Studio

Established in 1998, Ian Shaw Architekten is an award winning practice based in Frankfurt. We offer a full architectural service together with urban design and master-planning; interior architecture; furniture and product design; and acoustics & sound system design.

Our diverse portfolio of building typologies reflects our extensive experience across the commercial, culture, healthcare, industrial and residential sectors.

Ian Shaw Architekten is a member of both the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Principles

The practise is interested in the communicative potential of tectonics and materiality. Integral to this approach is the use of light as a building element, defining space and animating form.

Every scheme we undertake is developed with efficiency, elegance and authenticity; and always articulated with close reference to context and function.

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.

In addition, we make extensive use of models in developing a new project. This process is fundamental; it keeps us grounded. We design; computers assist. Technology plays its role but it's never a substitute for the art of space making, the art of building.