With 35 years of experience and constant curiosity, we develop solutions for the increasingly complex requirements of a future worth living - in a society that is constantly changing.
Profile
We plan urban spaces, develop strategies for districts, cities and regions, realize neighbourhoods and buildings with the aim of shaping our living and working environment together with our clients. We find sustainable solutions for our built environment and implement them. With an international team of around 120 architects and urban planners, we work on a wide range of tasks at all scales: regional strategies and city-wide master plans, neighborhood planning and transformations, urban and strategic master plans for education, healthcare and infrastructure, research buildings and hospitals, educational campuses and schools, office and residential construction. We rely on interdisciplinary cooperation with our tried and tested network of experts.
One company - three locations
Cologne, Karlsruhe and Basel are our locations on the Rhine. However, we are united by more than just the big river: we see ourselves as a team and work together across locations. Alle drei Städte sind wichtige Kultur- und Wirtschaftsstandorte mit lebenswertem urbanen Umfeld. Köln bildet mit etwa 100 Mitarbeitenden unseren Hauptstandort; hier wurde ASTOC 1990 gegründet. In Karlsruhe liegt unser Fokus auf strategischer Stadt- und Quartiersentwicklung mit Schnittstelle zum Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). In Basel arbeitet unser Team an vielfältigen Projekten in der Schweiz, wo wir seit 25 Jahren präsent sind.
How we work
Every project deserves its own answer. We find solutions that are tailored to the needs of our clients, the users and the location. In doing so, we utilize a variety of perspectives: Architects, urban and spatial planners develop spatial and strategic concepts and learn from exchanges with specialist engineers, sociologists, communication designers, data mining experts and real estate developers. Complexity attracts us. We systematically record complex projects and develop comprehensible planning concepts. Transparent communication and bringing together divergent opinions are the key to establishing sustainable, dialogical processes together with our partners. We combine planning standards and time horizons, combining the goals of sustainability with the possibilities of digital planning and construction. We anchor economic efficiency early on in our projects. Our aim is to transform fresh perspectives into concrete plans and to jointly explore new ways of implementation.
Team
Our international team of 120 dedicated and experienced specialists includes urban planners, architects and experts in urban, property and general planning, project and financial management, digital planning and communication. Open exchange, cooperation and mutual trust form the basis for our close collaboration.
Management
ASTOC has been an owner-managed company since it was founded in 1990. The founders, who met during their studies at RWTH Aachen University, developed ASTOC into a continuously growing, nationally and internationally renowned office for architecture and urban planning. Today, the management team comprises 14 experienced individuals with a wide range of skills. These include the nine partners, associated partners and managing directors of the subsidiaries. Together they bear responsibility, manage the company in defined areas of responsibility and are present both internally and externally.
Jobs at Astoc
Welcome to ASTOC! We are looking for talented, committed people who are enthusiastic about good architecture and urban planning, who want to learn from and with each other, young or with professional experience. Our job advertisements contain detailed information about the qualifications we are currently looking for and what we can offer. And if you are convinced that you can support ASTOC with your expertise, regardless of a job advertisement, we would be delighted to receive a speculative application.
Exchange time
“From the team for the team: the exchange time is an established format and platform for sharing knowledge, both internally and externally,” says Dr. Manuel Giralt, co-originator of the exchange time. For almost ten years now, we have had an hour of swap time once a month, during which we bring in expertise from within the team or externally to share and discuss experiences. This professional exchange helps us to share knowledge and think outside the box.
Sustainability + Digital
Sustainability and digitalization are the key topics of the future in the construction industry and their intelligent combination creates real added value. We plan urban development and architecture using three-dimensional models. All two-dimensional representations are derived from the 3D model, including all lists, mass and cost calculations, calculations and tenders. In this way, we ensure that all planning documents are congruent, automated and precise according to the “single source of truth” principle. Our planning is constantly evolving as a dynamic, machine-readable data model. It continuously compares sustainability factors, evaluates them and integrates them into the design. In collaboration with partners from industry and research, we set standards that actively promote digitalization and sustainability in the construction industry.
Photo credit: Staff and group photos Nina Gschlößl and Susanne Troll, Hafencity under profile, Thomas Hampel, ASTOC