Studio Schwitalla

What Studio Schwitalla does

Studio Schwitalla is a Berlin-based research and design studio founded in 2012 by architect Max Schwitalla (Dipl. Arch. ETH / MSc ETH, formerly of Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Graft, and HENN) operating at the intersection of architecture, urban mobility, and urban design. The studio's portfolio spans built architecture (notably the Tübinger Regal modular housing development in Tübingen for Kreisbaugesellschaft Tübingen, completed 2019), urban mobility research and proposals (Mobility Hub designs for Stadt Pforzheim and the IBA Hamburg National Research Project in Oberbillwerder), and immersive media production through a Media Department led by Art Director Sergey Prokofyev that creates award-winning fulldome films and VR experiences such as SUPREMATISM and Urban Levitation.

Revenue is generated entirely through project-based commissions and competition honoraria for public-sector clients (municipalities such as Stadt Pforzheim and Stadt Kloten, the Architectural Chamber Baden-Württemberg), social housing developers (Kreisbaugesellschaft Tübingen), research institutions (Charité Neuroscience Research Center, IBA Hamburg), and a small number of corporate partners (Schindler since 2012, e.GO Mobile, Audi). The studio operates with approximately 5 employees supported by a network of 50+ named collaborators (including ARUP, Buro Happold, LAVA Berlin, Biomimicry Germany, KinectAir, and academic partners at ETH Zurich, TU Berlin, and the AA London) across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, with marketing driven by international conference speaking, media features in outlets such as F.A.Z. and WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE, fulldome festival screenings, and competition wins. The studio has no external funding rounds, no parent company, and no subsidiaries; ownership is concentrated in the founder, who is currently serving as a Rome Prize Fellow 2025/26 at Villa Massimo with a second studio in Rome opened in September 2025.

Name

Studio Schwitalla

Legal name

Studio Schwitalla

Website

https://studioschwitalla.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Studio Schwitalla is a 5-person Berlin-based research and design studio founded by Max Schwitalla in 2012, working at the intersection of architecture, urban mobility, and urban design. It serves municipalities, housing developers, and research institutions through commissioned architecture projects, mobility hub proposals, and award-winning immersive VR and fulldome media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture and Urban Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Urban mobility design
• Mobility hub planning
• Immersive dome films
• Sustainable urban design

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Urban Design Services: Project-based design services for architecture, urban design, and mobility hub projects. Revenue generated through commissioned design work, feasibility studies, and planning services for public and private clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Studio Schwitalla is a research and design studio delivering architecture, urban mobility, and urban design services. Core work includes mobility hub design, affordable housing developments (such as the Tübinger Regal project), and immersive media experiences (FullDome films and VR). The studio serves municipalities, real estate developers, and research institutions through commissioned design work, feasibility studies, and planning services.

Product overview

Studio Schwitalla is a Berlin-based Research and Design Studio founded by architect Max Schwitalla. The studio operates at the intersection of Architecture, Urban Mobility, and Urban Design, offering a portfolio of projects including architectural designs (Tübinger Regal, Mobility Hub proposals, Fly Ranch/SEED), immersive media experiences (FullDome films, VR), and general architecture and urban design services. The Media Department led by Art Director Sergey Prokofyev creates immersive experiences from Virtual Reality to Dome Projections. The consistent agenda across all work is to activate spaces of mobility and circulation as meaningful places for social exchange and interaction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tübinger Regal A modular multi-story housing development in Tübingen, Germany that combines refugee housing, student apartments, and long-term affordable ecological housing for approximately 50 residents. Features open circulation with stairways and galleries to encourage social interaction, with a concrete shelf structure and wood/recycled brick facade. Designed for Kreisbaugesellschaft Tübingen mbH.
• Architecture and Urban Design Services Research and design studio services specializing in the intersection of architecture, urban mobility, and urban design. Work focuses on re-negotiating spaces for mobility and immobility, designing future cities as places with high quality of life centered on human needs. Project-based design services for municipalities, real estate developers, and research institutions.
• Mobility Hub Design Research and design proposals for mobility hubs integrating various transportation modes. The studio has presented proposals for cities including Pforzheim and Hamburg Oberbillwerder (IBA Hamburg), promoting sustainable urban mobility solutions.
• FullDome Immersive Films Award-winning immersive dome projection films including 'SUPREMATISM. The day before' and 'Urban Levitation'. Creates immersive experiences about navigation, space, and perception of urban environments. Produced by the Media Department led by Art Director Sergey Prokofyev.
• SEED Fly Ranch Project Sustainability-focused design project at Fly Ranch, Nevada, created in collaboration with LAGI and Burning Man. Winner of the LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch Design Challenge. Featured in Condé Nast Traveller.
• VR and Immersive Experiences Virtual reality and immersive experience production by the Media Department. Creates award-winning experiences from Virtual Reality to Dome Projections, including interdisciplinary collaborative science projects such as Project Kopfkino with Charité Neuroscience Research Center.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schindler (The PORT Technology)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2012Long-standing research collaboration with Schindler elevator company about urban mobility since 2012. Studio Schwitalla works with Schindler's PORT Technology to visualize and design mobility concepts integrating vertical transportation technology into urban design. Collaborations include MIPIM presentations, The PORT Technology website features, and joint research on urban mobility.
• LAGI (Land Art Generator Initiative) and Burning MancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch Design Challenge organized by The Burning Man Project and LAGI. Studio won the challenge for sustainable design at Fly Ranch, Nevada. Also collaborated on one-week workshop on Adobe and Rammed Earth constructions at Fly Ranch, Nevada.
• KinectAirminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSite visit in Bend, Oregon with partners from KinectAir for future mobility collaboration.
• AudiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in Audi Urban Future Award initiatives and related events.
• IBA HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on National Research Project 'Mobility Hubs' in Oberbillwerder, Hamburg. Ongoing partnership on mobility hub development.
• Kreisbau Tübingen (Kreisbaugesellschaft Tübingen mbH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient and collaborator on Tübinger Regal project - affordable housing development in Tübingen.
• LAVA BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed up with LAVA Berlin to participate in invited pitch for Feasibility Study 'Tegel - Terminal D'.
• ARUPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerListed collaborator for urban design and engineering projects.
• Buro HappoldminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerListed collaborator for engineering and consulting on urban design projects.
• Biomimicry GermanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on biomimicry-inspired sustainable design approaches.
• Charité Neuroscience Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Project Kopfkino - interdisciplinary science project exploring navigation, space and perception of the urban environment.
• Deutsches Technikmuseum BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Youth Podcast 'Fact of Future' about the city of the future.
• Stadt PforzheimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Mobility Hub development in Pforzheim. Presented proposal for new Mobility Hub to city's planning authorities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UNStudio: Amsterdam-based architecture and urban-design firm with explicit expertise in mobility hubs, transit-oriented development, and human-centered city design — directly overlapping Studio Schwitalla's mobility-hub research and urban-mobility thesis.
• LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture): Berlin-based research-driven architecture studio focused on future cities, mobility, and digital fabrication. Already a listed collaborator of Studio Schwitalla on the Tegel feasibility pitch, and the closest German comparable in scale and interdisciplinary urban-design approach.
• Snøhetta: Norway-headquartered interdisciplinary design practice combining architecture, landscape, and immersive media experiences; operates at the same architecture-plus-experiential-design intersection Studio Schwitalla pursues.
• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Copenhagen/New York architecture firm known for research-led urban projects integrating new mobility typologies (e.g., The Dryline, VIA 57 West) and crossover media output — closely aligned with Studio Schwitalla's mobility-and-media dual focus.
• MVRDV: Rotterdam research-led architecture firm with a strong track record in urban data visualization, mobility research, and large-scale masterplans; comparable to Studio Schwitalla in interdisciplinary research-driven practice.
• Studio Other Spaces (SOS): Berlin-based art and technology studio by Werner Aisslinger focused on immersive installations and design research; shares Studio Schwitalla's interest in VR/AR architectural storytelling at the intersection of urban design and media.

Broad incumbents

• Heatherwick Studio: London-based interdisciplinary design studio combining architecture, urbanism, and large-scale immersive installations; comparable to Studio Schwitalla in narrative-driven, media-rich architectural practice.
• OMA: Rem Koolhaas's global architecture and urbanism firm where the founder previously worked; OMA is the canonical reference for research-led urban architecture and the origin point of Studio Schwitalla's design lineage.
• HENN: Global architecture firm where founder Max Schwitalla previously worked; HENN's automotive, workplace, and cultural portfolio establishes a comparable large-scale multidisciplinary practice context.
• GRAFT Architects: Berlin/Los Angeles architecture firm where Max Schwitalla previously worked; GRAFT's research-driven, cross-disciplinary practice is the most direct predecessor identity to Studio Schwitalla's positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studio-schwitalla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Studio Schwitalla