Alexander Franz

Alexander Sadao Franz is a Senior Associate at Herzog & de Meuron and the Lead of Sustainable Projects. This team works towards finding sustainable and innovative approaches that make a positive contribution to ecological objectives and climate protection, while meeting H&dM’s high architectural standards. Additionally, Alexander manages specific projects that seek to reduce the adverse impact of construction on the environment: Hortus, an office building in Allschwil, sets new standards for sustainable architecture through an innovative and radical design approach. In continuation to this effort, ALL – a new laboratory building next door to Hortus – unites strict user requirements with a high-performance building design.

Alexander began his collaboration with H&dM in Barcelona in 2002. From 2004-2006 he worked in Basel before he was relocated 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 his return to Basel in 2011. He has led several projects in Switzerland with a focus on 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 in Allschwil and TILIA, a housing development in Zurich. Alexander became an Associate in 2015 and a Senior Associate in 2026.

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 H&dM 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.