Architecture Biennial, Venice 2023

Oliver Christen Architekten design architecture based on considerations relating to the built environment, social and compositional concerns. In his designs, the architect and his team explore existing buildings and settings, balanced proportions and structures, natural materials, their look and feel. His aim is to create atmospheric spaces that offer a strong sense of security. His built projects are characterised by clarity and reduction, tectonic identity and harmonious compositions of material and space. The exhibition “time, space, existence” affords an insight into his fledgling work based on his first five buildings.

Oliver Christen’s mode of working is defined by an in-depth examination of the particular context, driven by a passion for the great variety of existing building typologies and regional identities. Based on the findings of his analyses, he develops buildings that blend subtly into each setting. He draws his inspiration from various sources including artworks from the arte povera movement, impressed by the sensuous use of material and the reduction to a simple formal vocabulary that harks back to the roots. In search of poetic qualities in architectural space, he takes a similar approach, striving to integrate materials and formal vocabularies into his own projects. His interest is in the look and feel of the impressions created by various materials as well as in precisely crafted solutions and careful attention to tectonics. The architecture designed by Oliver Christen Architekten provides answers to current demands for sustainability. Taking a holistic view of this concept, in addition to ecological concerns the architects also give special attention to such aspects as preserving identity, craftsmanship and building typologies, while also reflecting the importance of social and cultural structures.

Oliver Christen Architekten is a studio based in Baden, Switzerland. It was founded in 2016. Built projects demonstrate a clear commitment to a sustainable handling of the built environment. The main interest is in developing complex building tasks in the sphere of residential and commercial properties, schools, public buildings and museums. The range of work currently includes conversions and new builds in Switzerland and Europe.

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