In case their playful moniker doesn’t tip you off, Propeller Z come equipped with a sense of humor. There’s an underlying wry attitude to be found in all of the Vienna–based architecture firm’s projects, but the sheer amount of talent behind it all is very serious. The five person, multi–disciplinary team doesn’t take itself too seriously, a rare professional quality witnessed by their always–changing online portfolio. The breadth of their projects range from small objects like a D.I.Y. stair kit, to interiors for two GIL fashion stores in their hometown, to large buildings like the Meteorit exhibition space and Beam Café in Essen.

The last was their breakthrough commission, featuring an aluminum-clad tube hovering above an open exhibition space sprinkled with floating objects of various sizes and shapes. It was a bold and playful design that signaled the presence of a fresh talent in the world of architecture and design. For their first GIL Fashion Area, they modelled a bright yellow space where floor, wall and ceiling curve into one continuous surface and a second floor catwalk turns everybody into a model.

Two recently-completed single-family residences in Vienna continue this exploration of making space via curved and folding surfaces, while also exhibiting their keen wit: the DBL House for two sisters and the SGL House for their father. Each multi-level house hugs its site, their luminous wood interiors complex yet inviting.

Propeller Z spins on with a bevy of in-progress buildings to watch for, including Villa H – a rooftop residential remodeling in their hometown – and the Heinrich Winery in Gols, Austria.