Hoaretraits Ep. 12: Zeitgeist Irland 24 artist Jennifer O’Donnell (plattenbaustudio)

Hoaretraits is a series by photographer and podcaster Neil Hoare, that presents contemporary Irish artists that are part of Zeitgeist Irland 24 – the year’s cultural programme of contemporary arts from Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany. Conceived of by Hoare as ‘audio portraits’, the podcasts explore, from the perspectives of the individual artists, themes of creativity, imagination and craft. The podcast features conversations with a diverse range of Irish artists living in both Ireland and Germany.

For Episode 12, Neil talks with Jennifer O Donnell of plattenbaustudio, founded in Berlin in 2018 along with partner Jonathan Janssens as an architecture and drawing studio blending design, research, and observation. Focused on the relationship between people and space, the studio designs for real-world use, guided by a commitment to context and user-centered architecture. Their work spans architectural projects, contemporary drawing, and research, using drawings as tools to explore and communicate complex built environments. plattenbau studio values collaboration, partnering with clients, designers, and universities through workshops, teaching, and research. Rooted in curiosity, their projects emphasize place-specific, playful, and responsive designs that balance practicality with creativity. In the framework of Zeitgeist Irland 24, the studio collaborated with designer ROJI to create the exhibition ‘Table Service’ in Cologne in August, as a parallel to the studio’s concurrent ‘Urban Mirror’ commission by Cork City Council. Cork and Cologne are twinned cites and the exhibition in Germany was facilitated by Städtepartnerschaft Köln-Cork.

Podcaster Neil Hoare is a multidisciplinary Irish artist living in Berlin with his dog Púca. His most recent photographic work ‘A Heimat away from Home’ is a series of portraits commissioned by the Embassy of Ireland in Germany documenting the Irish who made Germany their home since Ireland joined the EU 50 years ago. The experience of photographing so many people across Germany and hearing their stories led directly to the creation of Hoaretraits