About — Studio Schwitalla

The Studio

Studio Schwitalla is a Berlin based Research and Design Studio founded by architect Max Schwitalla. The experimental work of the studio is at the intersection of Architecture, Urban Mobility and Urban Design. The driving force is the re-negotiation and innovation of spaces for mobility and immobility - we are passionate about how new forms of Urban Mobility enable the design of future cities as places with high quality of life.

Form follows flow - the flow of people, light and air. We imagine the city as a network of hyper-connected neighborhoods that can be designed as three-dimensional structures, as transformable and sustainable urban environments centered on human needs, not those of mobility machines.

The consistent agenda in our work—across all scales, from the urban to the neighborhood to the architectural—is to activate spaces of mobility and circulation as meaningful places for social exchange and interaction.

As we find inspiration in the mobile realm to design immobile physical spaces, we consequently explore new ways of virtual architectural design, communication and storytelling in the metaverse and through motion picture. Our Media Department is led by Art Director Sergey Prokofyev and works on interdisciplinary collaborative science projects and creates award-winning immersive experiences from Virtual Reality to Dome Projections.

Contact

Leipziger Str. 119
10117 Berlin, Germany
mail@studioschwitalla.com
T: +49 (0)30 20624420
F: +49 (0)30 20624421

Collaborators

Schindler Elevators, The PORT Technology, Audi, TXL - The Urban Tech Republic, Panodontis Berlin, Kreisbau Tübingen, Intersection, e.GO Mobile, BFO Mobility, IBA Hamburg, Stadtwerke Tübingen, Kift, LAGI/Burning Man, Kinect Air, Stadt Kloten, IBA Hamburg, Stadt Pforzheim

Biomimicry Germany, Certain Measures, Future Lab Berlin, Buro Happold, ARUP, LAVA Berlin, Björn Hoffmann, 2D+, Lavaland, Lucia Tahan, Fraunhofer, ARGUS, steg Hamburg, Drees & Sommer, Sprinkenhof, Julius von Bismarck, Violeta Burckhardt, 1komma2, Schöne Aussichten Landschaftsarchitektur, Christian Stiller, Good Mobility Council

Team, since 2012

Alicia Nordmann, Robert Hartman, Tito Dinh, David Nguyen, Christoph Holtmann, Jakob Ernst, Lubov Skoromnaya, Søren Henning, Barkin Karabas, Richard Wehmeyer, Pernilla Kober, Leonard Schuster, Elena Cantoni, Bertrand Malpel, Wajdi Abbas, Matthias Lauer, Chananthorn Vinitwatanakhun, Diego Tonetto, Merve Sahin, Daniel Prost, Morta Pilkaite, Arpapan Chantanakajornfung, Chakkarat Wongthirawat, Laura Freiling, Oke Hauser, Alex Guijarro, Yannis Mataillet, Dominykas Daunys, Jojo Chanachai, Kevin Driscoll, Sergey Prokofyev, Olga Prokofyeva, Max Schwitalla

Izzy Benigno

Izzy is a multidisciplinary artist and experiential designer from Brazil, who studied at the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Her work has been presented internationally at film and new media art festivals, including in Split, Beijing, London and Berlin. In 2025, she was awarded the Young Creator national prize in Portugal (Cross-Disciplinary category). Her practice constantly explores spatiality through immersive and hybrid media. At Studio Schwitalla, she is bringing this into art direction for a virtual reality project.

Nguyen Thien Vu David

Nguyen Thien Vu David is currently studying Computer Science in Culture and Health at HTW Berlin. At Studio Schwitalla, he is developing VR game applications, including programming game logic and mechanics.

Barkin Karabas, M.Sc.

Barkin is an architect and design researcher who studied at METU, Turkiye, and the Bauhaus, Germany. His works were selected in several international competitions, and his thesis in architecture revolves around the concept of autonomy, striving to integrate mobility in the practices of Studio Schwitalla.

Sergey Prokofyev, Dipl.-Ing.

Sergey received his Diploma in Architecture in 2007 from the PSACEA, Ukraine. From 2008 to 2012 his projects were selected in different international competitions and awards e.g. KRob 2009 (AIA Dallas), Evolo 2010 and 2011 (skyscraper competition, NYC) et al. Since 2012 he works at Studio Schwitalla.

Max Schwitalla, Dipl. Arch. ETH

Max Schwitalla’s interest in architecture grew out of skateboarding and his experience of cities in motion. He studied architecture at the University of Stuttgart and ETH Zurich, where he received his Diploma in Architecture in 2006. Before founding Studio Schwitalla, he worked with Rem Koolhaas/OMA in Rotterdam and New York, Graft in Berlin and Los Angeles, and HENN in Berlin. He has taught or served as a guest critic at the Architectural Association in London, Rio Academy, TU Berlin, UdK Berlin, ETH Zurich, TU Dresden, and the Aedes Network Campus Berlin. In 2025/26, he was a Rome Prize Fellow at Villa Massimo in Rome. Since 2012, he has collaborated with Schindler Aufzüge AG, Switzerland, under a research and development (R&D) agreement focused on urban mobility within the built environment.