Balancing stability and independence

AS: We launched atelier tau at the end of 2019, and over the past few years, we have evolved while balancing other work. I continued working in an office, while Nicole worked as an independent freelancer and today as a teaching assistant at ETH. Even today, we have side jobs and projects, which give us the freedom to choose competitions and projects we’re genuinely interested in, as well as the ability to say no to others. We belong to a generation that is less inclined to pursue careers in traditional offices with older, more rigid structures. We want to create our own practices with less hierarchy and more diversity.

NW: Many larger offices that have been around for years follow a set direction. However, there are currently many pressing societal and architectural issues, and people want to address these challenges in their own way rather than working within predefined structures. This is a major motivation for architects to start their own practices, and in some way, it is one of the reasons we decided to launch ours.

AS: Working in an office or collaborating with others gives us the opportunity to learn from large-scale projects—something we can’t yet do at atelier tau, as we haven’t won any competitions. For now, this balance helps us grow. For instance, the topics I address in my work as a project manager often align with the interests we have in our practice. Sustainable housing—especially social housing—and the use of wood or other sustainable construction methods are significant areas of focus. These projects influence how we think and work, bringing added value to our personal practice. 

Right now, we’re focused on private commissions, including refurbishments, and a major housing competition. It's hard to break into housing competitions, but it's still a topic we're passionate about. We enjoy these competitions, even if we’re not always successful, as they are important for developing our design process and evolving our approach. Last year, we entered a competition for a social housing project in Zurich, in which we decided to focus on rebuilding and reuse.

Challenging norms in architecture

NW: We both have a keen interest in socio-political and cultural issues. In our work, it is important to us to create a social discourse and have a positive influence on social development. The questions of where we are now and where we are heading are essential for sustainable social development. We aim to incorporate these themes into our smaller projects, but larger projects offer more opportunities to further develop and expand on these ideas.

AS: We’re particularly interested in housing because it’s such an urgent issue and touches on many topics we care about. Whether it’s at a small or large scale, it’s crucial because housing is something we build for the future. We question how we can live more sustainably, the space we truly need, and how we design and build it. This is an important area for us to be involved in.

As, for example, in the social housing competition in Zurich we mentioned before, we decided to work with the existing building structure, even though the client was aiming for a new-build project. In our project proposal, we strived to create maximum depth and flexibility to accommodate various living styles and needs within a small space. While the flats themselves are relatively compact, they are complemented by generous common indoor and outdoor spaces, including shared roof terraces.

NW: In order to encourage a positive attitude toward topics such as sustainability and dense construction in social discourse, it is also necessary to think from the perspective of a single person or a small group of people. We must recognise people’s varying needs and understand their implications. A key question arises: Where does private space end, where does public space begin, and how does the transition between the two occur? We also need to consider densification. There are rules about creating spaces that everyone can access, including people with disabilities, that require more space. At the same time, we want to create solutions where people need less space. It's a challenge, but the goal is to find intelligent solutions that include everyone while still respecting the need for privacy and the importance of community.

Questioning the brief

NW: Our work is highly context-driven, and we approach each project as unique. We follow a thematic approach and use various representation methods in the design process of the different projects. Planning a project too specifically means asking the essential questions, including critically questioning the brief.

AS: Especially in competitions, we believe it’s about more than simply adhering to the brief. We question the assignments and often propose solutions that weren’t initially intended. We know it may be harder to win with these ideas, but for us, it’s more important to make a statement and have a discussion about it than to simply do what was asked. Everything, even down to the door handle, is specified in these briefs—some are 50 pages long. 

NW: A competition should be open to ideas and give the possibility to question given requirements, not just a way to formulate the client’s preconceived notion.

AS: We see gaps and often contradictions in the competition briefs, so we push and use the opportunity to go further than just fulfilling the client's requests. But it is a fine line—or, rather, a balancing act—as it is of course necessary to meet the program requirements according to the competition organiser's specifications so that you are not disqualified at the preliminary stage. For example, we did not design the maximum number of small flats for high-earning couples and individuals for an invited study commission, knowing well that it was supposed to be a yield property. Instead, we designed the flat types in such a way that there were slightly fewer than the maximum possible, but they were more future-oriented because they were sustainably habitable for different forms of living. That is definitely more important to us. As a result, we took second place, although the jury report mentioned that we had designed the stronger project than the winners in terms of urban planning, volume, and layout. 

In the end, we think it’s more about questioning things and, in clever ways, delivering the project the client wants, but in a way they may not have initially considered. Of course, that can only happen when more people are willing to question things, but it’s important to do so in a way that’s not too radical all the time.

Models, materiality, and colours

NW: During the design process, we like to work with models on different scales. We consider model making to be a suitable means of testing space and atmosphere. In addition, a model helps everyone involved to understand the project and discuss aspects of the content. We start with working models in the initial phases to test spatial configurations and lighting situations. In subsequent phases, we refine the models and also test colour concepts in three-dimensional space. 

In our designs, materiality and colour play an important role. Experiencing architecture and feeling comfortable in its surroundings also includes haptic and visual aspects, which are reflected in the choice of materials and colour.

AS: We’re conscious about colour; we don’t just use it to develop as many colourful projects as possible. We often don't think of our projects as dematerialised concepts, as can be seen in the history of modernist architecture, for example. Colours can condense the primary spatial disposition in terms of substance and thus make it richer and more intriguing—an additional element, an expanded dimension of spatial perception.

Beyond gender

AS: We don’t want to focus on being female founders or having a female-led office. But of course, it’s important that these discussions are happening, and they’re still relevant. Reality isn’t perfect yet. We deal with these discussions in our daily work, and sometimes they touch on difficult topics. Maybe we see things differently or prioritise different aspects, but I don’t think that’s necessarily tied to being women architects. 

NW: Maybe sometimes the discussion shifts to other directions, like a sensitivity to people’s needs. But we can’t say what aspects a male-led office discusses. For us, society and the individual are both important. We think about the psychological aspects and try to put ourselves in the shoes of the people we’re designing for. Whether this makes us different from others is hard to say. As mentioned before, we have no fear of colour. This is evident in many of our proposals. Our designs should be joyful. But Barragán also used a lot of colour, and he wasn’t a woman. So, it’s not really about gender; it’s about what we, as architects, are interested in—not because we’re women architects.

AS: In our day-to-day work as architects, we are repeatedly confronted with situations that show us that conscious and unconscious discrimination is still a drastic reality. This led us—along with two other female architects—to launch a project called Her Stories for the 12th Architecture Biennale in São Paulo to strengthen the debate and raise awareness of gender equality among those involved in the construction industry.