Experience, information, technology and society: The following introduction of our modus operandi is based on these four coordinates. We will talk about the things that we have focused upon from the very beginning, how the investigation of requirements impacts upon the form of a building, our approach to technological development and what architecture can contribute to society.
A Choreography
of Space
Each person's experience of a place is highly individual. But these experiences are not independent of the space. Rather, they emerge reciprocally, like a pas de deux. We intensify the spatial experience by carefully orchestrating the relationship between routes, thresholds and spaces. These contain a range of experiential qualities that lend a place atmosphere and character. They speed up or slow down movement, determine whether transitions between external and internal spaces flow or are marked by rigid contrasts, make us aware of such sensory spatial characteristics as narrowness and breadth. We understand a building as an active partner that can contribute as much to the physical experience of the individual as to social interaction and the emergence of the collective.
Experience
Our architectural work begins with obvious questions: What are the requirements of a place? What is the current situation, what is its history, what should be possible there? In short, what does a place need in order to enhance the life of every participant? These and many other questions flow together into our project work. And in order to be able to answer them, we discuss openly within our team as well as our clients and future users, our partners and external experts. The knowledge generated by this joint research shapes the design and develops it into a compact, forward-looking statement and the starting point for new questions.
Information
Our own work is dependent upon the state of technological development of software and materials, of machinery and production methods, of building services and logistics, to name just some of the many technical aspects of the construction process. The experience gained from every completed project opens up new horizons. That which recently seemed impossible is suddenly within our reach. We search for these challenges, shift the boundaries of what is possible and energetically research with our partners in order to discover new potential. This is an approach in which technology and creativity go hand in hand. They interact productively. The appearance of a building is also always the reflection of a form that functions and that meets concrete needs in terms of experience, meaning and use.
Technology
DMAA always addresses space in conjunction with people and with the world as it is today and how we would like it to be for our children. Our notion of space is very broad, it unites a wide range of perspectives (social, cultural, political, economical, functional, historical, aesthetical, etc.) in a concrete form. It is open to change and new ideas, it is never restricted by ideology. Architecture creates the spatial preconditions for individual, physical experiences as well as for social interactions, generates high-quality atmospheres and surroundings, organises and structures our social life. Architecture is indispensable to society. How do we want to dwell, work, experience culture and live together in the future? The objective of our work is to generate spaces that provide sustainable answers to these questions.
Society