Architectural design from Basel, Berlin and Shanghai.
About us
PLAYZE was founded in 2007 by Pascal Berger from Switzerland, He Mengjia from China, and Marc Schmit from Luxembourg. Our various backgrounds make PLAYZE inherently transcultural, with friendship and respect across boundaries underpinning everything we do.
Our inspiration comes from a deep engagement with the different countries and cultures in which we operate, and finds its way into projects spanning large-scale urban planning to compact interior architecture and exhibition design. Delivering these varied projects are teams specialised in their local environments, and at the same time connected on a transcultural level. To do justice to this way of working, PLAYZE is a multipolar organisation without hierarchies between its studio locations.
In 2021, we expanded our network by founding PLAYZE Timber in collaboration with Maximilian Schröder as co-founder. PLAYZE Timber focuses on the design of rigorously sustainable timber projects.
Founding Partners
Born in Basel, Switzerland, he studied architecture at the ETH in Zurich, where he earned his Master’s degree. Pascal has worked for Diener & Diener in Basel, Franz Oswald in Bern and MADA s.p.a.m. in Shanghai. He is a founding partner of PLAYZE and is currently living in Basel. From 2009 till 2014, Pascal has been teaching at the University of Hong Kong. From 2011 till 2014 he acted as Academic Director of the HKU Shanghai Study Center. Since 2023 he has been teaching at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Born in Luxembourg, he studied architecture at the ETH in Zurich, where he earned his Master’s degree. Marc has worked for UNDEND in Zurich, CHORA in London and GRAFT in Berlin. He is a founding partner of PLAYZE and is currently living in Berlin. From 2007 till 2014, Marc has been teaching at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He directed the Master’s thesis program at ALICE.
Born in Shanghai, he studied architecture at Tongji University in Shanghai and the TU in Stuttgart, where he earned his Master’s degree. Mengjia has worked for Pesch & Partner in Stuttgart, Stadtbau Atelier in Stuttgart and MADA s.p.a.m. in Shanghai. He is a founding partner of PLAYZE and is currently living in Shanghai. Mengjia is currently teaching at Tongji University in Shanghai.
Team
