Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA) adds value to places through an architecture with clear contours, that intensifies given qualities by new choreographies of space.

The office made a name for cultural projects like the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, the Festspielhaus Erl and eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, as well as for rather unconventional residential buildings. DMAA stands for exploration and emotion, for technical refinement and an informed position, which takes social questions and ecological issues as it's central concerns.

The Vienna-based bureau was founded in 1993 by Elke Delugan-Meissl and Roman Delugan. Since 2004 they have shared the management with Dietmar Feistel and Martin Josst. DMAA comprises an international team of more than 40 architects, 3D engineers and other creative professionals. The latest projects are being realised in Europe, China and the USA.

Places for People.
Engaging, empowering.

BEAM, Austria, 1995

Storming into architecture

The history of the office begins with a jump into the deep end: The first buildings are already large-scale projects. Two towers, which are realised not far from one another in a residential area close to the UNO City in Vienna, illustrate creative flexibility: one design explores classical verticality while the other reinterprets the residential tower as a horizontal beam.

The office achieves just as much creative freedom with a series of residential buildings. DMAA finds a wide range of answers on the subject of individuality: it piles two-storey apartments on top of each other in a way that generates a rich variety of interior spaces and façades. On another occasion, the floor plans are identical but the different positions of the windows mean that perceptions of the individual spaces vary widely. The highpoint is represented by a housing project in which 47 multi-storey apartments interlock like the pieces of a 3D puzzle. Each apartment has its own individual floor plan and spatial character. With their remodelling of the roof level of a building in 1995 they make another powerful statement on the international architectural landscape.


Related projects:
Citylofts Wienerberg
Paltramplatz
Steigenteschgasse
Quartier “An der Schanze”


135 porschemuseum 01

PORSCHE MUSEUM, Germany 2008

143 eye film institute netherlands iwan baan 005 illumination cut

EYE FILM INSTITUTE, The Netherlands

Shaping a position

In the 2000s, the office begins to be active beyond Austria’s borders. DMAA wins competitions with spectacular designs for cultural landmarks and attracts international attention. The emphatically contextual way of working, in which the building is very precisely positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings, shapes the architectural language of the office. In the Festspielhaus Erl this approach consolidates into a tectonically dynamic external form with sculptural qualities. The building is both a rock and a resonating body. The entire concert hall brings the music to life, its wooden walls vibrating like those of a musical instrument.

At the eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, reflections on the functions of the cinema lead to a redefinition of the relationship between the screen and the entrance area. The design interprets the generous facility as a spacious arena and the cinema as a place of communication that offers an excellent visitor experience.

A further key project of this period is the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. Close to the production facilities in the heart of an industrial zone, DMAA makes an emotional statement. Carried by just three supports, the huge building volume detaches itself from the ground, freeing up the view of its surroundings. The entrance of visitors into the Porsche universe is precisely choreographed. The gentle inclination of the entrance area accelerates them as they move towards the demonstration workshop. From here, an escalator rises into the open air and then, abruptly, through a funnel-shaped opening into the heart of the extensive exhibition space.

Related projects:
Porsche Museum
EYE Filminstitute
Festival Hall Erl

FESTIVAL HALL ERL, Austria 2012


HYUNDAI MOTORSTUDIO GOYANG, South Korea, 2017

New Horizons

In 2015, Elke Delugan-Meissl is appointed Commissioner of the Austrian contribution to the Architecture Biennale in Venice. As the movement of migrants towards Europe reaches a peak, DMAA and Liquid Frontiers develop a collaborative project that investigates the question of what architecture can contribute to society. Three teams are invited to realise temporary projects in three locations in Vienna that are designed to improve the living conditions of the involved migrants. The presentation of the concrete results in the Austrian Pavilion vividly demonstrates the close relationship between physical spaces and social issues.

This respectful preoccupation with available space and its unused potential as a high-quality alternative to new-build projects is becoming increasingly important in the work of the office. This is exemplified by the former Kellogg’s production facilities and silos on the Port of Bremen. Here, the minimal architectural interventions reinterpret rather than override the existing. Precise interventions reinforce the established atmosphere of the place.

The past few years have witnessed the development of a close relationship with the Chinese Region that is illustrated by both new types of project and the new scale of the resulting buildings, which are designed in line with visitor numbers that are unlike those seen in Europe. The significant issues readdressed by such projects include the role of public space and our ecological awareness and appreciation of interrelationships in the natural world.

Related projects:
Places for People
Kellogg's Bremen
Taiyuan Botanical Garden
Taiyuan Zoo

KELLOGG'S BREMEN, Design Development

420 Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden SD2 Cloud Pavillion Restaurant

EXPO CULTURAL PARK SHANGHAI GREENHOUSE GARDEN, China, Design Development

420 Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden SD2 Tropical Pavillion
420 Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden SD2 Cloud Pavillion
420 Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden SD2 Ciruclation
420 Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden SD2 bird eye view

Awards

  • Taiyuan Botanical Garden Domes, Structural Awards 2021 Winner, The Institution of Structural Engineers, 2021
  • Taiyuan Botanical Garden, Gold Medal for outstanding design, 2021
  • Residence Adele, Auszeichnung "gebaut 2020" der Stadt Wien, 2020
  • University Campus Krems, Auszeichnung für Engagement im Klimaschutz, klimaaktiv Gold, 2019
  • TEELA Zumtobel Office, reddot award 2019
  • TEELA Zumtobel Office, iF Design Award 2019
  • MIBA FORUM LAAKIRCHEN, 2nd Prize, 2A Europe Architecture Award 2018
  • MIBA Forum Laakirchen, Holzbaupreis Steiermark, 1st Prize in Categorie „wooden construction limitless“, 2017
  • Tourist Info Vienna, iF Design Award, 2016
  • Tendo, Good Design Award, 2016
  • Grand Austrian State Prize, Elke Delugan-Meissl, Roman Delugan, 2015
  • Festival Hall Erl, Nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Price, 2015
  • Silver Medal of the City of Vienna, Elke Delugan-Meissl, Roman Delugan, 2015
  • Tendo, iF Design Award, 2015
  • Festival Hall Erl, Auszeichnung des Landes Tirol für Neues Bauen, 2014
  • Festival Hall Erl, AIT-Award, 2nd Prize in Category „Public Buildings / Education“, 2014
  • Eye Film Institute Netherlands, Nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Price, 2013
  • IYON LED spotlight range, Design Plus Award, 2013
  • IYON LED spotlight range, Nominated for the Bundespreis ecodesign, 2012
  • IYON LED spotlight range, Good Design Award, 2012
  • IYON LED spotlight range, Design Plus Award, 2012
  • IYON LED spotlight range, reddot design award, 2012
  • Brauerei Liesing, ECOLA-Award, Honorable mention „New Buildings“, 2010
  • Porsche Museum, Nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Prize, 2009
  • Book „Porsche Museum“, Nomination to the Austrian State Prize „Most Beautiful Book 2009“, 2009
  • Porsche Museum, WALLPAPER* Award 2008 in association with Jaguar [for Best Building Site], 2008
  • HEWI Hardware Range 120, Red Dot Design Award 2008, 2008
  • House Ray1, ARCHIP International Architectural Award, 2007
  • High-Rise Wienerberg, Prize for Architecture of the City of Vienna, 2006
  • High-Rise Wienerberg, International High-Rise Award [Honorable mention], 2006
  • Global Headquarters Sandoz, Contractworld Award 2004 „Offices” [2nd price], 2004
  • House Ray1, Polydecor-Corian Design Award [1st price], 2004
  • House Ray1, Deutscher Umbaupreis [1st price], 2004
  • House Ray1, Nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award, 2003
  • Townhouse Wimbergergasse, Bauherrenpreis, 2002
  • Townhouse Wimbergergasse, Building contractor Award, 2002

Publications

  • 360°, published by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, 2018, Order: communication@dmaa.at
  • ZOOM, published by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, 2018, Order: communication@dmaa.at
  • PLACES FOR PEOPLE, published by Elke Delugan-Meissl, Commissioner of the Austrian Pavillon, Sabine Dreher and Christian Muhr / Liquid Frontiers, Co-Curators, Vienna, 2016
  • DELUGAN MEISSL ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS 08 DESIGN PEAK, published by Equal Books, Seoul, 2011, ISBN 978-89-962904-7-6, 978-89-962904-0-7(set)
  • VOL. 1, DELUGAN MEISSL ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS, published by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, 2010, ISBN 978-3-9502979-0-4
  • Porsche Museum Delugan Meissl Associated Architects HG Merz, published by Springer-Verlag, Vienna, 2010, ISBN 978-3-211-99738-3 (German), ISBN 978-3-211-99736-9 (English)
  • Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Realized projects, Current projects, Competitions, published by Daab GmbH, Cologne, 2006, ISBN 978-3-937718-87-3
  • DELUGAN MEISSL ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS inTENSE repose, published by Aedes Verlag, Berlin, 2006, ISBN 3-937093-63-X
  • DELUGAN MEISSL 2, Concepts, Projects, Buildings, published by Birkhäuser – Publishing for Architecture, Basel, 2001, ISBN 103-7643-6557-9 (German, English)