morePlatz

morePlatz was founded in 2007 in Rotterdam. The office is a continuation of a longterm collaboration of Caro Baumann and Johannes Schele on architectural-, art- and urban planning projects.

As architects and urban planners we work on the spatial quality of the built environment. Our work improves existing situations, activates undiscovered potentials and enriches the city with new programs.

Our expertise is based on the working experience we gathered at international offices in the Netherlands, as project leaders of innovative, exceptional projects and concepts in architeture and urban planning. The design approach is influenced by team work, flexibility, process and dynamics.

Since 2007 we realized a number of projects in Germany and the Netherlands - the Cafeteria of the visitor center Hans Eisenmann Haus, the exhibition architecture for the 'Future of Tradition' at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the refurbishments of the notary house 'Vendu' in Rotterdam and of the Goethe Institute in Amsterdam.

We participated successfully in competitions in various international collaborations for housing and office buildings. In 2014 we won the Hafenspitze Zollhafen in Mainz and in 2016 the Hamburg Innovation Port together with MVRDV. Both projects are in development.
In collaboration with OZ architects we participated in the housing competition for Munich Freiham.

Since 2011 we are present in Germany. In 2016 morePlatz moved to Berlin.
In the meantime the two office buildings - 'ZigZag' in Mainz and 'HIP one' in Hamburg - have been completed, and the building permit for the second phase of the Hamburg Innovation Port is submitted.

We are currently working on a refurbishment in Berlin Moabit and on an office building in Harburg. In parallel, numerous urban planning competitions have been elaborated and several art projects have emerged.

Space Money Time

Architecture and art projects always operate within the dynamic interplay of three central aspects: Space, Money, and Time. These three dimensions fundamentally define every project and, through their interplay, generate an almost unlimited spectrum of possibilities.

• Space represents the site, the urban and social context, the functional program, as well as the actual artistic and architectural design.

• Money encompasses the entire economic framework of a project—from initial financing and budgeting to cost control, long-term returns, or value creation.

• Time reflects the temporal dimension: the schedule, the phases of the design and construction process, the lifespan of materials, and the social and historical horizon in which a work is created and takes effect.

Designing, planning, and building describe the transition from the initial idea and drawing to a built, tangible reality. Space, Money, and Time represent the logical structure of this entire development process.

Every architecture and art project is significantly shaped by the constellation of these three domains. Their balance and fine-tuning with one another have a decisive impact on the success of the process and the quality of the result. When this relationship is balanced, rich, sustainable, and vibrant places emerge. However, if a single factor dominates—such as a sole focus on cost reduction or extreme time constraints—the result loses its richness and risks becoming monotonous or banal.

Caro Baumann

1991 architectural studies at the Technical University Munich
1993 internship at Auer+Weber, Munich
1994 internship at Dominique Perrault, Berlin
1998 diploma at the architectural faculty TUM
1999 architect at .NL Architects, Amsterdam
2003 architect at De Architecten Cie,
2004 project leader at Neutelings + Riedijk Architecten, Rotterdam
2006 senior architect at Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Beijing
2007 project architect at Kcap, Rotterdam
since 2007 director at moreplatz
2008 teaching at Academie van Bouwkunst Rotterdam
since 2016 morePlatz Berlin

Johannes Schele

1993-99 studies of architecture at TU Munich
1996 founded ‘more platz ag.’
2000 diploma at TUM
2001 moved to NL
2000 architect at Exilhäuser, Pfaffing
2001/2002 architect at klok architecture & urbanism, Amsterdam
2002 architect at Urs Primas, Zürich
2003/2004 architect at Bosch Architects,
2004/2007 project leader at MVRDV,
2008 teaching at Academie van Bouwkunst Rotterdam
2011 teaching at Ohm Universität, Nürnberg
since 2007 director at moreplatz
since 2016 living in Berlin

Team

Marta Koziol
Daniel Delfin Goncalvez
Onur Atay
Arnold van Ouwerkerk
Michel Zethof
Freddie Slot
Dennis Holten
Stephan Boon
Christianne Schets
Kasper Zoet
Fatemeh Moaiyeri
Konstantina Karampini
Bruno Pereira
Sebastian Mayer
Christoph Hanisch
Daniel Seeleitner
Lisa Schwab
Martin Muc
Etienne Mercier
Leonie Hartung
Alexandra Boehm
David Gras
Huong Nguyen
Olaf Nowak
Theo Osterhage
David Gothe
Nils Ewen