Kawahara Krause

While the architecture of Kawahara Krause Architects appears extraordinarily aesthetic, they do not seek formal beauty in their work. Rather, at the core of their projects is the search for clarity of structure, often based on a strong sense of geometry. Since clarity does not necessarily mean unambiguity, the structures generate complex spatial situations despite simple means – the ambiguous is thus a central moment.

The exhibition illustrates this design philosophy on two levels. The spatial installation consists of identical volumes, which are turned to face each other at different angles to create a diverse staggering of transitory spaces. The movement that occurs between the volumes, which are constructed from fabric strips, makes them appear both permeable and closed, so that the gallery space oscillates between actual and phenomenological transparency. This site-specific experimental arrangement is complemented by a set of working models. Exploring the spectrum between laboratory and miscellany, they illustrate the formation of Kawahara Krause Architects’ “equivocal architecture” by means of concrete design tasks.

Kawahara Krause Architects was founded in 2009 by Tatsuya Kawahara and Ellen Kristina Krause in Hamburg. Their pavilion-like works, such as their Wooden Hut, Garden Folly, and Belvedere, have gained critical acclaim. They are currently working on the L-Pavilion for Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin. Their design work is underpinned by many years of teaching at HafenCity University in Hamburg, Leibniz University in Hannover, and University of Siegen, among others.