Page 5 - AIT0122_HerzogDeMeuron

In your curriculum vitae, it is written: “2014–2015, Berlin University of the Arts.
This is where I started on my architectural voyage.” Where have you arrived in
the meantime?
Since 2014, I have changed my place of residence several times. I started my studies
with Professor Enrique Sobejano at the Berlin University of the Arts. After some fan-
tastic months there, I received a tennis scholarship for the Savannah College of Art
and Design, a US university which specializes in design professions where I was
given the chance to live my passions for tennis and architecture side by side. In 2018,
I graduated as a bachelor with magna cum laude and then moved to Switzerland. In
Foto: Iwan Baan Basel, I started a traineeship at Herzog & de Meuron in September 2018. Since Sep-
tember 2020, I have been studying for my master degree in architecture at the Delft
University of Technology in the Netherlands. I am currently working on my master
Naturbad Riehen: Erfrischung und Badespaß seit 2014 • Riehen nature pool: bathing fun since 2014 thesis with the topic “1 Million Homes” in the field of architectural engineering.

Still before the pandemic, you have been able to gain professional experience at
HdM as head trainee and architectural designer. Which are the projects you took
part in and which were your tasks?
My time at HdM was an essential part of my development as a future architect and
designer. This traineeship is also one of the reasons why I want to complete my stu-
dies at a rather technology-oriented university. During my traineeship, I have worked
on three projects with very different tasks. The first project was a masterplan for a
commercial area in Berlin. We were a team of five headed by Yasmin Kherad, who
is an associate at HdM. The second project was the implementation planning of a
high-rise building project in Paris with a team of 20 and, finally, I worked on a one-
month study. Unfortunately, I cannot tell much about two of these projects since they
are confidential. But I can tell you all the more about the high-rise building project
in Paris on which I have worked for a full ten months. My tasks were highly diverse.
One focus consisted in designing interiors in a small team. I contributed to the plan-
ning, prepared materials studies, represented the premises in 3D and drew details.
Foto: Hufton + Crow, London A second focus was on producing models for reviewing the cubature and the inte-
riors. At HdM, I learnt that a creative design only successfully becomes a special pro-
ject with relentless and technically high-quality elaboration. As you can imagine, my

I gained insight into different fields and phases.
2018 realisiert: Mischkomplex 1111 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach • 1111 Lincoln Road complex in Miami Beach tasks in the international team were very diverse and work was always exciting since
Tate Modern am Südufer der Themse in London • Tate Modern on the south bank of the Thames in London In the course of more than four decades, Herzog & de Meuron, founded in 1978,
has developed into a global player. You worked in Basel, at the home base.
Please tell us how work is being done there?
In Basel is the flagship of the office. This is where all the projects begin. This is where
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have their offices, where competitions are
handled and designs developed. There are two locations in the city of Basel and ap-
proximately 350 employees from different cultures of the world are working there.
English and German are the most spoken languages. But the international team re-
flects the world-wide projects. There are projects where, besides English, Russian,
Chinese, Spanish and so on are also used. Despite the size of the office, the tradition
of “Znüni” and “Zvieri” is maintained, two 15-minute breaks in the morning and in
the afternoon when everyone meets in the cafeteria and has coffee, tea and a sand-
wich while talking to the colleagues. I have been told that, due to the pandemic, this
is unfortunately not possible but I am convinced that this custom will soon be revi-
ved again.

Basel is considered to be a mecca of architecture. Which architectural education
Foto: Architekturzentrum Wien, Collection; Margherita Spiluttini, Wien The density of interesting buildings seen in Basel is extremely impressive. Together
did this city communicate to you beyond your traineeship?

with the other trainees, we visited numerous buildings and – beyond Basel – travel-
led all over Switzerland with the intention of combining hiking- and skiing excursi-
ons with those focusing on architecture. During my time at HdM and in Basel in ge-
neral, it was above all my eye for details that has been trained. What impressed me
most have been the construction sites and the technical design of the buildings. This
is where the fundamental approach to a building and to design is reflected. The con-
struction sites are always well-kept, tidy and show a very high quality. To me, this

placed of one’s own activity.

034 • AIT 1/2.2022 appears to already be a component of the aesthetic strategy, a demand which is also