FREIBURG, 10 July 2025
YOUNG TALENTS | Young architects from the DAM Prize 2025 longlist
On 10 July, the JUNG Architecture Talks took place in Freiburg for the fourth time. The evening at the Kreativpark Lokhalle was held under the title Young Talents and was organised in close partnership with Architekturforum Freiburg.
We invited young architects from the longlist of the DAM Prize 2025 who are contributing to the current architectural discourse in Germany – not only through their built work, but also as lecturers, researchers, and authors. Guests could look forward to fresh ideas and new perspectives. Among the participants were Fabian Onneken and Jan Keinath of KO/OK (Leipzig and Stuttgart), Sophia Tang and Hans-Christian Buhl of sophie & hans (Berlin), and Matthias Hoffmann, Tim Panzer, and Thorsten Pofahl of Demo Working Group (Cologne).
The evening was moderated by Peter Cachola Schmal, Director of the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM).
We invited young architects from the longlist of the DAM Prize 2025 who are contributing to the current architectural discourse in Germany – not only through their built work, but also as lecturers, researchers, and authors. Guests could look forward to fresh ideas and new perspectives. Among the participants were Fabian Onneken and Jan Keinath of KO/OK (Leipzig and Stuttgart), Sophia Tang and Hans-Christian Buhl of sophie & hans (Berlin), and Matthias Hoffmann, Tim Panzer, and Thorsten Pofahl of Demo Working Group (Cologne).
The evening was moderated by Peter Cachola Schmal, Director of the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM).
Impressions
Photography: Tim Dornaus
FABIAN ONNEKEN &
JAN KEINATH
KO/OK ARCHITEKTUR, LEIPZIG/STUTTGART
Jan Keinath and Fabian Onneken founded KO/OK Architektur in 2016, with offices in Stuttgart and Leipzig. Following the success of their early projects, they were appointed members of the BDA and the AKJAA. They combine their architectural practice with teaching and have served, among other roles, as guest professors of timber construction at the Technical University of Munich.
“We develop renovation and timber construction projects with a strong focus on materiality, craftsmanship, and regional value creation. We seek simple solutions that respect existing buildings, think in architectural life cycles, and design with attention to ecology and circular principles. This approach has resulted in distinctive, atmospheric, and sustainable spaces that have received multiple awards.”
www.ko-ok.cc
“We develop renovation and timber construction projects with a strong focus on materiality, craftsmanship, and regional value creation. We seek simple solutions that respect existing buildings, think in architectural life cycles, and design with attention to ecology and circular principles. This approach has resulted in distinctive, atmospheric, and sustainable spaces that have received multiple awards.”
www.ko-ok.cc
Image: © KO/OK
HANS-CHRISTIAN BUHL &
SOPHIA TANG
SOPHIE & HANS, BERLIN
sophie & hans is a Berlin-based design and architecture office dedicated to creating meaningful objects, spaces, and atmospheres across all scales and functions. Their work ranges from benches in the Canadian woods to a pavilion for social work embedded in the urban fabric, and a communal building in the Bavarian Alps that rethinks collective living for an ageing society. The studio was founded in 2019 by Sophia Tang and Hans-Christian Buhl and is driven by a shared motivation and commitment to designing soulful and impactful spaces – particularly for public life.
“At sophie & hans, we believe that architecture shapes how people connect, interact, and experience the world. We work closely with communities, clients, and employees to create compelling public spaces that foster coexistence and enrich daily life. We approach each project with an open mind, guided by context and need rather than a fixed style. Inspired by craft, materials, and machinery, we strive for refreshing work that blends new tools with old techniques to create spaces that make the physical world around us better – for everyone.”
www.sophieandhans.eu
“At sophie & hans, we believe that architecture shapes how people connect, interact, and experience the world. We work closely with communities, clients, and employees to create compelling public spaces that foster coexistence and enrich daily life. We approach each project with an open mind, guided by context and need rather than a fixed style. Inspired by craft, materials, and machinery, we strive for refreshing work that blends new tools with old techniques to create spaces that make the physical world around us better – for everyone.”
www.sophieandhans.eu
Image: © sophie & hans
MATTHIAS HOFFMANN, TIM PANZER &
THORSTEN POFAHL
DEMO WORKING GROUP, COLOGNE
The Demo Working Group was founded in 2020 by Thorsten Pofahl, Tim Panzer, and Matthias Hoffmann. The office works across a range of scales, with a particular focus on the transformation of existing structures. The trio also teaches at RWTH Aachen, KIT Karlsruhe, MSA Münster, and PBSA Düsseldorf. In 2022, the Demo Working Group received the North Rhine-Westphalia Award for Emerging Artists. In addition, Pofahl, Panzer, and Hoffmann have been selected for the Villa Massimo / Casa Baldi residency in 2025/2026.
“Our aim is to derive new, optimistic, and future-oriented perspectives from existing conditions. We see architectural production as a research-based endeavour that brings together analytical, practical, and speculative methods.”
www.demoworkinggroup.eu
“Our aim is to derive new, optimistic, and future-oriented perspectives from existing conditions. We see architectural production as a research-based endeavour that brings together analytical, practical, and speculative methods.”
www.demoworkinggroup.eu
Image: © Demo Working Group
MODERATION
The event was moderated by Peter Cachola Schmal, Director of the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt am Main.
The museum was founded in 1984. Located in a former Wilhelminian-style villa on Frankfurt’s Museumsufer, it features the iconic “house within a house” installation by architect Oswald Mathias Ungers. The DAM hosts temporary exhibitions on national and international topics in architecture and urban development of the 20th and 21st centuries. As a forum for current discourse, it organises conferences and workshops, publishes books and catalogues, and offers an extensive educational programme for children and young people.
www.dam-online.de
The museum was founded in 1984. Located in a former Wilhelminian-style villa on Frankfurt’s Museumsufer, it features the iconic “house within a house” installation by architect Oswald Mathias Ungers. The DAM hosts temporary exhibitions on national and international topics in architecture and urban development of the 20th and 21st centuries. As a forum for current discourse, it organises conferences and workshops, publishes books and catalogues, and offers an extensive educational programme for children and young people.
www.dam-online.de
Image: © Kirsten Bucher
