SML Architektur
SML Architektur is a young architecture firm based in Zurich. The founders belong to a new generation of multicultural architects who combine the design principles of the East with those of the West. Specifically, this means that they take East Asian spatial concepts from China, Japan and Korea to new qualitative heights with Swiss precision and craftsmanship. Their work is strongly influenced by their Asian philosophy and aesthetics. One of the office’s three architects is a trained Japanese tea master. The office specializes in particular in the realization of tea rooms and has already realized several of them in Switzerland.
We designed the corporate identity for SML Architektur. We were inspired by Shide paper strips. These are strips used in Shinto rituals to make offerings to the gods. Shintoism states that gods are not visible, but take the form of rocks, trees or waterfalls in nature. In Japan, not only the entrances of houses or temples are decorated with shide, but also elements from nature such as branches or stones are wrapped in shide. They thus symbolize the presence of a divine force. SML Architecture also cultivates great respect for all natural creatures and materials. The logo can be interpreted in many ways: is it a tree? A temple? A human being? Or does it symbolize an alley, construction or generally architecture as a discipline? This diversity, the Asian influence and the closeness to nature make up the studio, what we want to convey with the logo.
