Pushing the Limits

With its first comprehensive exhibition, Aedes presents the young architectural firm NKBAK by Nicole Kerstin Berganski and Andreas Krawczyk, established in 2007 in Frankfurt am Main. Their work is characterized by the willingness to think “outside the box” and consider all existing possibilities in order to find the best, sometimes unexpected, solution. The exhibition presents a selection of projects, including the House on the Lake, the House in Odenwald and the European School, all located in and around Frankfurt am Main. Three further school projects are currently under construction in Berlin. Their modular timber structure for the European School was selected among the 24 best buildings in Germany in 2017 by the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt/DAM, and was awarded the Timber Construction Award by the state of Hessen in 2015.

Haus in Odenwald © Thomas Mayer

Architects Nicole Kerstin Berganski and Andreas Krawczyk met as colleagues at the office of Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA in Tokyo, Japan and established their firm NKBAK in 2007. Since then, they have realized projects in a wide range of scales, from weekend houses to daycare centers and school buildings. From the outset, both partners have combined their executive architectural practice with academic teaching, for instance at KIT in Karlsruhe, the University of Kassel, and TU Darmstadt.

NKBAK’s built projects reveal their distinct sense of space and deep understanding of modern construction techniques. In addition to utilizing classical materials such as concrete and brick, the architects have discovered and developed the potential of timber construction as a central element in their work. In doing so they have employed both classical timber construction and modern techniques of modular construction with virtuosity.

With numerous pictures, models, plans, and videos, the exhibition installation illustrates how the various projects respond to their on-site requirements, challenges and intended use, and the architectural, spatial, and structural implementation in the chosen materials.

European School Frankfurt/Main © Thomas Mayer

In many cases, their buildings fit impressively within the given framework, such as zoning laws for pre-existing buildings. By invariably taking the respective context and planned use as a starting point in their work, they create new places of very intentional design. The architects approach every task with an open mind, without preconceived designs or solutions. NKBAK’s work is characterized by their willingness to think “outside the box” and consider all existing possibilities in order to find the best, sometimes unexpected, solution.

Nicole Kerstin Berganski and Andreas Krawczyk have received numerous awards, including the 2010 iF Communication Design Award of the World Design Guide, Basel and the 2012 German Design Award of the German Design Council, Frankfurt. Their modular timber structure for the European School was selected among the 24 best buildings in Germany in 2017 by the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt/DAM, and was awarded the Timber Construction Award by the state of Hessen in 2015.

Construction Site / Modular Timber Structure @ Thomas Mayer

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