The Architects

Talik Chalabi, the architect from Vienna –
Paul Schröder, the architect in Darmstadt

More than 100 years after the Mathildenhöhe, chiefly designed by architect Joseph Maria Olbrech, helped to change the face of Darmstadt, another Viennese architect, Talik Chalabi, has put his stamp on the city of science and technology. And its impact is being felt far beyond the city limits.

Born in 1957 in Poitier, France, Talik Chalabi moved to Baghdad with his Iraqi parents at the age of five attending school there and, later, in Geneva. He studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and at Harvard University in the United States. In Vienna, he took up a post as assistant lecturer in spatial planning at the Institute of Spatial Planning and Rural Development at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. In addition, he taught aspiring architects the finer points of drawing and how to prepare themselves for competitions at the Institute of Urban Design at the Vienna University of Technology.

Together with his brother, Talik Chalbi runs an office in Vienna with a staff of more than 20 employees. In general, he aims to move away from the university world. He is now involved in projects in the Arabian region.

For the construction of the darmstadtium, Chalabi teamed up with Darmstadt architect Paul Schröder, who took responsibility for construction and detailed planning as the on-site architect.

Born in 1949 in the Westphalian city of Muenster, Paul Schröder studied architecture at the Darmstadt University of Technology and at the ETH Zurich. In Darmstadt, he was employed in a scientific capacity by Professor Günther Behnisch and in following years continued to give lectures and seminars and supervise designs and exercises.

Paul Schröder, through his office fs-architekten, has been involved in the areas of office, residential and industrial construction as well as buildings for culture, sport and airports for more than 25 years.