Local Context and Global Workflows: Designing Tall for Today and Beyond

The work of HENN Architects is reflective of the themes of both the previous CTBUH ConferenceGlobal Interchanges(New York, 2015) and the upcomingCities to Megacities(Shenzhen, 2016). The Berlin-based firm is perhaps best known for its AutoTurme 1 & 2, glass-enclosed car elevators at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany completed in 2000. But the firm has steadily found tall building work around the world, in the burgeoning megacities of China and in more unusual places, such as Ethiopia. CTBUH Journal Editor Daniel Safarik spoke with Martin Henn, Design Director and Partner, HENN Architects, for an insight into how individual originality, economic imperatives, and local relevance can all be maintained in the contemporary global high-rise.