Jan Knippers - Mentors and Milestones: Schleich, Frei Otto, and the Stuttgart school

As part of AnA Stuttgart in September 2025, we had the opportunity to get to know the engineer Jan Knippers. Check our website for more architecture talks: https://architectsnotarchitecture.com

AnA Stuttgart was held in German 🇩🇪.

Our international event format Architects, not Architecture is known for inviting some of the most influential architects of our time and asks them to talk about their path, influences, and intellectual biographies.

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About Jan Knippers
Jan Knippers is a consulting engineer and has been heading the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart since 2000. His particular interest lies in innovative and resource-efficient structures at the intersection of research, development, and practice. In 2001, he co-founded Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering, with offices in Stuttgart, Berlin, and New York, and co-led the firm for many years. Key projects from this period include the EXPO Axis in Shanghai, the Thematic Pavilion in Yeosu, South Korea, and most recently the gallery of the State Opera in Berlin, completed in 2017. Since 2018, he has focused on innovative projects that he personally oversees from concept to completion, founding Jan Knippers Ingenieure in Stuttgart for this purpose. His current areas of expertise are primarily in timber and fiber composite structures. In 2024, Jan Knippers served as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor at University College London. He is the author of several books and technical publications, gives numerous lectures in Germany and abroad, and actively contributes to juries, advisory boards, and foundations. Since 2024, he has also been a member of the Architecture Section of the Academy of Arts, Berlin.
https://www.janknippers.com