Hello, we are Studio Malta.
We work across scales in the fields of city and urban planning, architecture and design on creative and participatory processes. We act at the interface between practice-oriented and conceptual work. We develop customized strategies to realize our projects and introduce relevant matters into public discourse.
Marta Toscano
Marta is an architect and urbanist. Her work investigates the interplay of planning, participation, and education in co-productive design processes. With a background in planning and building practices and expertise in ground and property politics, she merges practical knowledge with strategic spatial thinking.
After studying architecture in Ferrara and Stuttgart (2007-2013), Marta worked on various public and private building projects at different scales. Through her work at Belius GmbH and in the coordination office of the Round Table for Berlin Property Politics (2018-2022), she was able to gain in-depth insights into urban and land policy. She was involved in the creation of the ›Magazin Stadt Neudenken‹ (engl. ›Re-think the City‹). 2024–2026, she was project research associate at vhw - Bundesverband für Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung on the project ›Stadtmachen Akademie‹ (engl. ›City Makers Academy‹). Marta currently teaches in the ›Sustainable Urban Development‹ master’s program at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Aida Nejad
Aida studied architecture with a specialization in urban planning at the Technical University of Braunschweig and the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. She taught and conducted research at the Chair of Urban Planning at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (2017–2021) and at the Chair of Methods and Theories of Urban Planning at the Institute of Urban Design at the University of Stuttgart(2024–2025).
As a founding partner at Studio Malta, she engages in research, conceptualization, and design work on issues of urban development—bridging theory and practice. Her projects focus on co-creative and co-productive processes at various scales. She pursues a transdisciplinary approach at the intersections of planning, art, and social work. Key areas of focus include education in planning and building culture, youth participation, and the visibility of diverse and marginalized perspectives.
Since 2026, she has been an appointed member of the Urban Planning Advisory Board of the State Capital of Stuttgart and of the Council for Building Culture.
Jan-Timo Ort
Jan-Timo is a freelance architect and urban planner, having studied architecture and urban planning in Hanover and Stuttgart (2009–2017).
His practice ranges from building construction to urban development projects and neighborhood developments to urban planning studies and concepts based on extensive analyses. Since 2012, this has been built on experience gained in planning offices in Stuttgart, Hanover, and Zurich. Since 2019, he has been teaching and negotiating spatial issues at the University of Stuttgart and the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, as well as working as a moderator. In addition to his role at Studio Malta, he led the research projects "Mobility4iCity" and "Streetmoves4iCity" at the "Centre for sustainable urban development" at HFT Stuttgart from 2021 to 2024.
The focus of his work is on strategic and cooperative spatial processes addressing questions in the context of ecology, urban development, and urban landscapes.
Aaron Schirrmann
Aaron studied architecture at the University of Applied Sciences and the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart until 2017 and previously worked as a carpenter from 2006 to 2011. He gained professional experience in various offices in the fields of urban planning, architecture and artistic space creation. From July 2018 to April 2021 he taught at the Institute for Landscape Planning and Ecology at the University of Stuttgart with a focus on ›urban landscapes‹ and ›integrated research and design‹. His projects oscillate between architectural and urban planning issues, practical construction projects, participative workshop formats, public discourse and production-oriented output.
Team
Members since 2019:
Lorenz Boigner (co-founder)
Cristina Estanislao
Lorenz Hahnheiser
Luca Henri Müller
Theresa Stahl
Netzwerk
Cooperations:
Christina Schmid • graphic design
Simon Malz • graphic design and programming
BeL - Sozietät für Architektur • architecture and urban design
PfAU, Prof. Vesta Nele Zareh • architecture and urbanism
Belius GmbH • political engineering and economic consulting
Multiplicities Berlin • research and strategy consulting
Clara Neumann • graphic design
frei04 publizistik, Christian Holl • text editing
Studio Rustemeyer • illustration
Hanna Noller • co-productive urban development
denkstatt sàrl • dialogue and transformation processes
Barbora Demovič • illustrations und graphic design
Studio Itch • graphic design
Levin Stadler • graphic design
KOKOMO • landscape architecture
studio erde. • landscape architecture
Clients / Sponsor:
Wüstenrot Stiftung
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Amt für Stadtplanung und Wohnen
IBA'27 StadtRegion Stuttgart
Landesvereinigung Kulturelle Jugendbildung (LKJ) Baden-Württemberg
Zentrum für Film- und Fernsehproduzenten GmbH
Duisburg Kontor GmbH
Kunstverein Wagenhalle e.V.
hcu - HafenCity Universität Hamburg
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg LokalBau Plattform
Stadt Pforzheim
Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart e.V.
Stuttgarter Wohnungs- und Städtebaugesellschaft (SWSG)
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, KUBI‐S Netzwerk Kulturelle Bildung
Stadt Ludwigsburg, Referat Stadtentwicklung, Klima und Internationales
Villingen-Schwenningen - Cultural Department
HBC. Biberach University of Applied Sciences
Partnerschaft für Demokratie
Gemeinde Böbingen an der Rems
Stadt Kehl, Kulturbüro
Contain't e.V.