Rhythm and Melody

The Stuttgart-based office wulf architekten, founded in 1987 by Tobias Wulf (born 1956), was joined by Kai Bierich (born1957) and Alexander Vohl (born 1961) as partners in 1996. Among their main works are the award-winning adidas factory outlet in Herzogenaurach (2003), the Stuttgart fair grounds (2007) and the State Revenue Office in Landshut (2011). Apart from several school buildings, wulf architekten is currently planning the new building for the IHK Region Stuttgart as well as the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, located on the campus of the university hospital in Bonn.Having worked for well-known offices such as Gottfried Böhm, Joachim Schürmann, Auer + Weber and Behnisch & Partner in the past, wulf architekten have long since developed their very own position. Inspired by a deliberate openness towards innovation, however, they constantly challenge this position. Their way of finding solutions, unhindered by preconceived ideas and concepts, is what the architects call identity through search ; this search also means movement and change. The only, meanwhile important, constant is their humanistic approach a distinct focus on people as a starting point for all design work. This central conviction shows in the sensuous quality and the variety of the office s built projects. Their numerous designs for competition do not only serve to acquire new project commissions, they have far greater significance: giving shape to new ideas, approaching new topics, experimenting and testing the boundaries. In texts that establish connections between central statements of the three partners and their built projects, the publication Rhythm and Melody offers a comprehensive insight into the way wulf architekten think and work. Architecture, as already hinted at by the title, is not understood as an isolated discipline here, but as part of a multifaceted cultural context.