In this inspiring interview Barbara shares her key learnings and insights from 40+ years of practicing architecture. Learn how she has build an office environment that encourages people to flourish. How she balacanced work and family life together with her partner and learn about her thoughts on the future of the architectural profession.

Enjoy the interview with Barbara Flammang!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles, when there were orange groves and lots of wide open spaces. I rode my bike everywhere and built forts out of adobe soil up in the canyons.

My mom always encouraged us to make things and work with our hands. Maybe that’s where my interest in building and design started.

You co-founded Killefer Flammang Architects with Wade Killefer over 40+ years ago. Tell us about your journey as an architect? Are there particular buildings or achievements which are you especially proud of?

Architecture is a cyclical profession, as we all know, and we’ve been through some rough times. But it is by definition an optimistic profession. We build things!

We turn nothing into something or take something and make it even better. And we provide shelter and safety and enjoyment to make our communities better and our cities better. I am proud of creating a firm where people have flourished, done great work, and moved on to start their own firms.

“We turn nothing into something or take something and make it even better.”

I am proud of all of our work. But I am particularly proud of the Lafayette Library in northern California, where a very involved community pushed to accomplish a true community center for the town. And the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where incredible services and housing are provided at the largest LGBT organization in the world.

Can you share your experiences in balancing work and family life as an architect firm owner?

Wade and I decided from day one that we would share time with our children and responsibilities for their care as equally as possible. One of us came home at 5:30 every day, and we alternated days, so that our care-giver could go home to her children.

I am very grateful that we were fortunate enough to have this situation, and were able to make it work. Furthermore, I think that with discipline and the knowledge that you have a finite amount of time to get things done, you can accomplish what you need to.

How have you grown your team and shaped the office culture over the years?

In creating and growing our firm, my guiding principle has always been to create and foster an environment where people can do their best work.

“My guiding principle has always been to create and foster an environment where people can do their best work.”

I’m also convinced that you have to trust and challenge people to believe in themselves. And you have to expect a lot from them. Therefore, they need to know that they are in charge of their success, no one else is.

What are the most successful marketing strategies that help your firm to attract new clients?

Listen to your clients, build their dreams, shaped by you, and they will hire you again.

You are also very involved in supporting opportunities for women in architecture. What changes do you encourage within the architectural industry so that women are equally represented?

Women need to be in leadership positions, pure and simple. It’s happening slowly, incredibly slowly, but that’s the best way for equality to be realized.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs who are interested in starting their own company in the built environment?

Take risks, trust yourself and don’t get discouraged if something goes wrong. Learn from your experience at other firms, good and bad.

What are your thoughts on the future of cities and the built environment? How can it improve, and what continues to inspire you?

Despite our recent Covid experience, I think people want to be near one another. Density is invigorating, but there has to be respite from density with adequate open space.

Furthermore, those who are addressing the affordable housing crisis in California through policy change and innovative design and construction solutions are inspiring me.

About Barbara Flammang, FAIA

As a founding partner of KFA, Barbara Flammang has overseen the design and construction of housing and community projects for nearly 40 years, from the adaptive reuse of historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles to the recently completed Los Angeles LGBT Center Anita May Rosenstein Campus in Hollywood.

Barbara was recently elevated to Fellowship by the AIA for leading her firm’s transformative work in downtown Los Angeles’ historic core; and for her inclusive management practices that have tenaciously advanced gender equity and diversity.

She has championed her firm’s achievement of 45-55% female architectural staff, consistently, for the past 34 years. The example set by her steadfast mentoring of young professionals has become an essential part of firm culture, resulting in high rates of licensure.

In addition, she encourages entrepreneurship and proudly acknowledges the successes of alumni of the firm.

Her volunteer work includes past service on the boards of the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Santa Monica Westside YWCA.

The post Barbara Flammang on Creating a Strong and Encouraging Firm Culture appeared first on Archipreneur.

In this interview Patricia shares her pathway to architecture. She talks about her ideas and inspiration of running a medium-sized design firm in the midst of the pandemic. Learn why EYRC choose a holistic project approach as an architecture firm. And read about Patricia’s thoughts on the power of cities as attractors of culture and talent, ideas and dreams.

Enjoy the interview!

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Could you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Maryland in a pretty rural area. My parents were Korean immigrants; my mother was a watercolor painter and my dad an orthopedic surgeon.

I like to think that I took traits from both of them—the love of making and drawing and an inborn desire to cut things—which led me to modelmaking and architecture.

I moved to LA from the east coast in 2000. It was a great place to land as a young designer, a big vibrant city full of interesting ethnic neighborhoods, lots of small design firms and lots of opportunities.

You are a partner at EYRC architects. Could you tell us about the firm’s history, approach and specialties?

We are an architectural firm of 45 people with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Having worked across the globe, EYRC Architects is known for a diverse range of projects from custom homes and courthouses to university projects and community buildings.

“We specifically choose not to “specialize” in a particular project type, and instead we celebrate the diversity in our work and let the “cross pollination” between our different practice areas inspire us.”

We specifically choose not to “specialize” in a particular project type, and instead we celebrate the diversity in our work and let the “cross pollination” between our different practice areas inspire us. This is why we approach projects by diving deep into the culture of a place: the people and the site are critical factors that inform the design.

What recent trends and future developments of workspace design do you see?

With so many people working from home, these times will inevitably shape the future of our workspaces. We are still in the midst of figuring things out. And there is likely to be a process of trial and error, to come up with what works and doesn’t. I’m very curious to see where things land, what people are comfortable with both physically and psychologically.

And how that all works with how much square footage is actually needed in a physical office. And how that works with productivity, team dynamics, workplace wellness. So many Ands! In terms of building, it’s key to have convenient access to the outdoors, and to consider outdoor spaces an extension of the office (for meetings, gatherings, phone calls) now more than ever.

People seem to be more comfortable being closer to the ground and in spaces with operable windows and cross-ventilation. Flexibility is important, because things can change so quickly as we’ve seen.

How have you shaped the office culture over the years?

I love being part of a medium-sized firm. I feel like we are a bit on the edge, a bit scrappier, and have the resources and diverse opinions of a larger group. Office culture has always been a hallmark of the studio. And while we have some traditions like summer barbeques on the patio and in-house pecha kuchas, it’s constantly evolving with ideas from our amazing and spirited staff.

What are the most successful marketing strategies that help your firm to attract new clients?

The key to a successful project and establishing a solid track record for future work is having a strong relationship built on trust and respect with our clients, partners and peers.

You are also a founding Co-Chair of the AIA Los Angeles Women in Architecture committee. Could you tell us about your work there? And the power and opportunities of being a woman in the industry right now?

I was one of the founding Chairs when we started the committee in 2016. In addition to planning for the annual AIA LA / WiA Powerful Conference, the chairs all head up different events throughout the year. WiA brings together women in the industry whether for mentoring, networking, coaching or sharing experiences.

It has been wonderful to bond with and learn from women leaders like Rosa Sheng, Carol Wedge, Carol Burns and Justine Clark, across the country and halfway round the world.

What are your thoughts on the future of cities and the built environment? How can it improve, and what continues to inspire you?

It’s such an odd time right now, being in the midst of the pandemic. You hear of people leaving NYC, picking up and moving to the Midwest or to their second homes in remote areas. I still believe in the power of cities as attractors of culture and talent, ideas and dreams. Maybe as a child of immigrants I’m naturally more attracted to the endless, limitless, multicultural nature of cities, and I can’t imagine a world without vibrant ones.

“I still believe in the power of cities as attractors of culture and talent, ideas and dreams.” – Patricia Rhee

Our cities are melting pots, refuges, and “safe places” for our diverse communities. In terms of improving cities (namely LA)—homelessness and the lack of affordable and workforce housing should be prioritized at State and City levels. There should be incentives that encourage greater density and developers to build housing at the middle part of the spectrum, not just the extremes.

My family and I visit Tokyo and Seoul quite often. And once there, we quickly adapt to living in uber dense environments. I marvel at how living vertically is the standard for the majority of the population—one’s identity of house, home, front door and private outdoor space is completely different than what one might have in LA. I also love that taking public transportation and walking is an integral part of most people’s lives. It would be great to see that here in LA someday.

About Patricia Rhee, FAIA, DBIA

Patricia Rhee is a Partner at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, where she has practiced for 20 years.

Patricia received her Master’s degree in Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the recipient of the 2017 Culver City Women in Business Council’s Visionary Award and was a Founding Co-Chair of the AIA Los Angeles Women in Architecture committee.

Her firm received the 2015 National AIA Firm Award, one of the industry’s highest honors. Patricia has served as Partner in Charge and Lead Designer for several of the firm’s most notable projects. Including The Culver Steps, the John M. Roll Federal Courthouse and The Press Adaptive Re-Use.

Her project experience ranges from civic to institutional and commercial developments of all scales and multiple delivery methods including design-build. She has lectured internationally, most recently at University of Melbourne’s School of Design where Parlour co-hosted the Transformations: Actions in Equity symposium.

Read more female architect interviews:

Design for Life: How to Balance Your Creative Practice

The Future of Architectural Education & The Pritzker Prize in a Globalized World

The Social Reactor: How KOGAA Transformed a Factory into Their Own Creative Hub

The post Celebrating a Holistic Project Approach and Diversity in Architecture with Patricia Rhee appeared first on Archipreneur.

In this interview Elvira Muñoz shares her thoughts and ideas on the challenges and opportunities in times of the current crisis. She believes that this is the moment to redesign the existing spaces and buildings in order to design resilient spaces that adapt to the unforeseen future of disruption and change.

Enjoy the interview!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

I discovered my passion for the fine arts early on, together with ballet and other dancing disciplines. But before shifting into that direction I studied 3 years of Agricultural Engineering, because I love nature and growing and nurturing things.

After these studies I became a dance teacher and started exploring the possibilities of redefining my professional life and discovered Interior Design, which appealed to me because it unifies creativity and graphic communication, with some technical disciplines (not too many, I had had enough of those in my engineering years!), focused on providing a service to people which, I understood, required communication skills, empathy, and humbleness: Interior Designers are a tool at the service of the client, translating its dreams and expectations into livable places that reflect their personality.

After a few years of independent practice and living abroad (The US, Italy), in the year 1998 I joined DEGW in Madrid. Soon I discovered that having a research, benchmark and interaction with client’s methodology allowed me to be a better designer: “Research, Strategy, Design” or “Design for Change” were the 2 mottos of DEGW which I deeply believed in.

The moment I discovered that this was the place where I belonged, they discovered my abilities and was appointed director of ID. Then became a shareholder and partner in 2003 and have remained loyal to the group and its beliefs during the crisis and our acquisition by AECOM. Since 2019 I am Director of Interior Design and Studio Lead for the EMEA region.

I have also been teaching at the Master in Strategic Design at IE since the year 2013 and was appointed its director in 2019. As you can read, 2019 was my year!

You are the Director of EMIA Interior Design Practice Leader at AECOM. What are the common problems and challenges of your clients and how does your consulting unit help to solve them?

The constantly rapidly changing situations and the continuous challenges pose always a big challenge on everyone. Taking decisions that are relevant and meaningful and not just doing what others do, but later, is always the key.

In relationship with Real Estate, the decisions always imply an important investment not only in the rental or acquisition of square meters, but also in technology and equipment.

Since the real estate market is focused on the developers, land owners and landlords, and not in the tenants and end users, those decisions prove themselves quite difficult.

We need to understand the sector our client is in, how fast changing it is, how change ready their organization is, how much they understand the impact of implementing what they say are their expectations and helping them articulate their dreams.

That is common everywhere in the world. In our case, since we operate in such a vast and diverse region, the challenges are constant and everchanging.

But that is what makes the job dynamic and fun: our projects are not rocket science, but understanding our different types of clients and delivering their aspirations and dreams anywhere in EMEA, on time and on budget… that is thrilling and makes you learn each day.

What are your thoughts on digitalization and the workspace, especially in current times of COVID-19. How will this affect the future of the workspace?

My key messages are these:

We have already been confined 2 months and we are all:

1. Experiencing the impact of our interior spaces in our Mental and Physical Health.

Health and well-being need to be considered wholly, including: intellectual, physiological, social, material & spiritual, mental & emotional well being.

The result of designing for all aspects of well being is larger than the sum of its parts. At MSD we will teach you how to design focusing on well being holistically.

Remember: people with ill mental health take 62% longer to do tasks

2. Acknowledging that we have adapted to situations we couldn’t have predicted thanks to being RESILIENT.

Resilience is the key attribute to get through confinement. (Resilience: the ability to absorb a shock and recover the previous condition or come out better).

Our future spaces will need to be more resilient, providing us with solutions for unforeseen crises, like the one we are experiencing.

3. We are all longing to “go back to normal” by which we mean, being physically with our teams, even though we are being able to work remotely, stay engaged, and build TRUST in the distance.

Humans need social contact to grow, learn, stay engaged, blossom,..This implies having a physical space that provides identity and sense of belonging.

Organizations will need to re design all their workspaces to provide a sense of belonging: office space, virtual spaces, home office spaces.

4. Aware of the impact of our human actions on the ENVIRONMENT: Cities’ air is cleaner; the oceans’ and the rivers’ waters are transparent, acoustic pollution has decreased…

Do we really want to go back to normal, exactly as it was before? No, we need to take this opportunity to redesign our culture, our behavior, the use of the natural resources.

We need to design from the inside out: from our the mentally and physically healthy interiors to the outside; to reflect the new more respectful culture on the outside shape of our buildings, streets, cities…

5. Acknowledge that we value the physical space more and understand that INTERIORS are critical for our mental health and wellbeing.

The key approach is the constant review and re-adaptation of ALL spaces and infrastructures to ensure social distancing and healthy environments:

at home, the workplace, the hospitality sector, the commuting systems…

Including the installations, to allow more fresh air flow cleaner environments. This means RENEWAL and upgrading of all the infrastructures.The new focus is around comfort about perceived safety

What are the recent trends and future developments of workspace design? Could you tell us more about “New Ways of Working”?

The recent trends all need to be reviewed and adapted to this new situation.

Instead of trends, let me suggest thinking about approaches to our staggered return to the office and to a phased redesign:

• I suggest reconsidering FIRST the reasons WHY we need to go back to the office. List the actions and tasks that need to take place physically at the office and with your team. The list will be filled with collaboration, ideas and knowledge sharing tasks, innovation, kicking off projects and social interaction
• The list of tasks that can still be performed individually and remotely will likely be production work, repetitive work, concentration work, confidential work
• Teams, disciplines or projects should then gather and decide frequency of these F2F meetings, length, number of people attending ad type of setting
• Once every team has done the list, the FM team should organize the weekly schedule of F2F gatherings at the office, ensuring a low number of employees simultaneously
• And adapt the office space to the type of settings teams have defined, where possible

After the first month (or 2 months) there should be a review of what works and what doesn’t and improvements need to be implemented.

In the following 3-6 months the workspaces should keep readapting to the new needs.

Analyzing the tasks and actions that need to take place physically at the office and designing accordingly is what the activity based workplace design trend was all about….and it is still valid!

What do you think about the role of architects and designers in society today? How can architects better communicate their value and help to develop a more human centric, resilient and meaningful built environment?

Now that we have realized that our previous formulas are not fully valid any longer, architects and designer need to start re designing and adapting all our physical spaces.

I suggest starting from the inside out:  from readapting the interiors of our homes, our workspaces, our social spaces….learn from what works and what doesn’t and open the social conversations about the new cultural trends and its impact on the urban design.

What are the most successful marketing strategies at AECOM that help your firm to attract new clients?

This is a cliché, but staying close to them; rethinking strategies with them, providing solutions thinking out the box and suggesting phased and staggered improvements to their projects.

We sit together with the client and communicate much. I would say it is the time for CO CREATION and joined efforts.

Do you think that consulting work is something that architects should explore more especially in the first phases of projects?

ABSOLUTLY.

A first phase of consulting for a designer/architect should be as vital as the first conversations are to a great doctor with his/her patient. They don’t jump into conclusions only by seeing them and the results of their analysis and write a recipe. They ask questions, observe, listen, engage, understand, measure to do the diagnosis. And then provide a solution for their situation that is bespoke and adapted to the specific needs of the patient.

This is what consulting does to a project: it brings you closer to your client and then, together you do CO CREATION. (Futher reading: The Social Reactor)

Design is not applying some recipes or formulas that have proved themselves successful before. Nor is it receiving data and requirements and applying them mathematically. It is all about empathy, knowledge sharing and CO CREATION.

You are the Director of the Master in Strategic Design of Spaces. What are the main skills young designers should learn in your opinion?

Creativity
Observation
Curiosity
Criteria
Empathy
Critical Thinking
Teamwork and collaboration, F2F and remote
CO CREATION
Decision taking
Communication, verbal and illustrative
Prioritization
Trustworthiness
Constant updating of knowledge
Love for arts and Nature: if you follow the rules of nature, you cannot of wrong

What are your thoughts on the future of architecture and the built environment? How can it improve, and what are the major opportunities?

This crisis has provided us with a unique opportunity of going leaner and rethinking what we really need and what already exists. For a while I would like to have teams rethinking the future of our buildings, our cities, our streets, our shopping centers….and how to adapt them to our new, healthier and safer needs.

I believe this is the moment to redesign the existing spaces and buildings and providing them with a more meaningful future, designing resilient spaces, that adapt easily to unforeseen future disruptions and changes.

About Elvira Muñoz

Elvira Muñoz joined DEGW (now, Strategy Plus, a strategic business practice within AECOM) in 1998. And has been leading the Consultancy and Design team since 2000.

With her recent client, Telefonica, she was responsible for the consolidation of five business units involving the move of more than 12,000 employees to a new 150.000 m2 campus. While working with Garrigues, the largest law office in Europe with more than 1,000 lawyers, she managed the consultancy and interior design services for the new headquarters. She is currently leading projects for Cisco Systems in Madrid, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Google.

Elvira Muñoz has been actively involved in the development and implementation of “New Ways of Working”. And also been part of the international team for the European Commission supported research project “SANE”. Sustainable Accommodation for the New Economy, which explores the implications of the distributed workplace.

Elvira Muñoz has worked directly with the Secretary General of Universities of the Spanish Ministry of Education for the last four years. To develop, “Social Spaces for Learning”, demonstrating that interstitial and unprogrammed spaces for meeting are crucial in the university learning experience.

The post Designing Resilient Spaces and Rethinking Strategies with Elvira Muñoz appeared first on Archipreneur.

Building on this foundation of design, business and real estate knowledge, she is an industry expert and encourages others to join her in taking charge of the future of our cities—”the centers of innovation, culture and learning.”

She believes technological disruption is here, it is our present, and with strong networks among professionals there is a greater opportunity for knowledge sharing and advancement. Technological advancement will help to resolve present challenges and change the way we build and live.

As the founder of WIRES (Women in Real Estate Spain), Panadero encourages her counterparts to work toward the shared objective of greater corporate social responsibility and inclusion within the built environment industry.

Could you please tell us a bit about your background?

I am an architect and director of Business Development at DCN, where I lead the company’s real estate development. In addition, I also run IE Business School’s Master in Real Estate.

I have a lengthy track record working at companies such as CBRE—in strategic consulting, repositioning of assets and management of large accounts—as well as at Estudio Lamela, where I’m the project drafting technician and work in international business development.

This involvement across different areas of a highly professional sector has given me significant “added value”, because having been a technician, sales person and consultant has allowed me to reach my present “expert” status giving me solid foundations to build on.

You began your career in architecture, transitioning to real estate development later. What are the key skills your background in architecture has given you?

The skill set that has helped me has included:

• A global vision and understanding of complex problems (that’s what my background in architecture gave me)
• Perseverance and a desire to learn from colleagues in different fields (architects know they can never stop learning)
• Knowing how to create value in the real estate environment. And understanding that buildings are the base on which everything else (the financial, legal and management part) pivots.
• Reading, investigating, chatting with experts… with a single purpose: to keep up with new techniques and innovations, always keeping an eye on trends that give us clues as to where the
  future of our sector is going.

Has your background in the real estate sector changed your view on architectural studies? Do you think that there is a knowledge gap in the way architecture is taught?

For me, architects can develop into leaders in the real estate market, but must be trained in areas that complement their technical background, particularly the need to understand the fundamental strategic, financial, legal and management aspects of the real estate environment, as well as the agents, tools and techniques involved.

The real estate market is based on property assets and how they are valued in the market and the built environment. Understanding the relationship between them is a significant part of this profession. This requires developing the following skills:

• An understanding of the principles of urban economies and the capital markets that invest in the real estate sector, as well as understanding how cities work, along with knowledge of the tools and financing processes in the built environment.
• The strategic management of real estate operations.
• The relationship of the real estate sector with the urban environment in which it develops, identifying synergies between both.
• The disruption of new technologies and sustainability: we live in the digital era.

What are your thoughts on digitization in the real estate industry? Will Proptech disrupt the real estate business?

Yes, the world is changing and it is time for real estate to stop being a mere spectator. We have to start leading this transformation. Proptech is no longer the future of our sector, but the present. The disruption caused by new technologies and how they affect the property sector are basic concepts that professionals in the sector must master or at least know that they exist and how they affect us. We live in the digital age: not being digital is no longer an option.

“Proptech is no longer the future of our sector, but the present.”

Buildings are already being built with digital twins that help us to control all the parameters that affect the design, construction and subsequent behavior and management from the same scorecard, and that is something we should know how to take advantage of.

You are the president and founder of WIRES, the association of Women in Real Estate in Spain. Could you tell us more about your work in the organization and your goals for the future?

Wires was born four years ago and the results were very positive over that time. When the founding members created the association we had the idea of becoming a reference point for the many women working in the real estate sector. We had two main goals: to help women build networks based on trust; and to give greater visibility to women in the Spanish real estate sector by increasing awareness of the excellent work they have been doing for some time now.

Today, we have more than 220 members! We receive proactive requests every month from more and more female managers who want to be part of Wires; at this point, we have formed a group of talented professionals contributing ideas and working together on common objectives.

We want to give great value to our members through training and events. It is time to give something back to our members. For their efforts through specialized training, career plans or specific orientation. We are also strengthening the relationship between us through themed dinners and meetings oriented toward issues that affect all our members.

Another important area I am working on now is to give more importance to corporate social responsibility: at WIRES we believe that now we have a representative place in the sector, we must direct a part of our efforts to the social good and we want to act in two areas.

A mentoring program to provide support and guide young women through their careers to better achieve their professional goals. Women’s CSR, a once a year event with WIRES donating a percentage of our quotas to an NGO chosen by all the members. We believe that both initiatives will be a milestone in the work of the association and we are very proud of both projects.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs interested in a career in real estate development?

My best advice? Hard work, continuous training and a desire to learn. After that comes everything else. In this world there are no shortcuts in what is an increasingly professionalized sector.

Our responsibility as professionals in the sector is to master the following principles:

• The urban economies of cities, the relationship between built heritage and the urban environment in which it is developed, and identify synergies between both.
• The capital markets that invest in the real estate sector.
• The tools and processes of financing in the built environment.
• The strategic management of property development and custody of the built environment.
• Understanding the drivers that move the world now: new technologies and global sustainability.

My second piece of advice would be: have the courage to face challenges and embrace innovation.

What are your thoughts on the future of architecture and the built environment? How can it improve, and where are the best opportunities?

Without a doubt: cities. Cities are centers of innovation, culture and learning. The real estate world and especially the promoter arm are the main catalysts for growth. In addition,  for social development in cities, bringing people and companies together and creating communities.

“We live in the digital age: not being digital is no longer an option.”

Population transfer to the cities is happening at an unprecedented speed and scale. The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban centers and the numbers are growing. This translates into an increasingly important role for responsible property development.

Technology is also evolving and will provide new opportunities to effectively address emerging challenges. Investment environments are now global and increasingly complex; The new governance models will affect the way we build, manage and live in cities to create more competitive and democratic territories. —

The post Real Estate in the Digital Age: An Industry in Transition appeared first on Archipreneur.

Cabins are customized by the client, produced in completion and delivered as a single unit to a prepared and permitted site, with permissions and installation services all handled in-house. Whether the cabin arrives on an urban rooftop or a pastural greenfield site, the streamlined installation process remains the same.

Each cabin consists of 25 square meters of flexible interior space, with functional zones intelligently and subtly designated by changes in floor level instead of partition walls. Designed with end user benefit as well as construction in mind, the Cabin One product is a high-quality and multi-functional environment for a variety of customers.

Learn how architect-founder Andreas Rauch balances architectural and entrepreneurial thinking about how we might live in the future, and the importance of embracing technology now.

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What is Cabin One?

Cabin One is a new way of minimal living, defined by our name and by our brand. We continue to question and explore what this means.

We developed a fully functional minimal house with 25 square meters of living space. It is produced as a full module, meaning it’s delivered from the workshop as a complete cabin by truck to its final destination, where it’s then lifted to its precise location by crane. The process to build the cabin and to get it installed on location in position is very fast.

Where can you place the Cabin and what are the legal requirements for buyers?

The cabin can be put anywhere: if it’s going in a green meadow in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain or on a rooftop, the procedure is the same. For the green meadow and for the rooftop, you need a permission, of course. As soon as you’re talking about living, you always need a permit, and so in addition to providing the cabin, we also provide the service of an architect to get the permissions for the desired location.

Installation is actually the same procedure no matter the site, but the level of technical difficulty varies. To bring a cabin to the green meadow, you just need to dig a hole, make the necessary installations there, and that’s it. For rooftops, you also need to have technical structural understanding and certified documentation about the condition and performance of the rooftop itself, the loadbearing walls and the structure of the house. You also need to guarantee fire escape and fire protection.

This is a bit more involved than on the green meadow, but it is mandatory to have an approved fire strategy that so that the firefighters can rescue from the rooftop, or you find your own way to get down. You always need to have two exit routes, and while it may be hard to get, there’s always a solution.

Is this also included in the services you provide as an architect, to see if a rooftop would potentially work or not?

Absolutely. We are very experienced with rooftops. We have inspected many rooftops here in Berlin and abroad, and we have a good idea of where cabins can be realistically installed and where it’s not possible at all.

Of course, there are some rooftops where there is no chance to get building permission, but there are rooftops where you can get a permission very easily. From one look at a roof area, we have a good idea if it’s possible or not.

Could you tell us a little about the process from designing and concepting the Cabin to the real product? What were the steps you took and what have been the challenges?

Before we started talking to producers, we were developing and designing the interior as we wanted it for 25 square meters. One main challenge was that we wanted to have one room—a living room—with a separate bathroom because of humidity and so on.

We wanted to separate the different zones of this one main room, even though we are not using walls. This was the central design point we were following. We separated the room by introducing elements which cause separation by putting functions on different levels.

We didn’t want to do this using furniture. You need to move to get a function out of the room. We decided all of the furniture within these 25 square meters has to be fixed because moving furniture around in a small space could cause you to lose things required for a function very easily, and we imagined having to change everything back to a previous function in order to find a lost item.

“We know that combining the design approach and the construction approach just made the whole product better.”

That is not something we wanted to do. So, every function is fixed with different separations. You have a wardrobe in the beginning of the entrance. Then you go through a hallway. Then you come to the bed, which is higher than the other room. Then you go through, and you come to the kitchen. Then there’s a different connection between the bed and the kitchen. Just by changing the levels between parts of the living area, you can be in your own separate room underneath the same roof. This is all the idea of Cabin One.

Then we talked to our producer about how we could produce that concept, because the design and reality are not always on the same page. We worked closely to find the solution for how to construct the cabin, and how to combine the construction method with our design.

This was a very, very interesting process because a member of the production side would say, “This could never work. Please find a solution for that” and we would work to resolve it, and send a new approach back, saying “Could this work? We were thinking of putting a frame there” and so on. From these discussions with the producer, we became aligned with this project.

Sometimes we needed to let go of our idea, but in general we know that combining the design approach and the construction approach just made the whole product better. There is always a solution, and we found the best solution each time for both construction and design.

How did you finance the production process?

We were financed by crowdfunding initially, which gave us a lot media attention all over the world. Then, when we were searching for a producer to make the first prototype, our prototype producer was more or less an investor. He was invested in making the cabin work, using the right materials and resolving all of the technical issues. The execution of our concept and design was his investment, and we had an open dialogue about what we wanted and what the user wants.

You partnered with a lot of companies. Are some invested in your company?

Our partners are mostly contributors who were interested in our idea. Most companies coming from the real estate and building construction industries are not as innovative as they would like to be, and when they saw in our idea, a very innovative idea, they saw a marketing opportunity and they wanted to support us. We have been very satisfied with the feedback of these partnering companies.

We’ve partnered with companies like Gira for switches and VELUX for sky windows. We found a great partner for all the water systems including and toilet and bathroom systems. Then we got Tado as a partner for the smart heating concept. We got Senic from Berlin, another startup helping to making the whole house smart. And Bosch, of course. We have a lot of companies helping us out with our idea. With most of the partners we tried to do co-operation for the series, which is starting right now.

The design of Cabin One is live, and you mentioned creating a series. Are you planning to create several versions of the house like in the automotive industry?

Actually, we changed the official product name to Cabin One, and its Edition Two, because Edition One is the prototype, but all following products will remain Cabin One. And, yes, we started to bring the prototype into a series.

The first series is the prototype to bring it in as a real serial product. The next steps might be connected cabins, maybe stacked cabins, maybe portable cabins, maybe a bigger one, or even maybe smaller one, which could work off grid. We want to develop a big portfolio of different cabins in the future.

Did you raise venture capital so far?

Until now we have found interested friends and people who support us with convertible loans, which are helping us to build up our company. At one point the loans convert to shares of the company, like an angel investment in a way. We haven’t had venture capital investment yet, but we are looking for VC to help us scale.

How do you structure the sales process and distribution of the Cabin?

The first projects are running. We sent out the first applications, and new projects are coming in. It has been a long process to build up the sales channel, but now it’s up and running and it’s working very well.

We got a lot of good response because of our website. If you’re on our homepage, which is one of our first sales tools, you are led through all of the steps to get your project started, and then it connects to us. After you have been introduced to us and to the product for your project, there will be several meetings and you will get in touch with the product to see how it feels for you, and you can test it and so on.

The next step is to make a contract for the service we provide as an architect, to get the permission for the location you have. Once permission is granted, we deliver the cabin to an already prepared site.

What is really important to us is that the customer gets the whole package from one person or from one site, and this is that what we can provide, convenience for them and for us.

So how much does the Cabin One cost in the moment?

The base module is ready to live in and it includes a bathroom with the rest of the space empty. With this module you can add your own furniture, your own appliances, and customize the interior design. The base model starts at the price of €75,000, excluding VAT, so, it’s nearly under €90,000, including VAT in Germany.

There are different additional packages. The first package is for beds, then comes the kitchen, then the e-appliances, and so on, so you can choose what you want from all of the different packages. The whole cabin with all of the packages will cost under a €100,000, including the service of getting it delivered, installed on your site, and lifted.

Who are your customers so far?

In the beginning, we predicted that our customers would be private homeowners who dream of having a second home surrounded by nature, but the results have been very different. There are a lot of different buyers and customers, beginning from B2C clients up to B2B for hotel cases, for example.

We have many clients who are young people, young professionals, but there are also older people saying, “I want to minimalize myself because all my kids are gone from the house. The house alone for me is too big. I want to get rid of the house, so the only thing I would need is just a small place to live.” The range in customers is really big.

You are interested in expanding the way we live in the future and creating a new aspect of how we live in cities. Could you tell us how you are developing Cabin One in these aspects?

From a historical perspective, living as we know it now hasn’t really seen change for the last 100 or 120 years. Before industrialization, people lived differently. The idea of the single-family house arrived, and this became a very popular and mainstream goal for living.

Today, I think there are several possibilities and several theories of how you could live, and they’re very strongly connected to the phases in your life. For example, you get out of your parents’ house, then you start to study. As a student you are often living in a collective. Then, probably after university, you might work for a company where you need to be more or less available all around the world, so you are actually strongly connected to the way of living in a hotel. There are so many different variations of how we can live.

I think that we are just triggering one way of living, and this is not the solution for everybody, but we have a solution strongly connected to flexible living. We call it flexible long-term living. Perhaps the only thing you need personally is a backpack with your computer and phone, where you can see where the next cabin is free and waiting for you, and you come in and find in the cabin with the same furniture and the same way of using the space as in the cabin you have been in before.

In this case, it’s wouldn’t be the space anymore which is changing in your life, it’s you changing the place where the space is, and this is an experience, and then we are talking about experience living. This is actually what we want to go into more deeply, where we want to push our research.

Do you track data within your cabin, like a Tesla does for example, so you would learn how the customer uses it?

No, not at the moment, but it could be a very interesting model. For example, we could offer someone to stay in the house for free, in exchange for their data. Or the other way around, we don’t want to have any of your data, but then you would pay a rate for living in the house. So, maybe there are models for this. We’re not the only ones thinking about this idea. Of course, living can be, and it will be, very strongly connected to data in the future.

“Living can be, and it will be, very strongly connected to data in the future.”

Are you planning on going internationally?

Absolutely. We are based in Berlin currently and it’s a goal for us to expand internationally, but we are already international in terms of the European Union as some of our team are working in Portugal and Austria. We have projects running all around Europe so far. And as we get bigger, we need to ask ourselves how we are going to expand and where, but this is absolutely the plan of the company.

How have the last three years of building your product and startup changed your thinking as architects?

Fundamentally, I’d say. The way architects think is typically very focused on how to solve problems in a spatial organization. But to build up a company and to find a product market fit for a product, which is actually a house—this is not the normal way of thinking for an architect.

“I can still think as an architect, but I can also think as an entrepreneur.”

It was very challenging for me to think differently at first, but in the end it was absolutely worth it. My perspective on things changed fundamentally. I can still think as an architect, but I can also think as an entrepreneur. Combining these two skill sets has been very interesting and been very hard work, but it was absolutely worth it.

What are your thoughts on the future of the built environment? How can it improve, and what continues to inspire you?

First of all, you should not deny the technology of the moment and the speed at which it’s developing. It’s important to be interested in several topics, not just architecture and new materials on the market for architects. Built environment professionals should be interested in a lot of things including mobility, data services, and of course, smart homes.

This knowledge of adjacent fields and embrace of technology comes with the architectural role. You should try to have a very good overview of all these things, which begins in architectural education.

To be successful in university and become an architect, it is most important that architectural skills are progressed and refined. Of course, outside of university, it is important that the buildings architects design actually get developed, but the architect is missing the education and the connection to the business and real estate market outside. This aspect of architectural education should be prioritized by universities because it is very important that future architects also know how to sell their design to a customer or to a client, and this, somehow, I missed in my university. —

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