MLZD

mlzd is a Swiss cooperative of architects founded in 1997, based in Biel/Bienne. Structured as a « Genossenschaft » (cooperative), the firm claims an approach that rejects any formal or programmatic limitation, preferring to confront anew the specific requirements of each project, with a respectful attitude toward the existing built context. It employs around forty staff members of different nationalities, split between its headquarters in Biel/Bienne and a branch in Berlin, and works on cultural, public, residential, service and urban planning projects, in Switzerland and abroad. Its track record includes more than 35 first prizes in architecture competitions and more than 70 built projects, including the renovation of the United Nations General Assembly hall in New York, the extension of the Bern Historical Museum, that of the municipal museum of Rapperswil, a visitor center for the Swiss ornithological reserve, a reception pavilion at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, as well as the Stade de la Tuilière in Lausanne designed with Sollberger Bögli Architekten. Wood is among the materials used depending on the projects, as exemplified by the Hofwil gymnasium in Münchenbuchsee (2022-2027), whose new buildings plan for discreet wooden volumes, in continuity with the site’s historic buildings. :mlzd claims a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach, often involving other architecture or engineering firms depending on the nature and scale of the projects carried out.