perfect symbioses between building and surroundings
TEXT: MARILENA STRACKE | PHOTOS: THOMAS BEYER ARCHITEKTEN
The Berlin-based bureau Thomas Beyer Architects designs the ideal interplay between architecture and its surroundings. Because the most important stage is developing the concept in close dialogue with the client, Thomas Beyer calculates plenty of time for this. The result is dream houses where everything is on point. Thomas Beyer grew up surrounded by a passion for art and architecture: his mother is a musician, his father an architect. Having been raised between those two exciting fields, Beyer first studied music but swapped to architecture, which he studied at the Bauhaus university Weimar and in Milan at the Politecnico di Milano. Only two years after graduating, Beyer became self-employed. The satisfaction of his clients, as well as a vast range of awards and competitions won, all speaks for itself. Beyer’s projects have received the German Design Award 2018 and the Häuser Award 2012 to name but a few, as well as being winners of numerous realisation and ideas competitions such as Häfenmarkt Hildburghausen, the extension of the Federal Criminal Police Office Berlin and the Citizen Quartier Esslingen. 66 | Issue 67 | October 2018
“For me, the building is the answer to the surroundings and the requirements of the user,” Beyer explains. “It’s not about the self-realisation of the architect. We are very cautious and careful when we make changes to a location.” Hence the first impulse comes from the existing surroundings that Beyer’s architecture reacts to. On the other side, the clients give impulses and Beyer aims to design their constructional environment in a functional and formal manner. Therefore, clients are included intensively during that first phase. This special focus on the planning stages and the resulting increase in time spent on it, pays off and, according to Beyer, guarantees long-lasting client satisfaction. The bureau works with different sectors: the commercial area, particularly the ho-
tel industry, as well as private clients who value individuality. “In both areas it is important to follow smart operational sequences, and to organise and design spatial generosity in an initially small space,” Beyer adds. Aside from residential buildings, the architect is currently working on two exclusive hotel projects by the Baltic Sea. This includes everything from authentic guesthouses to SPA areas and outdoor pools. Certain parts are dealt with in the context of existing buildings and having to take the preservation of historical monuments and gardens into account. For all concepts, the goal is to turn a building into a space of experience. Thanks to perfect lighting, arrangement of the rooms and merging the exteriors, Beyer creates visual axis’ resulting in an atmosphere of spaciousness. Beyer designs spaces where one can simply breathe.