Landscape Architecture + Urban Design
where human life and ecological systems meet
About
Studio Nelumbo focuses on the relationships between design, sustainability and ecology. Our work emphasizes places that are environmentally responsive, culturally grounded and meaningful in everyday life.
Haus Löwenthal
Studio Nelumbo is on pause in order to focus attention on a different project. Haus Löwenthal in Buttenhausen, Münsingen, Baden-Württemberg, is in the heart of the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve. There is a historic opportunity to transform this unused place into an international center of design, sustainability, art, music, and cultural exchange.
What is Haus Löwenthal?
What is the story?
It was the home of my family before the Holocaust. Solomon Löwenthal and Abraham Levi ran the most successful horse trading business in central Europe from here. Many generations of Löwenthals and Levis called this place home.
What happened to it after the war?
It was used by the city of Stuttgart and later by an NGO as a care home for people with disabilities or in recovery from life challenges. In the 2020s that use was no longer viable and the building became unused.
What is the Vision?
Haus Löwenthal will become a center of design & sustainability, music & art, and international cultural exchange. It will become a satellite campus and research location for universities, an artist’s retreat, a place for intercultural musical collaboration & performances, and a residency for students doing work in sustainability & design.
What is happening now?
A new nonprofit foundation in Germany is being created: Stiftung Haus Löwenthal. This foundation will be able to take ownership of Haus Löwenthal, create the mission & vision, and manage the facility.
Want to know more?
Visit the Haus Löwenthal page