Spaces with Soul, places that connect

Liveable space doesn’t originate in the neighbourhood or on the street; it starts with our day-to-day work as architects—in offices, in lobbies, on the stairs, in the interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces. That’s what we see as our role—advocating for more user-centric design, an approach that puts social interaction, flow and belonging at the heart of everything we do. We don’t judge the quality of a space solely on its architectural design, but above all on the way it affects the people that use the space. As architects, it is also our responsibility to create interior spaces that foster social interaction, flow and belonging in our everyday lives—and this is precisely the key to our holistic understanding of urban design. 

This philosophy drives the work we do every day. Every project in our practice is grounded in the lived user experience, whether we are designing individual buildings or entire urban areas. To keep up with the changing demands of urban life, we need to champion hybrid, flexible spaces. That means working with our clients to design spaces that are not only functional but also emotionally meaningful. An urban area really comes to life when it serves a variety of purposes—when living, working, dining and playing are all interlinked. 

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) defines placemaking as follows: “A creative, collaborative process in which communities, professionals and stakeholders work together to revitalise public spaces.” The goal is to design spaces that reflect the needs and desires of the people using them.¹ The Critical Design blog puts it like this: “Placemaking can be defined as the process of creating quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness and well-being. It involves a holistic approach to urban design that prioritises the human experience.”² 

However you choose to define it, our projects demonstrate that places come alive when they meet users’ real-world needs—when it is not just about design for design’s sake but fostering emotional resonance.

Innovation from yesterday to tomorrow and beyond

Austrian Camillo Sitte’s seminal 1889 treatise “Der Städtebau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen” (Urban Planning
According to Artistic Principles) paved the way for what we call placemaking today. He criticised the linear
geometry of 19th-century urban design and advocated for emotionally resonant urban spaces that evolve organically and foster well-being.³ 

The term “placemaking” dates back to the 1960s, when pioneering thinkers such as Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte called for a radical rethinking of urban design. They prioritised social interaction and advocated for vibrant neighbourhoods in a rejection of the purely functionalist approach.⁴ In the 1970s, architects, urban planners and landscape architects took the concept one step further by enhancing communal spaces such as parks, waterfront areas and busy streets. When The Project for Public Spaces was founded in 1975,⁵ it gave the new approach institutional backing and methodological rigor.

Today, a wide range of strategies and practices are included in placemaking, from developing public spaces to designing high quality residences and workplaces. The central question is always: What does it take for people to identify with a place? The idea is to see architecture as a vehicle—as a mediating force between the space itself, the people who use it and society as a whole. The design process doesn’t begin with form, but with a mindset that takes a genuine interest in the needs of the people who use and define a place.

One person who has been instrumental in shaping this people-centric approach is Danish architect and urban design consultant Jan Gehl. He sees cities as social systems where public spaces act as platforms for human interaction. His concept of slowing down cities—providing spaces you can experience with all of your senses while walking—remains groundbreaking to this day.⁶ Our practice is also driven by human-scale design, sightlines and liveability, not only in outdoor spaces, but also within buildings. After all, you can apply many of Gehl’s principles in interior design as well: Flow, visual clarity and openness are not just vital for our public spaces—they can also determine whether users perceive a building’s interior as approachable, welcoming and full of life.

Carlos Moreno takes the concept one step further with his vision of the “15-minute city”, which he presented at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris: a concept that rethinks mobility, supply chains and neighbourhoods, prioritising short distances, diverse, bustling ground-floor level amenities and multi-purpose spaces. In an age where we have a wide range of problems to solve, Moreno explains: “The real issues are climate change, social exclusion and poverty. And the centre of gravity for all three is each one of our cities.” The idea behind the 15-minute city is that residents can access all of a city’s essential services and amenities within 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle. It is a model that promotes quality of life, reduces traffic and makes communities more cohesive by reducing dependence on cars.⁷

This is a compelling example of the way smart urban design can make everyday life more efficient and more community-focused. In many of our projects—whether they involve repurposing, retrofitting or hybrid use—the questions are always the same: How can we ensure a building is integrated into the urban fabric in a way that enhances the users’ everyday lives? What can we do in terms of the design and the physical floorplan to make a building an integral element of the social fabric?

Urban planning and architecture are no longer purely functional disciplines in our view. They are about accountability, atmosphere, societal impact. What started as a backlash against functionalist urban planning has evolved over the decades into a design philosophy advocating for responsible, forward-looking development. 

For us, this means that architects have to do more than just maximise space efficiency—they have to foster relationships, create atmosphere and become part of the social dialogue. Spaces are not simply neutral backdrops; they are influential players in the day-to-day life of our cities. Knowing how to use this influence for good—in a strategic, user-centric way that is mindful of the specific context and purpose—is at the heart of the work we do.

But how does this play out in the everyday life of our practice? How do we design spaces to connect rather than simply function—spaces that have soul, impact and relevance?

Quellen/Sources
1 https://www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking?
2 https://www.critical.design/post/placemaking-definition-history-origins-and-importance
3 Sitte, Camillo (1889): Der Städte-Bau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen. Wien: Carl Graeser.
4 Jacobs, Jane (1961): The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House. Whyte, William H. (1980): The Social Life of 
Small Urban Spaces. Washington, D.C.: Conservation Foundation.
5 https://www.pps.org
6 https://islandpress.org/books/cities-people#desc
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Gehl
7 https://www.rolandberger.com/de/Insights/Publications/Carlos-Moreno-über-die-Stadt-der-kurzen-Wege.html