In our work we operate in an imagined architectural universe, a kind of ahistorical deep space in which works from all epochs meet on the same plain. Here, unexpected friendships are forged, coupling into surprising partnerships. Lisboa Paralela is a city without monuments or memory. Its places bear the names of the 72 heteronyms that […]
In our work we operate in an imagined architectural universe, a kind of ahistorical deep space in which works from all epochs meet on the same plain. Here, unexpected friendships are forged, coupling into surprising partnerships.
Lisboa Paralela is a city without monuments or memory. Its places bear the names of the 72 heteronyms that constitute Fernando Pessoa’s literary universe, signifying nothing. In an equally hopeless effort, the architects propose a number of nameless structures that are modelled after some of their unbuilt designs. In a gesture full of optimism, we marry an architectural diptych with each of the eight sectors of the map.
The recent work of Lütjens Padmanabhan Architects focuses on housing in the residential districts surrounding the cities of Zurich, Basel and Munich. Despite their love for a more refined, urbane architecture, Oliver Lütjens and Thomas Padmanabhan have light-heartedly embraced the fact that most of their commissions are set in the mundane anonymity of suburbia. Their interest in complex architectural expression has distanced the practice from the craft-oriented mainstream of Swiss architecture. The current projects explore the impossible task of reconciling the autonomy of the exterior facade with the typological uncertainty of interior spaces and loose urban contexts.
Oliver Lütjens graduated from ETH Zurich in 2002. Before founding Lütjens Padmanabhan Architekten in Zurich with Thomas Padmanabhan in 2007, he worked for Diener & Diener in Basel, Meili Peter Architekten in Zurich and OMA/Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam. From 2007-2014 he has been teaching as an assistant with Adam Caruso and Peter St John and as head assistant with Adam Caruso at ETH Zurich.
Thomas Padmanabhan graduated from Aachen Technical University, Università di Roma “La Sapienza” and Cornell University in 2000. He worked for Skidmore Owings & Merrill in New York, Meili Peter Architekten in Zurich and Diener & Diener Architekten in Basel. In 2007, he founded Lütjens Padmanabhan Architekten in Zurich with Oliver Lütjens. Until 2013 he taught as assistant with Peter Märkli and Markus Peter at ETH Zurich.
Together they have been teaching as visiting critics at TU Munich in 2015 and are now currently guest professors at EPF Lausanne.
