Alexander Franz

Alexander Sadao Franz began his collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron in Barcelona in 2002. From 2004-2006 he worked in Basel before moving on to the Canary Islands to set up an office and manage the local projects – the Plaza de España in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Tenerife Espacio de Las Artes, and a private residence. From 2009, he worked on the BBVA headquarters project in Madrid before he returned to Basel in 2011. Since then, he has been leading several projects in Switzerland, with a focus in residential and laboratory buildings, such as an apartment building in Uster, the Research Centre of the new Children’s Hospital in Zurich, the SIP Main Campus on the BaseLink site in Allschwil and a housing development in Zurich Altstetten. His current ambitions focus on sustainability initiatives, such as the project HORTUS in Allschwil – an opportunity to look at reducing the environmental impact of architecture and the building industry through an innovative and radical approach.

Born and raised in Germany, Alexander studied at the University of North London and at the Architectural Association, London graduating with a BA (Hons) and Diploma in Architecture in 1999. He obtained his Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice (RIBA Part 3) in 2001 and became registered in the UK in the same year. Before joining Herzog & de Meuron he worked with Shigeru Uchida in Tokyo, Michael Hopkins in London and on the Las Arenas Project under the partnership of Richard Rogers & ABAA in Barcelona.