Office – Martin Prenn Architekten

ATTITUDE AND WAY OF WORKING

Martin Prenn Architekten evolved from a long-time collaboration with Thomas Stadler. Since 2019 the office has operated under the name Martin Prenn Architekten GmbH. We focus on the planning phases according to HOAI of preliminary planning, design planning, approval planning, and detailed design. Furthermore, depending on the size of the project, we also handle tendering, awarding of contracts, and construction supervision. The focus of our practice is the planning and execution of educational, teaching, and residential buildings.

We do not see our architecture as a pure art form that only stands for itself, but as an answer to current questions and as a constructive contribution to a permanently changing society.

The goal of our work is the creation of individual places with an independent identity. To achieve this, architecture does not have to be permanently reinvented. The fun of observing and learning - both from the architectural and the typological context - is an essential part of our work. Existing qualities are used as a reference for the new and interpreted with contemporary means. The outcome is projects which fit into the context despite their independency. The sometimes unexpected and surprising solutions are refined in detail with the careful use of form, material, and color.

With this approach, we dedicate ourselves to a wide spectrum of diverse construction tasks, ranging from new buildings and refurbishments to interior design. The process of a project by a consistently small team ensures personal identification and high quality. In addition to the current projects, participation in competitions is of great importance to us. It enables a permanent confrontation with new and current topics.

Team

Min Hsieh, Hui Rong Liu, Andre Nienhaus, Rhea Gleba, Dominik Schendel, Arihan Burak Senocak, Elena Masla, Mariana Peralta

MARTIN PRENN

BÜROAUSSTATTUNG

Martin Prenn was born in 1971 in Bruneck / Brunico, in northern Italy. He spent his youth in the Alps, at the intersection of two linguistic and cultural areas. This experience has always accompanied him in his professional career.

While his studies in the Renaissance city of Florence initially provided him with a sound knowledge of architectural history and theory, the later relocation to Berlin brought numerous new impulses for thought.
In addition to experimental working methods and a critical attitude toward historical paradigms, it was above all the metropolis itself, which was in a state of upheaval, and its international architectural scene that enriched his thinking. In 1999 Martin Prenn graduated from the Technical University Berlin with the title of Graduate Engineer.

After graduation, his work as a project manager for the international expansion of an Italian textile chain brought him to Switzerland. After two instructive professional years, Martin Prenn decided to return to Berlin and devote more time to planning and design. Under the motto "Necessity is the mother of invention", the clearly perceptible building crisis led to an intensive and very creative period, which was characterized by participation in numerous competitions and spontaneous jobs.

In 2003, Martin Prenn won his first competition for Harald Kuhn Architekten, a sports hall in Kleinmachnow, which he continued to accompany in all planning phases until its realization. Various collaborations as a freelance architect followed; among others with the agency Scholz & Friends for a temporary public viewing installation, with Andreas Hierholzer Architekten for various commercial and research buildings for Q-Cells solar plants in Thalheim, and finally with Thomas Müller Ivan Reimann Architekten for the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart and a private house in Berlin-Dahlem.

At the same time, the first projects of his own started. The cooperation with Thomas Stadler led to the establishment of a joint office. The greatest success was the new construction of the commercial building Rathausstraße 1 in Vienna after winning the competition. In addition to the realization of educational and residential buildings, the office also works in the areas of exhibition planning and interior design. Design and construction in existing buildings became a central topic; especially in connection with the growing demand for kindergartens.

Both partners decided to end their cooperation by mutual agreement in 2018. Martin Prenn took over the company and founded Martin Prenn Architekten GmbH based in Berlin.