E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten

What E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten does

E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten is a Zurich-based architecture and urban planning firm founded in 2001 by brothers Piet Eckert and Wim Eckert, both ETH Zurich graduates with prior experience at OMA in Rotterdam. The firm operates from three offices — Zurich (headquarters), Warsaw, and Berlin — and offers integrated services across four domains: public and cultural buildings, housing, office and industrial architecture, and urban planning. Its portfolio includes large-scale projects such as the Pergolenviertel residential quarter in Hamburg (1,700 units across 27 hectares), the in.grid Open Innovation Space in Berlin-Spandau (220,000 m2 BGF), the taz Neubau editorial headquarters in Berlin, and university commissions for UZH and Universität Bremen.

E2A acquires work primarily through participation in national and international architectural competitions, having won more than 30 to date. The firm serves a mix of public clients (the City of Hamburg, Canton Zurich, University of Zurich, University of Bremen) and private developers (Invesco Real Estate, Brusnika, Fakton Capital, MSc), with geographic reach across Switzerland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, and Russia. Revenue is project-based, derived from competition wins and direct commissions for design, project management, and realization of buildings; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per project. The firm maintains an active R&D agenda through research cooperations and academic positions, with both founders holding Full Professorships at TU Dortmund University since 2020.

The firm's strategy is anchored on a self-described "strategic methodology" — confronting idealism with an inventory of realities to convert constraints into architectural form — and on a strong reputational moat built through awards, international publications (Hatje Cantz, AV Monografías, a+u), and competition wins. Distribution is reputation-led: publications, exhibitions (e.g., KIT Kyoto, Aedes Berlin), and academic lectures reinforce the firm's standing in juries. The firm is privately held by its founding partners with no external investment, subsidiary structure, or public-market presence.

Name

E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten

Legal name

E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten ETH BSA BDA SIA AG

Website

https://e2a.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

E2A is a Zurich-based architecture and urban planning firm founded in 2001 by Piet and Wim Eckert, serving public, institutional, and private developers across Europe from offices in Zurich, Warsaw, and Berlin, with a competition-driven acquisition model and 30+ wins to date.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Urban planning services
• Residential architecture
• Public building design
• Competition-based architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Urban Planning Services: E2A generates revenue through professional architecture and urban planning services for public, private, industrial, and institutional clients. Revenue is project-based, derived from competition wins and direct commissions for design, project management, and realization of buildings and urban developments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

E2A provides professional architecture and urban planning services covering four integrated practice domains: public and cultural buildings, office and industrial architecture, residential housing, and urban planning. The firm delivers the full project lifecycle — from competition entries and feasibility studies through concept design, project management, and on-site realization — for public, private, industrial, and institutional clients across Europe. Work is acquired primarily through architectural competitions (30+ wins to date) and direct commissions, executed from offices in Zurich, Warsaw, and Berlin.

Product overview

E2A is an architecture and urban planning firm offering integrated professional services across four main domains: public and cultural buildings, office and industrial architecture, housing projects, and urban planning. Founded in 2001 by brothers Piet and Wim Eckert, the firm operates as a unified practice rather than a platform-with-modules structure. Projects include award-winning buildings such as the taz Neubau in Berlin, Pergolenviertel residential quarter in Hamburg, Campus Moos in Rüschlikon, and various public buildings in Switzerland and Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public and Cultural Buildings

Quantifiable outcome

• 1700 affordable and mixed-income residential units delivered through Pergolenviertel development plan in Hamburg
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nickl & Partner Architekten Schweiz AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joint venture partner for the PORTAL UZH project at University of Zürich Campus Irchel. E2A led the general planning and architecture/urban design while Nickl & Partner contributed as co-architects in the ARGE (Arbeitsgemeinschaft) for the restricted competition (3rd prize, 2023).
• Rehwaldt Landschaftsarchitekten, BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Landscape architecture partner for the in.grid Open Innovation Space Berlin Spandau project (1st prize, 2022). Rehwaldt contributed landscape planning for the 220,000 m2 urban development on the 61,000 m2 site.
• SMV Bauprojektsteuerung Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, BerlinminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Project management services for in.grid Berlin-Spandau.
• Zech Bau SE, BerlinminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Construction management and cost planning for in.grid Berlin-Spandau.
• Edwin Oostmeijer Projectontwikkeling BV / Fakton CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Developer and project partner for The Summit+ Amsterdam (Amstelkwartier), a mixed-use tower with 70 mid-priced apartments, 74 owner-occupied apartments, and 10 townhouses.
• Invesco Real Estate, München and Kauri CAB, BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Real estate development partners and clients for the in.grid Berlin-Spandau Open Innovation Space project. Invesco and Kauri CAB commissioned the 220,000 m2 urban development.
• Ronald Janssen ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Co-architect partner for The Summit+ Amsterdam project, collaborating on the residential tower development.
• Karres en Brands, HilversumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Landscape architecture partner for The Summit+ Amsterdam.
• Lichtenstein Landschaftsarchitekten und StadtplanungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Landscape and urban planning partner for the Pergolenviertel development in Hamburg. Lichtenstein contributed landscape architecture and urban planning expertise to the 27-hectare residential quarter development plan that delivered the master plan for 1700 apartments.
• BSA Bund Schweizer Architektinnen und ArchitektenminorOthersProfessional association membership — Federation of Swiss Architects.
• SIA Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und ArchitektenvereinminorOthersProfessional association membership — Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects.
• BDA Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und ArchitektenminorOthersProfessional association membership — Association of German Architects, registered with Architektenkammer Berlin.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Snøhetta: Multi-office architecture and urban-design practice with strong European cultural-building portfolio and competition-driven project acquisition model — comparable in size, footprint, and typological breadth.
• MVRDV: Rotterdam-based architecture practice with mixed-use, residential, and cultural project portfolio plus strong urban-planning arm; directly comparable European competition-driven GTM and typology spread.
• OMA: Rotterdam-based global architecture firm where E2A founders trained; shares cultural-building, urban-planning, and competition-driven GTM, and competes in the same European premium-commission pool.
• Herzog & de Meuron: Swiss-headquartered, internationally awarded architecture practice with comparable building-typology range, competition-driven project acquisition, and gallery-grade cultural/institutional/housing portfolio — directly comparable in scale and design positioning.
• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Nordic-rooted global architecture firm with similar cultural-institutional-and-housing typology mix, project-based fee model, and brand-led competition participation — direct peer at the high-design end of the market.
• Lacaton & Vassal: Paris-based practice known for cultural and social-housing architecture; comparable European cultural-housing portfolio and competition-driven workflow, including Mies van der Rohe Award recognition.
• Christ & Gantenbein: Basel-based Swiss architecture firm with similar competition-led GTM, cultural and public-building portfolio (e.g., Kunstmuseum Basel extension), and ETH-affiliated partners — highly comparable in size, geography, and typology mix.
• David Chipperfield Architects: European-headquartered elite practice operating across cultural, residential, and urban-planning projects; shares the same competition-and-commission pipeline and Mies van der Rohe Award exposure as E2A.
• Caruso St John: Zurich/London-based practice closely comparable in size, portfolio mix (cultural, residential, urban regeneration), and competition-led European project acquisition.

Broad incumbents

• SANAA / Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa: Japanese-founded but globally active elite practice with broader cultural-institutional portfolio (e.g., Louvre-Lens); comparable at the global design-elite tier where E2A competes for marquee commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/e2a_book
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e2a

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about E2A Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert Architekten