Leonard von Brenndorff

Leonard von Brenndorff (he/him, b. 1994, Filderstadt, Germany) is a designer working with objects, print, spaces, and events. He is currently studying at Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam with the department Studio for Immediate Spaces.

Trained as a professional carpenter in Bavaria, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cologne in 2022. His work has been showcased in venues such as MAKK (Museum of Applied Arts Cologne) and San Gimignano Lichtenberg for CONCEPTUAL Biennale Berlin. His accolades include the Kölner Design Preis 2022, Cartes Blanches of PASSAGEN 2024, and a scholarship from Kölner Gymnasial- und Stiftungsfonds. As a co-creator of "Noplace", an art space, collective, and event series, he collaborates with Cologne collectives exploring cooperative living and working.

Statement

I currently make objects and architectural interventions that originate from living with a collective of 20 people at a country house by the Rotbach, Germany. The projects deal with the way the collective is engaging with their approach of coexistence – with each other but also with the river, the trees, and many other bodies found there. My research orbits around systemic structures of extraction that drive disconnection—whether through labor exploitation, environmental displacement, or land commodification. As a trained carpenter, I value fine craftsmanship and material sensitivity. I experience craft as something to connect people to the earth through technology, fostering belonging by merging social and material practices.

Exhibitions

2025 CONCEPTUAL Biennale Berlin, San Gimignano Lichtenberg

2025 ONE First Year Show, Studio for Immediate Spaces,
Sandberg Instituut

2024 NO-SOLO SHOW/ Passagen 24, CARTES BLANCHES

2023 Passagen, Interior Design Week Köln

2023 Artbay, Kunsthalle Lindenthal

2023 Funk Magazin, Raum für unabhängige Magazine

2022 NOPLACE - progressive working community and interdisciplinary open space, Kölner Design Preis, MAKK

2020 Exibition Design + We Are Strong - Kölnberg, Ökorausch, MAKK

Awards

2022 Award Winner Kölner Design Preis

2022 Final 300 iF Design Young Talent Award

2022 Prüfungswettbewerb BA Sustainable Design

2020 Auszeichnung Ausstellungsarchitektur Ökorausch Think Tank

2020 WDR Kinderrechtspreis