Culture & History

From a single-room studio in New York City, 1100 Architect launched in the early 1980s, quickly making its mark designing and building environments recognized for their subtle timelessness. Led by David Piscuskas and Juergen Riehm, the emerging practice took a distinctive approach to its work. Not only did it resist the stylistic debate then raging between modernism and post-modernism, it also worked in a way that was strikingly collaborative, building a team of creative partners who shared space in the studio.

When it came time to naming the firm, here, too, they took an unconventional approach, turning for inspiration to their Manhattan studio. Its suite number? 1100.

By calling the firm 1100 Architect, rather than drawing attention to themselves by using their last names, the young architects created a framework that would allow for growth, change, and, importantly, multiple voices.

In that spirit, the firm grew over the years, bringing on a new generation of leadership, including principals Gwen Conners, Ed Parker, and Gunter Weyrich, who are all central to the firm’s voice and studio culture.

It also took the firm to new places. Having long worked around the world, 1100 Architect opened a German studio in 2005, leading to a portfolio of European projects, including award-winning multi-family residential buildings, education environments, and major athletics facilities. In response to this growing footprint in Europe, the Frankfurt studio has grown, led by Weyrich and a new generation of principals: Karin Kohlhaas, Katharina Herzog and Philipp Venema.

Though the studio has grown into a global firm with bustling teams in New York City and Frankfurt and with active projects around the world, it continues to maintain the creative spirit and commitment to excellence that defined the practice from its earliest days.