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about

Jens Casper was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1967, he currently lives and works in Berlin. Jens studied architecture at the RWTH, Technical University in Aachen, where he graduated in 1998; until 2003 he was employed in several architects offices in Berlin, Cologne and Aachen working on the building design for governmental administrations & media corporations such as the German Embassy in Tokyo, Kirch Media Group in Munich and DeutschlandRadio in Berlin.

In 2003 Jens established his own fields of practice by co-founding Realarchitektur. Since then his work has been awarded numerous prizes. His design approach reflects the tangible material organisation of spaces as well as the immaterial and negotiable realities shaping them and he is involved in a variety of projects at different scales, ranging from 1:1 interventions to urban design strategies.

In 2007 Realarchitektur ranked among 101 of the world«s most exiting new architects in the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2007. Under his direction Realarchitektur realized the spectacular design for the transformation of a World War II air raid bunker into the residence of an art collector and his family in Berlin-Mitte.

Jens left Realarchitektur in 2008 to start new collaborations, and to run an independent office: Büro Jens Casper based in Berlin-Kreuzberg. He is also a founding partner of Casper Mueller Kneer Architects Ltd est. 2010, based in London and Berlin. His most important works include the award-winning design of HHGO Ð a Garden Residence in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony (in cooperation with Sören Hanft/Shanft), and Casper Mueller Kneer's design of White Cube Bermondsey, the transformation of a former warehouse into Europes largest commercial art gallery, which amongst others received the National RIBA Architecture Award 2012.

He is a member of the Chamber of Architects of Berlin since 2003, since 2007 of the BDA, Bund Deutscher Architekten (Association of German Architects), and in 2010 he was a member of the Konvent der Baukultur der Bundesstiftung Baukultur (Convention for Building Culture).

Jens has strong and extensive teaching experiences. He was a tutor at the Department of Planning Theory and Urban Development RWTH Aachen 1992-94 teaching urban and architectural design. He taught architectural design fundamentals with Tim Heide and Marianne Mueller at Berlin Technical University (TU Berlin) 2004-06, and held a lectureship within the postgradual courses Bühnenbild_Szenischer Raum (stage design / scenic space) in 2010 at the same University.

He was a Unit Master within the AA Berlin Laboratory of the Architectual Association taking place in Berlin in 2009, and held a Guest Professorship Contextual Design at the Brandenburg University of Technology BTU Cottbus 2010-2012, heading the chair Entwerfen und Bauen im Bestand. On behalf of the Dean of the Faculty for Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning of the BTU Cottbus Jens is transitionally heading the Architektur.Studium.Generale with a Guest Professorship since 01.01.2013.

collaborations, collaborators and helping hands

Petra Petersson (still running Realarchitektur on her own) & Andrew Strickland (co-founder of Realarchitektur), Wolfgang List aka CosmicW (divany), Bernadette Krejs, Karin Maria Derix, Dorina Siewert, Ditte Waag (all Realarchitektur), Mathis Burandt, Christoph Heinemann, Susanne Heiss, Barbara Horst, Christoph Schmidt (all ifau, Institut für angewandte Urbanistik), Timo Herrmanns (bbz.landschaftsarchitekten), Dominik Uhrmeister, Marianne Mueller, Olaf Kneer (mueller kneer associates), Sören Hanft (Shanft), Sven Pfeiffer (Digitales Entwerfen und Konstruieren / msa muenster school of architecture), Geo Mahnke Reisinger, Nicole Zahner (StudioC), Torsten Lockl, Lina Müller (FORMATION-A), Heike Matcha, Günter Barzcik (HMGB), Polynikis Krimitsas, Stefan Saß, Rocco Zuehlke, Felix Zaiss, Stefan Kluth, Silvia Huth, Andreas Gülzow, Matthias Grabe, Konstanze Schick, Elisabeth Eberenz, Max Dzembrizki, Borja González Ferrer-Vidal...