The office was founded on 1974 by the architects Heinz Hilmer (1936) and Christoph Sattler (1938).

The main focus of the activity is on the construction and renovation of museums, hotels, business and office buildings, but also in residential construction. In addition, the office participates in competitions such as in 1991 for the overall planning of Potsdamer Platz.

The urban planning, as well as the individual buildings of the office, are characterized by a strong orientation towards the character of the classical European city. In most cases, it is important to integrate new buildings into the built environment. If such a situation does not exist in practice, as was the case in the area around Potsdamer Platz in 1990, care is taken that the new buildings should be related to each other instead of just being a solitary one.