Modern Vernacular: Emerging Firm of the Year Studio Toggle on Pioneering Cross-Cultural Architecture

The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.  

In the 21st century, architects continuously wrangle with the question of how our global era impacts and shapes architecture. The role of globalism is not merely aesthetic; globalization shapes every aspect of design, from clients to materials to finance to a firm’s employees. When we think of global studios, often the big giants come to mind; however, the industry less often considers what it means to be a smaller, younger firm operating internationally. Founded by two graduates from Vienna in 2012 and now operating from three studios in Porto, Kuwait City and Bangalore, Studio Toggle truly represents a merging of global perspectives.

The firm’s work ranges from public-sector, commercial, residential and hospitality architecture to interior design, seamlessly blending modernity and tradition. While cross-cultural architectural thinking is evident in their rethinking of private-community spaces in residential projects such as Ternion, a deep understanding of the local environmental conditions informs their designs — seen in Edges Al Barouk, but also explored through various passive cooling techniques across many of their designs. Meanwhile, projects such as UNIT+ and Luminous Drapes reveal the firms’ thinking on material specification, meditating on both waste production and affordability. All of these values are encapsulated in the ingenious design for JADE Residential Tower, which also represents a challenge to conventional urban and residential approaches.

For all of these reasons and more, Studio Toggle was awarded Architizer’s Emerging Firm of the Year Award at the 11th Annual A+Awards gala in Paris. Emerging Firm winners are contributing to shifts in the wider profession, as well as demonstrably tackling contemporary challenges within the built environment through new and creative approaches to design, bringing fresh perspectives to the next generation. To celebrate the studio’s success, Architizer is delighted to share the following interview with Studio Toggle co-founders by Hend Almatrouk and Gijo Paul George.

Architizer: Tell us a little about your story – how did you get started? How did your firm grow?

Gijo: During our post-graduate studies at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Hend Almatrouk on an architectural competition, which was coincidentally hosted by Architizer. Our proposal was short-listed, but more than that, this made us realize two things: one, we work well with each other and two, the results of our collaborations always ended up being more than the sum of its parts. That gave us the idea of starting a design firm together. We started Studio Toggle in 2011 while we were still students in Vienna, and in 2012, we moved to Kuwait to work on our first residential project. In 2016, we expanded by opening another studio in Porto, Portugal. Our growth was organic based on an increasing number of commissions we had to keep pace with.

Hend: Like Gijo said, the effortless ease of working together and our architectural and ethical visions aligned perfectly reassured us that collaborating was a no-brainer. We were equipped to do just that with my interests in experimental architecture and Gijo’s focus on public spaces and urban planning.

Looking back, which of your projects do you feel was the most significant to the firm’s development and why?

Hend and Gijo: The House in Yarmouk, our very first commission, is the project that challenged us the most since we were just two inexperienced architects just out of university. The project taught us the realities of design and construction and how to reconcile these while staying true to our vision. We are fine admitting that we were entirely out of our depth when it came to the process of construction and construction management, but the project made us re-learn everything we thought we knew regarding all aspects of architecture, construction and management.

The Jade Residential Tower was another milestone project that pushed our limits and helped the firm realize its current capabilities. The optimized workflows we identified and developed have shaped Studio Toggle’s architecture and design approach and helped us consistently punch above our weight with a small team.

As a multinational practice, how do you feel your firm’s unique cultural and environmental context has shaped its evolution?

Hend and Gijo: Through our sense of activism towards positive and responsible design, we believe Studio Toggle has been instrumental in raising awareness of the importance of design thinking in the region. The most crucial factor that creates this sense of design activism in Studio Toggle is its multi-cultural composition.

Two individuals with very different cultural and philosophical backgrounds founded the studio. With our origins in Vienna, moving to Kuwait and moving back to Europe with the Porto studio meant that our collaborators also came from highly diverse backgrounds. The overall theme has been one of Unity in Diversity. This has helped us take an informed and balanced perspective on almost everything, and that reflects on Studio Toggle’s design philosophy and ethics. The resulting empathy and cultural sensitivity is our secret weapon.

What does winning Architizer’s Emerging of the Year Award mean to you and the firm?

Hend and Gijo: Winning Architizer’s Emerging Firm of the Year Award is, without doubt, the most significant moment in our Studio’s relatively young history. For us, it signifies recognition and validation of our efforts and dedication to pushing the boundaries of responsible architectural design. In an increasingly polarized post-pandemic world, our studio, like many others, has struggled to achieve balance and meaning in our work. This prestigious accolade reaffirms and validates our choices and has given us a huge moral boost to keep following our dreams, no matter how hard it seems. We hope this leads to increased visibility and the opening of new doors for meaningful collaborations.

If you had one piece of advice to offer to the next generation of your architects, what would it be?

Hend and Gijo: If it is just one thing, seek out mentors and learn from them. Be genuinely curious so they can tell you about their most significant mistakes as much as their biggest successes. Talent is necessary, but being interested and learning at least one new thing daily sets you on the path to success.

Top image: KHAT by STUDIO TOGGLE, Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.