(“Text as taken from the website”)
LARS KRÜCKEBERG
Lars Krückeberg studied architecture at the Technical University Braunschweig, Germany, where he graduated with a Dipl.-Ing. Arch., He received his Master of Architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, USA. In 1998 Lars Krückeberg established GRAFT in Los Angeles together with Wolfram Putz, and Thomas Willemeit.
WOLFRAM PUTZ
Wolfram Putz studied architecture at the Technical University Braunschweig, Germany, where he graduated with a Dipl.-Ing. Arch., He received his Master of Architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, USA. In 1998 Wolfram Putz established GRAFT in Los Angeles together with Thomas Willemeit, and Lars Krückeberg.
THOMAS WILLEMEIT
Thomas Willemeit studied architecture at the Technical University Braunschweig, where he graduated with a Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Besides his successful career in the architectural field, he won numerous national prizes as a violin player and a chorister. In 1998 Thomas Willemeit established GRAFT in Los Angeles together with Wolfram Putz, and Lars Krückeberg.
Practice Ideology
GRAFT is conceived as a studio for architecture, urban planning, design, music and the pursuit of happiness. Since its establishment in 1998 in Los Angeles, it has been commissioned to design and manage various projects across multiple disciplines and in numerous locations. Further offices followed in Berlin in 2001 and Beijing in 2004.
We believe in the power of architecture as a tool, best employed not for its own sake but to represent ambiguous and diverse identities.
Although the company’s core enterprises gravitate around architecture and the built environment, GRAFT has always maintained an interest in crossing the boundaries between disciplines and “grafting” the creative potential and methodologies of different realities. This is reflected in its expansion into the fields of exhibition and product design, art installations and academic projects, as well as in its variety of project locations worldwide.
In 2014, we set up GRAFT Brandlab, an agency enabling an additional focus on communication design, brand strategy and consultancy while staying true to the original multidisciplinary approach and working methods.
Our design process is evidence-based and human-centred. Our approach stems from scenography and movement rather than tectonics. In this way, we are able to create dynamic, flexible architecture that allows multiple readings.
