profIle

FAR frohn&rojas is a networked architectural design and research practice located in Berlin, Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles. Through its name the office acknowledges both its geographically distributed anatomy as well as the increasingly widened professional scope that is literally shaping its work. With its distributed setup the office seeks to appropriate corporate models of global presence and distribution as its own effective means of production. Yet not a production based on the bottom line, where rapidly outputting projects and cutting costs are the only concerns, but rather by taking these models as a means of establishing a more diversified type of architectural production in which both the inherent contradictions between geographies, as well as the stretching of disciplinary boundaries will let formerly undeterminable links thrive.
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The office's self-reflection upon and awareness of the shaping force of its own anatomy hints at one of the crucial interests being addressed in its work, too, which it refers to as the underlying “deep structures” at play in each new project: the legal and financial constraints, desires, power structures and technological, ecological, material and institutional frameworks that shape the built environment. FAR lets each “building site” become a test bed for the inherent formal pressures of these invisible yet highly present structures, opening the way for invention and play. What happens, for example, when “highly-bred” German building products meet the Chilean labor force; When a Chinese car maker without serious corporate identity wants to present itself along the Pan American highway in South America; When clients love the international style open floor plan and yet at the same time are conditioned to involve their house maids in a hide-and-seek game in front of their guests; When a government discovers education as an internationally tradable product or a lawyer becomes part of the design team as he is the only one to bring along the necessary precision to handle and give form to the legal envelope in a radically beaurocratized building zone? Pressures such as these and more are the primary impetuses that stimulate our design process. FAR is seeking to proactively position its work at this complex crossroads and, alongside design commissions, considers both research projects and the development of building products appropriate strategies to do so. To support this approach, the separate locations work as hubs linking the office to a variety of local specialists both from within architecture as well as other disciplines, trades, companies, cultural institutions and educational/research facilities. This setup guarantees the office FAR MORE input and productive means in the processes shaping our environment. read less

PARTNER

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Prof. M.Arch Marc Frohn Architekt AK Berlin
concept development & design director

Marc Frohn is co-founder of FAR frohn&rojas. He studied architecture at RWTH Aachen University, Universitá Federico II in Naples, Italy, University of Houston, USA and Rice University, Houston, USA. He pursued his graduate studies in the US as a Fulbright scholar. Marc worked at OMA and collaborated on projects with b&k+ brandlhuber. He taught architectural design at RWTH Aachen University, SCI-Arc in Los Angeles and the Royal College of Art in London. He heads the chair for architectural space and design at KIT Karlsruher Institut für Technologie. read less
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PARTNER

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Dipl.-Ing. (Architektur) Mario Rojas
project development & technical director
Mario Rojas is co-founder of FAR frohn&rojas. He studied architecture at RWTH Aachen University. Mario worked for Oscar Niemeyer in Rio de Janeiro and gmp Architekten in Germany. During his time in Mexico City he collaborated with bgp arquitectura on a series of projects. He teaches at Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello and Universidad de las Américas in Santiago de Chile. read less
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Partner LA

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M.Arch Wendy Gilmartin Architect, AIA LEED AP
Wendy Gilmartin is the Los Angeles partner of FAR frohn&rojas. She is a California registered architect (CAB 35047) and studied architecture at Rice University in Houston. Wendy has over 10 years building experience in L.A. Her writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, LAWeekly, KCET's ARTBOUND, The Architect's Newspaper and in the book LAtitudes: An Angeleno’s Atlas. She teaches at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. read less
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Team

Max Koch, Carlos Aguayo, Raphael Ridder, Sinja Reichenbecher, Oscar Herrera, Francisco Lagos, Yizhi Wang, Alexander Meneses, Ulrike Glenz, Hans-Peter Cordt, Stefan Kremer
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Past members of the FAR team:
Jonas Janke, Ottavio Paponetti, Ian Míguez, Agnes Helming, Jonas Lauinger, Stefan Glüder, Fabian Gaete, Gerardo Maluenda, Marta Kazimierczak, Julian Bustamante, Maxim Lefebvre, Noël Fäh, Natalia Becerra, Ulrike Vandenberghe, Lisa Behringer, Lenka Svobodava, Katharina Wiedwald, Martin Gjoleka, Felix Schöllhorn, Pan Hu, Julius Grün, Ruth Meigen, Julia Simon, Erik Tsurumaki, Maria Martinez Ureta, Jean Araya, Carolina Hito, Philipp Eckel, Carina Seckler, Elena Francesca Ambacher, Elizabeth Aracena, Beatriy Bascuñan, Maxim Bauer, Peter Behrbohm, Loic de Béthune, Julian Cardenas, Adriana Chavez, Guillame Choplain, Isabel Chua, Oliver Claussen, Sebastian Contreras, Jorge Contreras, Ashley Couch, Annabel Cremer, Pia Custodis, Jose Diaz, Nazareth Ekmekiijan, Suat Eriz, Diego Espinoza, Christoph Feinweber, Daniel Felgendreher, Nikola Freissmuth, Laura Fuchs, Svenja Geske, Martin Gjoleka, Stefan Glueder, David Gonzales, Maribel Gonzales, Daniel Grenz, Nike Grote, Julius Gruen, Pablo Guzman, Mynkyung Han, Marius Helten, Thomas Hillisch, Vivian Ho, Pan Hu, Francisca Iglesias, Ruta Jakstaite, Tamara Z Jamil, Pilar Jordan, Lydia Karagiannaki, Yuka Kata, Philip Kentgens, Maximilian Kessler, Charlotte Klein, Angela Koch, Andrés Labarca , Katharina Laekamp, Luan Lee, Paloma Levy, Rasmus List Thomsen, Tim Maassen, Fabio Magnago, Inbar Maital, Eduardo Maldonado, Katrina Malinski, Paula Márquez, Diana Menino Ferreira, Lukas Mersch, Marie Michaelis, Isabel Miño, Marco Mondello, Benjamin Moore, Lennard Ong, Mario Orellana, Tim Panzer, Juan Ramón Pastor Planas, Massimo Sean Pepe, Reina Pisano, Sebastian Potz, Tristan Prange, Friedrich Prigge, Gracia Vera Quek, Lena, Rautenbach, Brett Riegler, Orpa Rodnizki, Felipe Rojas, Danielle Rosman, Niels Rosteck, George Sacks, Dulce Sanchez, Frieder Scheuermann, Andrea Schmeing, Felix Schöllhorn, Hannah Schröder, Christoph Schwarz, Philipp Seich, Alex Seick, Jana Schall, Axel de Stampa, Ulrike Stier, Marina Stoynova , Katrin Tacke, Katarina Tallafuss, Amy Thoner, Martina Tolotti, Dina Tranze-Drabinia, Christian Uhl, Lilli Unger, Ulrike Vandenberghe, Jana Vichorcova, Steven Vidovic, David Wischniewski, Fabian Wolf, Carlos Graf v. Ysenburg, Isabel Zapata read less

Publications

image 2015, #11
image 2014, #214, 215
image 2013, #13/6
image 2013, White Mountain
image 2013, #44
image Holistic Housing
image 2013, #19.13
image 2012, #209
image Abstract City
image 2012, #86
image 2012, #01.02
image 2012, #205
show more
image 2012, #62
image DAM Jahrbuch 12/13
image DASH
image 2012, #80
image 2012, #956
image 2012, #35
image 2011, #79
image 2011, #3966
image 2011, #3959
image 2011, #6/7
image 2011, #22
image 2011, #S2
image 2011, #78
image REsource
image Seismic Shifts
image Climats
image 2010, #5
image 2010, #477
image 2010, Hors-Serie
image 2010, #196
image 2010, #203, 204
image 2010, Blanca Montaña
image 2010, #76
image Re-inventing Construction
image Atlas Arquitecturas del S XXI
image Architecture of Change 2
image 2010, #11,12
image Realstadt
image West Arch
image 10x10/3, 2009
image Architecture Now!
image 2009, #6/1
image 2009, #5
image 2008, #78
image 2009, #125
image 2009, #7
image 2009, #4
image 2009, #46
image 2009, #288
image Ecological Architecture
image 2009, #105/4
image 2009, Special issue
image Next Houses
image 2009, #1
image 2009, #140
image 2009, #1
image Textile Architektur
image 2008/2009, #133
image 2008, #5
image 2008, #4/08
image 2008, #6
image 2008, #482
image 2008, #4
image 2008, #27
image 2008, #122
image 2008, #167
image 2008, #B12
image 2008, #283
image 2008, #44
image Atlas for Living
image DAM Jahrbuch 07/08
image Casas en America Latina
image Y08 Yearbook
image 2008, #39508
image 2008, #136
image 2008, #186
image Die Baumeister
image Ecological Houses
image Spektakuläre Häuser
image 2008, #8
image 2008, #62
image I was there
image 2008, # 5/11
image Young German Architects 2008
image Pulso, 2008
image 2008, #255
image Space between People
image Strike a Pose, 2008
image Contemporary Ecological Architecture
image 2007, #17
image 2007, #12/1
image 2007, #184
image 2007, #67
image 2007, #41
image 2007, #127
image 2007, #9/1
image Ausgabe NRW
image 2007, #908
image Förderpreis 2007
image 2007, #83
image 2007, #10
image 2007, #4
image 2007, #590
image 2006, #180
image 2006, #4
image 2005, #6/1
image 2004, #46
image 2001, #B6
image 2015
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Awards

2022
EU-mies award 22, Spain, shortlist

2021
BDA Preis Berlin, Germany, awarded

DAM award for architecture, Germany, finalist

2020
ArchitekturPreis Berlin, winner of the special prize for new urban living
(Sonderpreis Neues Urbanes Wohnen).

Dezeen Awards 2020, UK, shortlisted

DETAIL Prize 2020, Germany,
nominated readers´ price

Golden Trezzini Award, Russia,
pricewinner

2018
FRAME Awards, Netherlands,
nominated final list

2016
RIBA National Award, UK, pricewinner
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2012
Iakov Chernikhov international prize „Challenge of the time“, Russia, nominated

DAM award for architecture, Germany, nominated

2010
Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and Designers, USA, prizewinner

2009
DETAIL Prize ArchitectureXport, Germany, prizewinner

2008
DAM Award for architecture, Germany, nominated

Häuser Award, Germany, commended

2007
AR Award for emerging architecture, UK, prizewinner

„Förderpreis für junge Künstler des Landes NRW“, Germany, prizewinner

Reiners-Stiftung, Architectrure Award, Germany, Commended

BC Award, Best International Works, Italy, commended

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Exhibitions

2022
EU-mies award 22, Barcelona, Spain

BDA Preis Berlin - Ausstellung vorbildlicher Bauten in der Hauptstadt, Berlin, Germany

2021
DAM Price for Architecture in Germany 2021
Frankfurt, Germany

Co-habitation, silent green, Berlin, Germany

2020
Chilean House, Domestic images
Centro Cultural La Moneda, Santiago, Chile

2018
Venice Biennale, Exhibition Multihalle Mannheim Sleeping Beauty, Venice, Italy

2015
Bilateral - German-chilean architecture
Club Manquehue, Sanitago, Chile

2014
Bilateral - German-chilean architecture
Goethe Institut, Sanitago, Chile
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2012
White Mountain, Berlin, Germany / Santiago de Chile

Bienal de Chile, Santiago, Chile
2011-2012
Shenzen & Hong Kong Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture; Chilean Pavilion

2010
REALSTADT. Wünsche als Wirklichkeit, Kraftwerk Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Westarch, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany

Roots Exhibition, Heerlen, The Netherlands

Architectural League Prize Exhibition, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson, Design Center, Parsons The New School For Design, New York, USA

Contemplating the Void, Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA

2009
WELCOME HOMETTA: Boston, MA / Houston, TX / San Francisco, CA, USA

A Voyage in diverse scales, Platoon Kunsthalle, Seoul, South Korea

12+83 Casas de Chile, Museu de Casa Brasileira, Sao Paulo, Brazil

DAM, Deutsches Architektur Museum Frankfurt, Germany

2008
Venice Biennial; Chilean Pavilion

EUTOPIA, Chile, architecture and development, Museu de Casa Brasileira, Sao Paulo, Brazil

DAZ, Emerging Architecture, Berlin, Germany

Ermerging Architecture, 2007, Cologne, Germany

Emerging Architecture, 2007, Seoul, South Korea

2008-2013
BAK&ifa, “Auslandsbeziehungen, Junge Architekten aus Deutschland” - international travelling exhibition

2007
RIBA, London, UK

Convertible City, KAP Forum, Cologne, Germany

2006
Venice Biennial; German Pavillion read less