ZOOM ON A E18 MULTINATIONAL TEAM

INTERVIEW OF A E18 MULTINATIONAL TEAM
(Lebanon, Deutschland, España, Suisse)

DIE DEN GLETSCHER BEWOHNEN - Winner, St Gallen (CH)

 
Associates: Jorge Sanchez Bajo (ES) architect, Andrew Georges (LB) architect urbanist, Bettina Kagelmacher (DE) architect, Roman Schober (CH) architect

You chose to assemble a multinational team – why did you make this choice?

The team grew out of a shared academic background with three of us studying together in an international program between Madrid and Zurich, where we developed and explored our interests in housing and established common design sensitivities, despite our different backgrounds. The team was completed by Roman who is based in St. Gallen and was another reason to tackle this particular site. His involvement added a locally grounded perspective, which, combined with our international backgrounds, allowed us to approach the local context with a broader and more comparative outlook.

How did you proceed?

The collaboration was organized across two locations, with two team members based in Spain and two in Switzerland. We worked primarily through regular online meetings where all team members participated together, sharing research, drawings, and discussions, and developing the project collectively despite the geographical distance.

Had you worked together before?

The team members had collaborated in different settings prior to this project. Some had worked together in academic contexts, others in architectural offices, and others through competition work. While not all of us had previously worked together as a single group, we were already familiar with each other’s ways of thinking and working, which helped establish an efficient collaboration.

You will find their complete project here

Check out the Europan 18 results here