Topotek 1 was founded in 1996 by Martin Rein-Cano in Berlin. Since 1999, he has run the studio in equal partnership with Lorenz Dexler. Francesca Venier has been an associate partner of Topotek 1 since 2014 and Carsten Schmidt since 2021. In 2017, Topotek 1 Architektur was founded by Martin Rein-Cano, Lorenz Dexler, Francesca Venier, and Dan Budik.
Topotek 1 is a diverse, lively, and multidisciplinary office composed of a highly qualified international team of architects, landscape architects, and administrative staff. The studio draws upon this wide range of experience during all stages of the design and construction processes, resulting in exceptionally effective design solutions that produce transparent, efficient, and long-term benefits for its clients.
Working at the intersection of the fields of landscape architecture, urbanism, and architecture, Topotek 1 considers itself a traveler that explores the fringe areas of typologies and scales. Each project strives to respond to the given context and programmatic necessities with a compelling concept, extraordinary design quality, and efficient implementation. Some of the studio’s key strategies for maintaining an awareness of and vital link to general contemporary discussions include the hybridization of topics and disciplines; the removal, transmission, and re-imagining of objects and design features from their original context to another; and the design and emplacement of scenographic sequences.
Global movements in society and culture continually redefine a broad spectrum of possibilities in relation to the design and constitution of public space. Driven by its conceptual approach, Topotek 1 considers public spaces to be an expression of visions and of society as a whole. The studio develops design concepts through a critical understanding of extant contemporary realities as well as of cultural and historical references. Through this holistic strategy, Topotek 1 generates solutions that fulfill the modern requirements of variability, communication, and sensuality, creating contemporary spaces for contemporary uses.
