Award-Winning Architectural Practice
After training at the Architectural Association School in London, Lehmann worked with James Stirling & Michael Wilford in London and Arata Isozaki & Associates in Tokyo before establishing his own practice.
In January 1993, he became a licensed architect with the Architektenkammer Berlin and founded Steffen Lehmann Architekten & Städtebau GmbH in Berlin — an interdisciplinary firm combining architectural practice with urban research and sustainability to address the complex planning challenges of post-reunification Germany.
The studio’s work is driven less by a recognisable style than by a series of urban questions.
Working through its research arm, the s_Lab (Space Laboratory for Architectural Research and Design), the practice brought together architects, urban designers, and ecologists in pursuit of low-impact, ethically grounded building solutions, integrated in cool design strategies.
Work Experience
From the outset, the work was defined by environmental integration, modular systems, and a rigorous commitment to sustainability — consistently operating across the boundaries of architecture, urban design, planning, and ecology. His critical-theoretical approach helped promote green architecture and brought forth new scenarios, articulating a discourse on how we should approach architecture moving forward — likely building less and reusing more.
Over the following decade, Lehmann played a central role in shaping the ‘New Berlin’, leading a construction portfolio worth over $1.5 billion. From 1997 to 2002, he maintained a project partnership with Pritzker laureate Christian de Portzamparc in Paris for the design and construction of the new French Embassy in Berlin, which Lehmann completed as Generalplaner in 2002.
In his academic practice, he treats teaching as a research laboratory.
DRIVEN BY A DEEP CURIOSITY ABOUT HOW CITIES ACTUALLY WORK — AND HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK BETTER.
| 01/1993 - | Founding Principal, Steffen Lehmann Architekten & Städtebau GmbH, Berlin, Germany. Over ten years, his office maintained a team of around 20 to 25 architects and designers; most of them were graduates of TU Berlin, TU Munich, the Architectural Association, and ETH Zurich |
| 01/2020 - | CEO and Founder, Solaris Developments LLC, Dubai, UAE |
| 01/2020 - | Founding Director, Urban Futures Lab, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA |
| 01/2021 - | Founding Principal and Partner, steffen + igor architecture + urban design LLC, Dubai, UAE |
Award-Winning Architectural Practice
Public and Private Clients
Lehmann's clients span notable public institutions and private organisations across multiple continents. They include the Bundesverband Deutscher Banken, the Auswärtiges Amt (German Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Deutsche Bahn AG, Berliner Volksbank, Daimler Benz/Debis Immobilien, the Senate of Berlin, the République de France, Manhattan Loft Corp, the City of Sydney, DHL, Hanseatica, the Bayerische Versorgungskammer, and others.
The majority of his built work has resulted from winning design competitions at sites of major civic and cultural importance — including large mixed-use developments at Potsdamer Platz, Pariser Platz, the Quartier an der Museumsinsel in Berlin, and Albertplatz in Dresden.
His buildings and project designs have been widely published and exhibited. The firm's work is the subject of two monographs, published by Junius Verlag and the AEDES Gallery in Berlin.
