Markus Hirschmüller is an engineer, architect and co-founder of the architecture firm HS Architekten. The office develops places for future-oriented living communities and, with its projects in the field of circular and life-serving construction, has an international pioneering role in questions of socio-ecological transformation of architecture and the building industry. His projects have won various awards for pioneering building projects in the areas of redensification and revitalisation of existing building structures, the use of recyclable and ecologically high-quality building materials, circular building and social inclusion.

His architectural studies took Markus to the TU Braunschweig, the University of Stuttgart and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles.

Together with his partner Harald, Markus has been invited to lecture at some of the most internationally renowned institutions for design, art and architecture, including the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), London, the Art Center College of Design (UCLA), Pasadena, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc).

Markus is a certified Passive House designer, energy efficiency expert and heritage energy consultant. As one of the leading experts for the further development of architectural monuments, Markus has been developing solutions for energy-efficient and substance-preserving construction for 20 years, including the transformation of Berlin industrial and cultural buildings such as the Abspannwerk Buchhändler Weg (E-Werk), Café Moskau, and most recently the BUFA Campus.

After studying architecture at the TU Braunschweig and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, Harald founded the architectural practice HSH Architekten in Berlin in 1997, which later became HS Architekten in partnership with Markus Hirschmüller. For Harald Schindele, architecture and the building sector take on a pioneering role in dealing with climate protection. This requires a transformation that uses CO2-storing materials, plans for their future reuse, and creates sufficient and affordable spaces. A shift towards a circular economy is the order of the day. This is where we need to intervene and generate a positive, future-oriented understanding for the conversion and redensification of existing buildings and urban space. Redensification and revitalisation of the existing built structure is the most sensible way to realise the growth of our cities in a climate-friendly and sustainable way.

By preserving materials and resources that have already been used in existing buildings, a major contribution can be made to climate protection. HS Architekten work according to this transformation maxim and implement a new conception in architecture.

His expertise has led him as a guest critic and, together with his partner Markus, as a lecturer at some of the most internationally renowned institutions for design, art and architecture, including the Bauhaus Dessau, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), London, the Art Center College of Design, UCLA, Pasadena, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). The joint office participated in the Brazilian Biennale, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo 2003 and 2005, the 14th Architecture Biennale in Quito 2004 and the Architecture Biennale Convertible City in the German Pavilion in Venice 2006 as well as to the exhibition Time Space Existence at Palazzo Mora for the 2023 Venice Biennale.

Dipl.Ing. Architektur Technische Universität Berlin
Member Architektenkammer Berlin

Dipl.-Ing. Architektur TU Berlin
M. Sc. Green Architecture WINGS Wismar University of Applied Sciences
Member Architektenkammer Berlin

Claus has been part of HS-Architekten since 2022. Here, he combines his experience in the design and project realization of co-op housing and school architecture with his expertise in life cycle analyses, sufficiency strategies, and sustainable neighborhood development.
From 2022 to 2025, he completed a part-time degree in “Green Architecture” at WINGS University in Wismar, graduating with a Master of Science degree specializing in digitalization and AI for sustainable planning processes.
For Claus, architecture is always a question of responsibility across generations. He is involved in climate activism with Architects For Future e.V. and stands for a socially and climatically just construction transition: preserving existing buildings instead of new construction, unsealing instead of resealing, healthy and affordable housing as a fundamental right, more from less.

M.A. Arts Architektur JADE Oldenburg University of
Applied Sciences
Member Architektenkammer Berlin

Henning was involved in the realisation of the HKS Ottersberg project as a project manager and worked as the project architect on the “Hohe 9” project in Berlin before joining the HS Architekten team in the fall of 2022.
The climate crisis is a reality—and the construction industry bears a great responsibility. For Henning, one thing is clear: continuing as before is not an option. Those who build today are making decisions that will have an impact for decades to come. His goal is to work with clients to realize projects that are ecologically responsible, flexible in use, and economically viable in the long term.
He views sustainable building not as a purely technical task, but as a cultural shift. The focus is on using resources consciously, conceiving buildings within cycles, and designing structures to be adaptable. For him, demolition or repurposing are part of resilient planning. Henning sees himself as a holistically minded architect specializing in design.

M.Sc. Architektur | Lehmbau | Trägerin des Nachhaltigkeitszertifikats TU Berlin

Architekt | DGNB Auditor + Consultant |
Zertifizierter Nachhaltigkeitskoordinator

M.Sc. Architektur TU-Cottbus

B. Sc. Architecture BHT

Architecture and Urban Design FH Potsdam

M. A. Architektur UdK Berlin

B. Eng. Architecture | Carpenter