Why it’s worth doing an internship at the Super Future Collective in Nuremberg with the Baumeister Academy.
Fancy a six-month internship with a scholarship? Then go for it. You can now apply for the Baumeister Academy 2020. This year’s participants are the architecture firms Adjaye Associates (London), Henning Larsen (Munich), SeARCH (Amsterdam), Urban Design (Stockholm) and… the Super Future Collective (Nuremberg). Super Future Collective? That’s the architecture firm where you can become a super barista. Because with these young Nurembergers, virtually anything is possible in terms of development. We met the five architects and talked to them about their milk foam competitions. Well, and about everything else that makes up the office.
The five architects were already working together during their studies in Nuremberg. When they were commissioned to carry out a study in the summer of 2017, the plan to form a collective became concrete. But a name was still missing. They decided against putting one person in the foreground. The “super future” is a sign of their positive view of the unknown and the collective stands for the flexible structure of their working group.
If you could/had to do an internship in an office again today. Where would you go?
OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, Vector Architects.
And why should you go to SFC?
Because you can work in a team that doesn’t yet have a huge wealth of experience. There’s no “that’s how it’s done” with us yet, so the process is nice and fresh and perhaps a little more exciting.
“Nuremberg is special because of a very large subculture that you wouldn’t expect in this city.”
Nuremberg. What can the city do?
Firstly, Nuremberg is a very beautiful city, and secondly, it’s not so “finished”. A lot can and will develop here. Nuremberg is special because of a very large subculture that you wouldn’t expect in this city.
This is your first time at the Baumeister Academy. Why are you taking part?
Out of curiosity! And above all, we feel honored to have been selected.
You are a young, still rather small office. Would a large office like MVRDV be an option for you again?
I believe that anyone who has experienced what it is like to stand on their own two feet, to have the freedom to decide for themselves what they want to do or learn, will not give it up so quickly. That aside, MVRDV is of course very exciting! We love Dutch architecture and especially its humorous approach.
“Above all, we expect enthusiasm and curiosity. You can’t have enough of that.”
What do you expect from your interns?
Above all, we expect enthusiasm and curiosity. You can’t have enough of that.
We have a very flat hierarchy, so of course we hope that you can identify well with the team.
You are also active as lecturers at the university. What would you do differently from your students if you were to study again?
Definitely start later and study longer. We sometimes have the feeling that people rush through semesters in order to earn money afterwards. You have the great luxury of being able to develop yourself during your studies and, above all, you can gain a lot of experience in different offices and countries through internships, which broadens your horizons. This is much harder to do after graduation!
Are you more of a “nine-to-five” type or more of an “eleven-to-midnight” type? And what about working overtime in the office?
More like “nine-to-five” – we want to do this for a few more years. But sometimes it’s also “Nine-to-Nine-the-Next-Day”, there’s no getting around it.
What was your biggest success?
From a professional point of view, it was winning the competition for the Nuremberg Concert Hall and the fact that we are now allowed to build this project.
“It’s like a contest to see who can make the best coffee with the best foam.”
Your biggest quirk? Individual quirks are very welcome.
As we have a very good portafilter machine, no one is reluctant to make coffee for everyone, it’s a real contest to see who makes the best coffee with the best foam.
Perhaps that could be seen as a quirk? You have to get to know all the other quirks for yourself, it would be boring to find out too much in advance, wouldn’t it?
Your tip for an application with you?
We want authenticity for our team. We want to get a clear picture of the applicant when they apply. Many projects or things that you might want to show in your application can blur this image.
Curious? Find out more about the Super Future Collective here.
The Baumeister Academy is an internship project of the architecture magazine Baumeister and is supported by GRAPHISOFT and BAU 2019.
