In 1993, Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger founded their American-German practice which has grown into a team of 60+ architects, model builders and support staff. Active internationally, the roots of the firm go back to building for industry, companies whose technologies drove an interest in evolving technologies and craft. 

The interface between practice, research and teaching characterizes the practice approach. A focus on materiality and how they are transformed by digital and analogue tools and technologies, underscores much of the experimentation in the practice. This research then informs the design and construction of building elements for ongoing projects. A particular focus has been on prefabrication, in concrete (gradient or lightweight), timber, and ceramic elements.

The spectrum of Barkow Leibinger’s work is multi-scaled: from master planning, urban high-rises, office and industrial buildings to residential, installation and prototypical exhibition pavilions. They are currently building the Estrel Tower, a 522 room hotel which will be the tallest building in Berlin. A live/ work complex is also under construction in the Kurfürstenstraße, Berin. Other milestones are “Tour Total” in Berlin and the Trutec Building in Seoul, Korea, as well as, the Fellows Pavilion for the American Academy in Berlin, the Trumpf Smart Factory in Chicago. Most recently completed is the B:HUB in Berlin and the Sid Richardson and Hanzen Residential Colleges at Rice University in Houston.

The work of the firm has been featured in several exhibitions, with a retrospective at the Haus am Waldsee, Berlin 2020, including (among others) at the Architectural Association in London, the 2008 and 2014 Venice Architecture Biennials, the 2012 Marrakech Biennial, the 2017 and 2023 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Barkow Leibinger

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