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July 17th, 2025
Town hall of the future

What does a forward-looking town hall look like? This question was the subject of a Europe-wide, open, two-phase competition. 157 offices submitted designs, and we were also interested in the task.

Specifically, the task was to design a new town hall for Berlin Mitte on the site of the Haus der Statik, combining the uses and functions of the current town hall with public spaces such as a library, canteen and exhibition areas.

Three guiding principles were central to our design: A free form that reflects the hybrid use and dynamic, non-linear processes of democracy, conveys openness and transparency, and invites participation. A sustainable construction method using renewable materials, an innovative supporting structure, an energy-efficient climate concept and flexible room structures that allow for adaptations and a long service life. And thirdly, the creation of a climate-resilient urban space with a high quality of life that has a positive influence on the microclimate.

Unfortunately, our design did not completely convince the jury. Congratulations to the winners, Atelier.Schmelzer.Weber Architekten with Storch. Landschaftsarchitektur, BfB – Büro für Baukonstruktionen and IPROconsult.

The exhibition featuring all competition entries is on display until 25 July at the Neues Stadthaus, Parochialstraße 3 in Berlin.

 

July 16th, 2025
kwa on site

The second part of the training event on low-pollutant construction focused on practical application on site.
At the construction site, participants examined and evaluated the construction products used in terms of pollutants and discussed their findings together. This was followed by a tour of the adjacent precast concrete plant, which is also still under construction. In a dialogue between speaker Patricia Pesch from ee concept GmbH, Markus Franczak and Sebastian Flach from the nesseler Group and the participants from kadawittfeldarchitektur, everyone learned something new. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Aachen Building Experts e. V., which paved the way for this cooperation through mutual exchange.

Many thanks to Patricia and the nesseler team for the exciting insight, valuable input and friendly exchange!

July 11th, 2025
Opening: The Architecture Exhibition of Tomorrow – Caricatures and ideas for the architecture exhibition of the future

The exhibition ‘The Architecture Exhibition of Tomorrow’ opened yesterday evening at the Architektur Galerie Berlin.

To mark the gallery’s 25th anniversary, 15 firms were invited to develop ideas for the architecture exhibition of the future. Kadawittfeldarchitektur was also asked to contribute.

Kilian Kada explored the theme in five humorous caricatures. Together with contributions from AFF with FFIRMA, Tatiana Bilbao, Teresa Fankhänel, Heike Hanada, Heide & von Beckerath, Christoph Hesse, Kuehn Malvezzi, LAVA, Ludloff Ludloff, J.MAYER.H., MVRDV, Oda Pälmke, Riegler Riewe, sauerbruch hutton and Something Fantastic, these can be seen in the gallery until 23 August.

July 10th, 2025
Lecture at the summer party of the BDA Bonn-Rhein-Sieg

The summer party of the BDA Bonn-Rhein-Sieg focused on the exchange of ideas about sustainable neighbourhood development and forward-looking ideas in architecture. In his mini lecture, Gerhard Wittfeld provided insights into the two Bonn projects ‘Hotel am Erzbergufer’ and the ‘Federal Office of Justice’, as well as the RAG recycling centre in Essen, the sustainable neighbourhood development Neuland Neuss and the start-up centre ‘InnoDom Cologne’.

Many thanks to the BDA Bonn-Rhein-Sieg for the invitation and the successful event, as well as to all those present for the stimulating exchange.

Picture: ©BDA Bonn-Rhein-Sieg

posted by
Sophia Scholz
July 9th, 2025
We are delighted to have won second prize in the competition for the new construction and restructuring of Stolberg Town Hall!

The brief was for a new town hall building that is climate-adapted, flood-resilient and integrated into the urban fabric, an open, future-proof building for administration and the urban community.

Our design forms a flat, three-storey structure with green inner courtyards and a clear urban design. The building is accessible for all, with a welcoming gesture from two sides – the main entrance on Kaiserplatz and an entrance from the railway station.

The ground floor houses the public-facing functions: information point, citizen services, exhibition area, canteen and meeting centre. The workspaces on the upper floors are organised according to the principle of activity-based working: two neighbouring areas per floor share central meeting points, quiet zones and communication areas. Courtyards, roof terraces and a winter garden also allow for outdoor working.

The construction follows the cradle-to-cradle principle, documented by a digital building resource passport. The supporting structure of the office areas is designed as a wood-hybrid skeleton. Load-bearing components are joined according to type – without adhesives or composite materials – and can later be completely dismantled and reused. Reinforced concrete is only used where it is necessary for structural reasons or to protect against flooding.

The building has also been designed to be consistently sustainable in operation: a PV system, ice storage, a heat pump and rainwater utilisation ensure climate-friendly supply. The ventilation system combines mechanical systems with natural ventilation. DGNB platinum certification has been taken into account.

Many thanks to Greenbox for the great collaboration and congratulations to Wittfoht Architekten on winning first prize!

All competition entries can be viewed in Stolberg until 26 July 2025: Steinweg 15, opening hours: Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Photo: ©loomilux

July 4th, 2025
Schmetterball 2025 by BFT – Game on!

A day full of excitement, sunshine, and drama! At the tournament on June 28th, 2025, our 2-player teams delivered strong performances:

KWA’lität am Netz – 2nd place
KWA’tsch der war drin – 3rd place

Great effort from everyone – as well from our 4-player team KWA’dratisch Praktisch Gut, who gave it their all on the court! Big thanks to the BFT organizing team for an amazing event at dieHalle. We’re already looking forward to Schmetterball 2026!

posted by
Christian Dos Reis
June 27th, 2025
kwa in dialogue # Patricia Pesch

Yesterday, as part of our “kwa in dialogue” series, Patricia Pesch from ee concept provided us with some very exciting insights into current developments in low-pollution construction. The training focused on how conscious material choices can improve indoor air quality while also making a valuable contribution to environmental protection and health. Patricia gave a practical demonstration of which pollutants are considered critical, what alternatives are available and how the relevant requirements can be implemented in planning and execution. We learned a lot!

Thank you very much, Patricia, for your valuable input!

Patricia Pesch, authorised signatory and member of the management board of ee concept gmbh, is an architect, certified building biology planner, DGNB consultant and energy consultant.

posted by
Sophia Scholz
June 23rd, 2025
Tag der Architektur 2025 – our Berlin office is opening its doors again!

On Saturday, 28 June, from 2 to 6 p.m., we invite all interested parties to visit our Berlin office. You can view our current projects and gain insights into our working methods and design strategies. We look forward to interesting discussions, stimulating exchanges and new insights.
You will find us at Alexanderstraße 7 (13th floor) in Berlin.
The ‘Tag der Architektur’ takes place every year on the last weekend in June. This year’s theme is ‘Building Diversity’.

Picture: Jan Bitter

June 11th, 2025
kwa runs! Berliner Team Staffel 5x5

Working together in Tiergarten! 🌳

With team spirit and lots of energy, 10 colleagues from our office gave their all at the Berlin Team Relay 5×5 on June 3. Sunshine, good vibes, and a fantastic Berlin atmosphere were all part of the day!

Photos: André van Leth, Christian Dos Reis, Gözde Yildiz, Le Dieuly, Raffael Grimm, Vanessa Kucharski

posted by
Christian Dos Reis
June 6th, 2025
kwa in dialogue # Nina Kopmann

On 22 May, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nina Kopmann was our guest in the “kwa in dialogue” series. As Professor for “Sustainable Building Energy Systems” in the “Smart Building Engineering” degree programme at Aachen University of Applied Sciences, she told us about current developments in the field of building simulation. How can planning be consistently user-centred and what potential lies in adaptive comfort models were the initial questions.

Many thanks to Nina Kopmann for the many new insights! We are very much looking forward to the in-depth discussion in a few months’ time.

‘kwa in dialogue’ is a series of discussions with which we maintain the cross-project and cross-topic discourse of our 160 employees across the various locations. It serves as a stimulating and productive exchange of knowledge and experience – both within and outside the office, between experts from other disciplines and employees, between different projects as well as different planning phases, and is both knowledge transfer and self-reflection.

May 21st, 2025
Austrian Steel Construction Award: Recognition for HELIX

At the Austrian Steel Construction Awards in Graz at the beginning of May, the HELIX office and hotel building designed by kadawittfeldarchitektur received recognition in the category “Lightness with Steel”. ‘The architectural concept of “lifting” a three-storey structure off the ground is achieved with an elegant steel construction that shimmers through the glass façade,’ said the jury. The prize is awarded every two years. One of its aims is to document the architectural and technical potential of steel construction by honouring outstanding and innovative projects. The structural design of the building was carried out by @Herbrich Consult ZT GmbH, and the steel construction by @Metallica Stahl- und Fassadentechnik GmbH. The client was Planquadr.at Europastraße GmbH & Co.KG.

HELIX is located in Salzburg near the A1 motorway and is characterised by three ring-shaped upper floors that appear to float above a base. A large open staircase leads to the prestigious “bel étage”, which will become a central meeting place with a hotel and office lobby as well as restaurants. The ring-shaped structure above creates a surrounding image that is visible from the motorway. Offices and hotel rooms are located on the upper floors and offer a 360° view of Salzburg and the inner garden.

The ‘floating ring complex’, constructed as a steel composite structure, rests on the reinforced concrete structure of the lower floors. The ring structure consists of three-storey trusses on the inner and outer façades, which rest indirectly on four stair cores and one inclined support at each of the ‘pointed ends’. In the cross-section of the ring structure, the ceilings are supported by composite beams spanning three storeys between the half-timbered structures. The choice of a composite construction resulted in a significant reduction in weight compared to solid construction methods, which enabled pile-free foundations.

Image: ©Herbrich Consult

posted by
Lysanne Ohm
May 20th, 2025
Table tennis on the museum roof

Since the beginning of May, when the weather is good, visitors can play table tennis on the roof of Grimmwelt. Everyone is welcome – a museum ticket is not required. Rackets and balls are also available for loan from the museum.

With this offer, the museum is taking advantage of the potential of its publicly accessible, multifunctional roof and opening itself up even more to the people of Kassel.

Project information about Grimmwelt can be found here.

Picture: ©Andreas Horsky

posted by
Sophia Scholz
May 19th, 2025
kwa rides! Rund um Köln 2025

Still feeling the adrenaline in our legs – Rund um Köln had it all: speed, team spirit, and pure passion for cycling! Our team kadawittfeldarchitektur powered through the course and crossed the finish line full of energy and true racing fever.

posted by
Manuel Kosthorst
April 30th, 2025
Facade sampling Central Cross, Cologne

Using a 1:1 scale mock-up, we worked with our clients Quantum Immobilien AG and PROXIMUS REAL ESTATE AG to sample the new facade of Central Cross and define the final color tone.

The technically complex double facade is an important part of the revitalization of the 12-storey office building from the 1960s. Located at a busy intersection in the heart of Cologne’s vibrant city center, demolition of the existing building initially seemed unavoidable. It no longer met today’s requirements in terms of comfort, energy efficiency and quality of stay. Instead, the bold decision was made to preserve and convert the building, which will save over 2,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The new facade meets several requirements at the same time: It protects against the high noise emissions, significantly improves the lighting and ensures special user comfort with its individually opening windows. The vertically accentuated copper-colored pilaster strips and the scaled structure give the Central Cross a new appearance that makes it a contemporary urban building block.

 

April 30th, 2025
kwa runs! B2Run Aachen 2025

What a day 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏻☀️

Yesterday, 21 motivated runners from our Aachen office gave their all at the B2Run – in perfect weather and a great atmosphere at the CHIO grounds!

Photos: B2Run, Vitaly Dmitrievtsev

posted by
Christian Dos Reis
April 11th, 2025
Rotary charity event 'Kunst & Genuss'

We are pleased to support this year’s Rotary charity event ‘Kunst & Genuss’. All proceeds from the event will go to the ‘Lernzeit’, ‘breakfast4kids’ and ‘Autismus-Projekt des Fördervereins des SPZ Aachen’ projects, which support disadvantaged children. The event will take place on 17 May 2025 at Burg Frankenberg.

More information and tickets are available here:
https://www.rotary-in-aachen.de/kunstundgenuss/

April 9th, 2025
First public presentation of the ‘House of Curiosity’

At an information event on 3 April, Dirk Lange, together with Mayoress Sibylle Keupen, Head of the Department of Culture Heinrich Brötz, Head of the City Planning Council Frauke Burgdorff, Director of the Adult Education Centre Dr. Beate Blüggel and the Director of the City Library Doris Reinwald, presented the conversion of the former Horten building into an open building for all citizens. In addition to the city library and adult education centre, the plan is to create open spaces for working and a restaurant with a view of the city centre.

The conversion includes the removal of the escalators. In their place, a spacious atrium will be created that extends through the entire building and is crossed several times by a new, freely designed staircase.

The interest in the information event was high, with around 150 visitors. The response in the subsequent question and answer session was extremely positive.

A recording of the event is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lPapfWeh9E

Photo: ©Andreas Steindl

March 18th, 2025
'Do we still need new buildings at all?' New Design Perspectives podcast episode with Jasna Moritz!

In the new podcast episode of the German Design Council, Jasna Moritz talks to Martin Pauli about the future of construction. They discuss why sustainable architecture is more than just reducing CO2 emissions and why a holistic approach is necessary.

The focus is particularly on circular construction. Instead of constantly building new, we need a more conscious approach to existing buildings, materials and resources. How can we design buildings that are flexible, can be dismantled and reused? What role do social and functional aspects play in this? And why are honesty and a dialogical planning process essential for sustainable solutions?

A multi-layered discussion about the challenges and opportunities of the building turnaround.

Feel free to listen! Now on Spotify or here under the link: https://www.german-design-council.de/themen/design-perspectives-podcast/folge-13

Picture: @Carl Brunn

 

March 18th, 2025
12th place in the 2024 competitionline ranking!

competitionline has published its annual ranking of the most successful architecture firms in the german-speaking area, and we are thrilled to have achieved a strong 12th place in the architecture category!

Our sincere thanks go to our incredible competition teams, our planning partners and all kwa employees who have supported us with their expertise and done an excellent job. We look forward to another year of exciting projects!

Congratulations to all the winners!

The complete list of winners is available here: https://www.competitionline.com/de/news/wettbewerbe/applaus-fuer-die-sieger-10030.html

 

 

 

March 7th, 2025
1st prize in the ‘New multifunctional and residential building on Aribonenstraße in Salzburg’ competition!

On the former site of the Schneiders company on the corner of Bessarabierstraße and Aribonenstraße in Salzburg, an ensemble of three buildings and the existing building, parts of which are worthy of preservation, is to be constructed. The new polygon-shaped buildings create a central green space that serves as a recreational area and allows for an easy division of the site. The clever staggering of heights achieves a harmonious connection between the northern and southern buildings. The existing building, as a resilient house, accommodates uses such as commercial, office, and community uses, and offers a special, loft-like form of living on the top floor. Developed as a green residential area, the new neighbourhood connects to the surrounding district via various pathways, creating meeting places and enabling the unpretentious integration of privately financed and subsidised housing.

The landscape design is informed by the architectural language and brings as much greenery as possible into the community, while promoting sustainability. Private gardens, community playgrounds and urban garden areas are integrated to enrich the residents’ living experience. These provide both private outdoor spaces and shared spaces that encourage interaction within the community. In addition to the play areas for the daycare centre and the neighbourhood children, meeting points and relaxation areas have been created for the community, supporting social interaction and strengthening the sense of belonging in the neighbourhood. Ecological considerations are at the heart of the design, with a clear focus on biodiversity and environmental health.

Many thanks to IPC Project Consulting and Rainer Schmidt for the good cooperation!