The Second Studio Podcast: Interview with Matthias Hollwich

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by architect and entrepreneur Matthias Hollwich, Founding Principal of HWKN and Co-founder of Architizer, to discuss his upbringing in Germany; working for high-profile offices such as DS+R, OMA, and Eisenman Architects; taking a break from architecture; co-founding Architizer during the 2008 recession; HWKN’s beginnings, ups and downs, and milestone events; and more.

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Highlights & Timestamps

Studying architecture in Germany. (00:00) 

Working for high-profile offices. (11:40)

[Working at OMA] was like the brewing factory of incredible talents. Bjarke (Ingels) was sitting there next to me and Julien De Smedt, who then later on founded PLOT, and then Bjarke did BIG. Joshua Ramus from Rex was actually my roommate for many years… It was kind of competitive, but also we liked to inspire each other. There was a lot of dialogue and we showed presentations of what we were doing… That was really incredible. For me, that was like the school that I really went through in the end. (23:03)

Taking a break from architecture before starting an office. (25:34) 

For me, it was important that I don’t just follow in his (Rem Koolhaas) footsteps, but find other elements of inspiration to bring into my thinking. That is actually for me the result now. It’s really like there’s an OMA way of thinking and a little bit of formalism that came from Peter Eisenman… So a lot of things that now the firm is doing here at HWKN, is derived out of the mix of an architectural experience plus a little bit more strategic thinking and business thinking… I think that’s also kind of the unique sales proposition that we have at this point. (27:08)

How Matthias’s enthusiasm, dedication, and work ethic influenced his career. (36:21)

Architecture is strategy and it’s not just design. Design is a part of a strategy that you create…and that’s why I come back to my math and physics kind of talent. It’s certainly not just about being creative. It’s also exploring… What is good for the place? What is good for the client? How far can you push it? What can you do? And then you can build the arguments around it. And you don’t over invest just into design exercises that a lot of people do… It’s all of this but what you really want to do is something that moves cities and people forward. It becomes, for me, more predictable how you think and how you work to a certain degree. And then you have to let loose again, of course, to create the magic but there is a strategy behind it. (43:47)

How HWKN was founded. (48:15)

Starting Architizer as a result of the 2008 recession. (01:07:55) 

Key moments for HWKN. (01:21:43)

Matthias’s progression from being shy to presenting TED Talks. (01:47:03) 

It was really an intention to learn it and to train it because it’s actually amazing how different it becomes when it’s free and you can respond to people and it can capture their imagination. (01:49:26)

Check out The Second Studio Podcast’s previous editions.