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.

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3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing – turns digital 3D models into solid objects by building them up in layers. The technology was first invented in the 1980s, and has since found its way into our everyday life – and in architecture and interior design. Architecture firm DUS has a vast expertise in architectural 3D printing, and is now applying its expertise to interiors and retail spaces.

“3D printing is an ideal technique to tailor-produce to a space or a brand,” says Inara Nevskaya, head designer at DUS. “We can link a furniture’s functionality with unique form features to create statement pieces, special focal points that frame new experiences for the consumer in the retail landscape.”

The interior design of the new Loft Flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo marks DUS’ entrance to designing 3D printed solutions for private, public and commercial interior spaces. 3D printing allows for unparalleled design explorations: “We had the liberty to design without conventional restraints. For this design, we found great inspiration in Japanese folding and drawing techniques, which resulted in cyclic printed patterns with delicate harmonious changes.”

Because of the digital design and production, the design process was quick and flexible. The one of a kind products where digitally shared and aligned with the client, and then 3D printed in their final form. A great advantage is the high level of sustainable production, as the prints are made with a bio plastic and there is hardly any waste in the process.

Architect Jo Nagasaka of Schemata was responsible for the 3,306 sqm overall interior design of the Loft Flagship store. He asked DUS to come up with ‘novel 3D printed furniture’. Clients Loft acknowledged the importance as a household name warehouse to always find new ways to distinguish themselves and show their products.

DUS responded by developing 6 new furniture typologies that bring out the highlights from each product category. DUS combined 3D prints with new and known materials influenced by traditional techniques, resulting in entirely new functions and tactile features:

All the elements and materials were developed and produced in close collaboration with Aectual, a company specialised in 3D printed interior and building products, which will launch its first line of products during Dutch Design Week 2017.

Location:

Loft Flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

Project Data:

• Architect/Designer: DUS architects
• Design Team: Inara Nevskaya, Hans Vermeulen, Ivo Toplak, Alessandro Giacomelli, Onur Can Tepe, Jay Chenault
• Client: Loft
• Store Size: 3,306 sqm (35,585 SF)

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Greg’s career as an entrepreneur has gone in various directions. He is the co-owner of a camera equipment rental business in Portland, he created the brand and online shop antler&co selling bookshelves, hangers, and mobiles all made of (you guessed it) deer antlers, and his ironic product Campfire Cologne, a box of sticks that smell like “your best summer ever” is sold at various retailers worldwide, including Urban Outfitters.

When Greg came across The Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon, it was love at first sight. He bought the century-old building in 2014 and launched a Kickstarter campaign to redevelop the building – then a mess of run-down apartments and offices – back to its former beauty as an eight-room hotel and artist residency.

Greg brought together seven artists and designers to each transform one of the hotel’s rooms. As an experienced builder and having built his own cabin, Greg did most of the remodeling work himself and transformed the eighth room.

Keep reading to learn from this self-proclaimed “dreamer-entrepreneur” and see images of the redeveloped Jennings Hotel.

Enjoy the interview!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

There’s no single thread, I just chase what excites me and see if I can make it work. I started my first business – a photo equipment rental shop – in 2006, then built a brand called antler&co, created campfire cologne, co-founded a holiday market (the Portland bazaar) and now work full time on the Jennings. Somewhere in there I built the cabin, too.

You raised money on Kickstarter to transform an over 100-year-old hotel in Joseph, Oregon, to its former beauty. Can you tell us a little about your process to get the crowdfunding campaign going?

It was a lot of work and it was very collaborative. I worked with my friend Leah Brown on the video and talked a ton to other folks I know who’d run kickstarter campaigns. No one had ever tried what I was doing, so it was a bit of a risk, but the results were wonderful and the feedback I got was all very positive. It took about 6-8 months of preparation and shooting.

Did you raise this money for the whole remodeling project, and was it enough?

The campaign was for general remodeling costs, but I knew from the get go it wouldn’t be anywhere close to what I’d need in total. I wanted to be realistic about my goal, which was $80,000 ­– I raised $107,070 – and exceeding it by 33% felt spectacular.

What was the biggest challenge in the redevelopment process?

The challenges continue, but in my case it has been labor. I’ve been doing most of the work myself out of necessity, but this winter I’ll be hiring a couple folks to help me get shit done and hopefully be more or less fully operational by late spring 2017.

The Jennings hotel is now open for business. How is it working out; are you happy with the result?

It’s working great. I’ve got an amazing innkeeper, and it’s been incredible meeting and connecting with the folks who’ve come to stay.

What is your next project? Are you planning another real estate project?

The $64,000 question. I’m working on starting a folk school in Joseph and I’m always looking at other potential hospitality projects, both in Oregon and elsewhere.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs who want to start and build their own business?

Dream big, be realistic, do good work, be nice, make cool shit, know your limits and sharpen your pencil.

About Greg Hennes

Greg Hennes is a wild haired, serial dreamer-entrepreneur. When he’s not swinging a hammer at The Jennings Hotel, you can find him running around in the mountains or trying to ride a moose at his cabin in Northern Minnesota.

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ASH NYC is a company that blends the world of interior design with property development. In addition to being designers/developers, they are placemakers, and they take their role in impacting the urban environment very seriously: “We are only interested in projects that we feel improve their host community, that make a positive impact on a neighborhood,” said Co-Founder and CEO Ari S. Heckman in an interview with Archipreneur. “We are drawn to renovations of historic buildings, often ones that are vacant or have some kind of undesirable. We find that people really enjoy connecting with a well-adapted historic building.”

I am sure you will connect with their latest conversion – 32 Custom House. The building is a historic landmark erected in 1875 and was acquired by ASH NYC in November 2014. Its bronze ground floor storefront, rope moldings and strongly accented facade demonstrate its High Victorian Gothic architectural qualities, and give it great distinction within the historic district.

ASH NYC has completely re-imagined, developed and designed the residential building, in partnership with Kite Architects and South Coast Improvement Company.  Now it comprises 10 apartments and one retail space on the ground floor. Unique amenities include a virtual doorman, private penthouse roof terrace, city and water views, and original historic details throughout – like two historic stairwells.

“We are our own client on our development projects”, Heckman continued in the interview, “which means that the design team has an equal seat at the table when major decisions are being made.”

And here are the designs, all images © ASH NYC:

Location:

32 Custom House St, Providence, RI 02903, USA

Project Data:

• Architects: ASH NYC
• 1,115 sqm (12,000 SF)
• 5 floors
• 10 apartments, 1 retail space
• includes two historic stairwells, one elevator

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Today’s Interview is with Ari S. Heckman, Co-Founder and CEO of ASH NYC, a company that blends the world of interior design with property development. ASH NYC also designs products and furniture for improving brands and developing hospitality experiences.

I like their approach to architecture, as I think that, for developers, their first consideration for architectural projects is normally driven by the rate of return and the design budget, including how the budget may be reduced. By bridging the gap between the worlds of design and development with experts from both in one company, ASH infuses their projects with aesthetic and economic value. I think this is a useful way to create sustainability and eventually make our cities better places.

Here are Ari’s thoughts on design, development and bridging the gap.

I hope you enjoy the interview.

You graduated from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell. What made you decide to move into real estate development? Was there a particular moment that sealed the decision for you?

I grew up in a family that was involved in several disciplines related to building—my mother an interior designer, my father an amateur real estate owner and my grandfather a modernist architect. I knew enough about what they did to know that I was interested from a young age in being the person who actually initiated the project, i.e. the developer, rather than one piece of the entire process. It was my grandfather who sternly told me that architects don’t get to make many decisions and that the developer drove the ship. My schooling was very interdisciplinary in that it involved planning, architecture, economics, law, etc.

Your company, ASH NYC, bridges the gap between the worlds of interior design and property development. Could you tell us a bit about your work and your approach to it?

In short we are developers who are also designers, or vice versa. We tend to take on projects where we think we can have an impact, create value, etc. via design. We are our own client on our development projects which means that the design team has an equal seat at the table when major decisions are being made. It means that design is given true, equal importance to all the other considerations during the development process. We also do for-hire design work for external clients.

How do you normally start your creative urban projects?

In addition to being designers/developers, we are placemakers, and we take our role in impacting the urban environment very seriously. We are only interested in projects that we feel improve their host community, that make a positive impact on a neighborhood, etc.  We are drawn to renovations of historic buildings, often ones that are vacant or have some kind of undesirable. We find that people really enjoy connecting with a well-adapted historic building.

What projects are you currently working on?

We have a few great ones at the moment. We are restoring the old Wurlitzer organ building in Detroit, Michigan, which we are converting into a 106 room hotel.  We are also redeveloping an old Catholic campus consisting of a school, church, rectory and convent in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with a local partner.  We have a large residential project in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where we are converting an old glass factory and building two new buildings on either side of it. And we are redeveloping an office building in Providence, RI into residential and retail. That is on our real estate side; on the design side we are doing many, many projects around the country for a wide range of clients.

What do you find most fulfilling about your job as a creative developer?

On a macro level, most fulfilling is obviously when a project you’ve been working on for years opens its doors and finds success, but every day has a unique set of challenges and personalities.  In development I think it is somewhat unique the range of characters and disciplines one experiences on a constant basis.

Do you have any advice for “Archipreneurs” who are interested in developing their own project?

The best advice is simply to get started.  It all seems very daunting and abstract but one most throw themselves into it if there’s a real interest.  I always recommend people buy a small multi-family building that they can afford and make the improvements the envision so that at the end of the day the building is functioning better than when you found it.

How would you finance a project in its first stages of development? Any tips on how to manage it?

This remains a challenge for us, and probably always will be if we seek projects that fall outside the typical, which in the US is very suburban focused and not generally mixed-use.  We think those things are natural and valuable but they remain somewhat abstract in this country (although that is changing.) We generally acquire property all cash, so that we have time to plan the development and complete the design and permitting work before we go and get a construction loan. This allows you to set your own pace and not be under the pressure of servicing debt for any longer than you need to.

How do you see the future of architecture? In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major opportunities for up and coming architects?

I think it is likely that more and more firms and people take the direction we have, which is less of distancing the architect from the success or failure of their project but actually making them involved in it on a meaningful and ongoing basis. I have many friends who have or are becoming developers which one can do as soon as they decide to! It is obvious, but I think people realize when they’re in control, they’re able to make much more of an impact than when one is a consultant. And I hope that if architects and design minded people are impacting development and urbanism in a greater way, our buildings and our communities will only get better.

About Ari

Ari Heckman oversees the various components that make up ASH NYC. He is responsible for directing company strategy, as well as sourcing acquisitions and new business. Ari was previously the development manager at Cayuga Capital Management in Brooklyn, New York and a development associate at Cornish Associates in Providence, Rhode Island.

Ari was raised in Providence, Rhode Island and graduated from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University.

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