I hope you enjoy the interview!

What made you decide to start URBANAUTS after many years of training in architecture? Was there a particular moment that catalyzed the decision for you?

Due to the fact that we always had a strong focus on urbanism, we started to think about the development and gentrification of European cities. There are thousands of unused square meters of space in our urban areas that went „useless“ in the last decades.

We wanted to establish a social and economical function in this microcosm that satisfies the needs of independent city travelers combined with a strong experience on one side together with a soft reactivation of our local resources on the other.

We wanted to learn what it means to create something new…, bring it into life and make it tangible.

There was actually no particular moment that pushed us towards URBANAUTS. We were triggered off by our will to act and produce something discussible. We wanted to learn what it means to create something new in all of its dimensions, bring it into life and make it tangible.

What do you find most fulfilling about your current job?

The most fulfilling aspect of our job is definitely the diversified contact to the people requesting our supply of services. No matter if they inquire a warm and comfortable bed, a specified design or a technical solution.

We are a small practice and we are very proud of our clients. Developing solutions, thinking and acting for them on a wide spectrum of different assignments makes life diversified and vivid. Through them we obtain inspiration and energy.

Furthermore and depending on the specific condition, task or vision, we have a lot of great people around us, sharing, developing and bringing ideas into action.

How does your architectural training help you in your business. What specific skill sets are the most useful?

In developing the business, our architectural background was rather obstructive. The role as client and planner in one ‘person’ was really hard and difficult to distinguish. The formal planning process in developing Street Lofts is not a difficult task. Finding an adequate design and taking decisions on your own accountability without the view from the outside can be quite a challenge.

Our individual background and non- architectural skills were much more valuable. Theresia grew up in a hotel close to Salzburg and knows how to make guests feel comfortable. Jonathan studied philosophy and photography and Christian studied economics and worked as a cabinetmaker.

Do you have any advice for architects who are interested in branching out from traditional practice?

We are very careful with recommendations. They should account for very special conditions. Undirected they can pretend something cryptic. One thing that turned out to be a good advice for us is to stay hungry and foolish.

Architecture is one specific term in a wide societal context. It doesn’t even stand for our built environment, but for a very specific, often natural scientific or aesthetic process of reacting to assignments of tasks. That is what we understand as traditional practice.

One thing that turned out to be a good advice for us is to stay hungry and foolish.

At this stage you decide which nature of architect you want to become before starting your education: the technical orientated, the artistic or conceptual one. If architecture could be understood as an act of societal engagement, the possible scope of action broadens dramatically.

What will the architecture profession look like in the future? Which challenges and opportunities will architects face?

Architecture should still be seen as a liberal or independent profession, the way it was seen at it’s origin. With this view comes a very specific demand for the acting individual: personal and social responsibility, integrity and a good understanding of the topics of the time.

The core skill of this profession is solution- oriented thinking. These conditions form a great opportunity to fulfill the next evolutionary step architecture has to take. Architecture has to heal; it doesn’t need to burn, it doesn’t need to glitter and sparkle. Heal the wounds that are still and always obvious in our different societies.

That’s what we can perform out of bricks, wood and steel. Being a shelter, a primary grit for life, humans and nature. If we can implant our specific conditions and standards into a self- constructed framework which enables the dignity of existence, our generation did an assumable job.

About Urbanauts and Büro KLK

URBANAUTS was founded and is run by Büro KLK a design agency based in Vienna. Following a post-structuralist perspective, their credo is the creation of systems not buildings. 

The post How Büro KLK from Vienna Created a Hotel Startup appeared first on Archipreneur.

#1 – Develop Your Own Project

As an architect, you are getting paid for your planning services. But it’s often the client who controls the process and tells you what to design. What if you were able to eliminate the client role entirely and become your own general contractor for the design and building process?

You can … by developing your own project!

What advice can we give new Archipreneurs? Start to learn the process of real estate development and design your own buildings. Of course, for any first project there will be financial barriers that are not so easy to negotiate, but many well-known architects have managed that.

Jonathan Segal is a great example of someone who practices and teaches the “Architect as Developer” principle, which recognizes that in developing your own project, you are in complete control to create city environments tailored to your own ideas. As an added bonus, being your own boss will give you greater financial satisfaction.

Read more about other successful firms here.

#2 – Combine Architecture With “X”

Arguably, combining disciplines produces the greatest innovations. Apple, for example, combined technology with design to create a new customer experience for using devices.

The skills you have learned in your architectural training are essential for creating ideas, designing buildings and solving complex problems. Just imagine how you might be able to combine those skills with another subject area you love and build your business from that combination!

The URBANAUTS, for example, have combined architecture with hospitality in their own business venture. In Vienna, they cleverly assessed the architectural situation, taking particular note of the numerous empty street level shops. Aware of the potential, they revamped these empty spaces and turned them into hotel rooms, designed with the growing market of urban travelers seeking authentic local experiences in mind.

#3 – Start A Blog

A blog is one of the most effective tools you can use to gain an audience. Over time, if encouraged to interact, your audience will develop into a community. If you are an expert in a particular field, you can even teach your community by providing high quality content and expert knowledge.

Your audience will give you feedback, support you and share your content with others. If you provide a service or product, your audience will likely be your first buyers. Check out Enoch Sears over at businessofarchitecture.com. He created a blog focusing on the business and success of small firm architects.

It is so easy to set up a blog today and start writing! Just get started with Bluehost and their 1-click automated WordPress installation. If you need an aesthetic and responsive WordPress theme, I would highly recommend Studiopress.

#4 – Build a Product

The best thing about being an Archipreneur is the free reign it gives your creativity. We all have something to offer to the world. Digital products, webinars and coaching services are all ways to create passive income streams and free you from the 9-5.

A really awesome example is a young architect, Pat Flynn, who created the website greenexamacademy.com while he was studying for the LEED AP Exam. He wanted to share his knowledge with everyone who was going through the same process. After getting laid off from his job, he decided to create a how-to product that helped people to pass the LEED AP Exam.

The product was successful and helped him to create his first passive income stream. This marked the founding of his smartpassiveincome.com venture, which today generates 100K+/month!

#5 – Find Your Niche

A lot of architectural firms would probably be able to design an office building. And many already have. The competition for designing offices is quite high. But specializing in a niche will improve the chances for your firm to stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps you have a certain passion within the field of architecture?

Maybe you’re a specialist in planning certain types of buildings?

Or perhaps you have a gift for teaching and can offer special consulting services?

It’s essential that you address the needs and problems of your audience and potential clients. Build a service or product around your niche and dig deep.

A great example is Marica McKeel with her Studio MM. She focuses on contemporary residential designs in the New York City area. She has built an impressive portfolio and is an expert blogger in her field. Passion will always outperform competition.

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I hope you have enjoyed these ideas and tips on starting out as an Archipreneur and building the business of your dreams. This is where I’d like the Archipreneurs already out there to “butt-in” and share their knowledge and ideas, especially when it comes to architectural entrepreneurship and setting up a business in general.

It doesn’t matter if you just have a quick resource to share, or a full Archipreneur business strategy. The most important thing is that you share with your community!

No topic is off limits, and please do feel free to post links below, too. I look forward to reading all your archipreneurial ideas!

When you’re done, I’d be very happy if you’d SHARE this post, below!

The post 5 Ideas to Start Out as an Archipreneur appeared first on Archipreneur.

Transforming Cities and Authentic Travel Experience

Finding alternative places to stay instead of booking a hotel while visiting a city is a worldwide trend. First there was couch surfing and then Airbnb came with the concept of renting out your own flat. Authentic experience has become an important value to urban travellers. Individual impression instead of mainstream sightseeing is what motivates modern tourists today to explore major cities.

If I am traveling to a city I want to get to know the neiborhoods and places where the locals live. Hotels are mostly located in touristic areas or at traffic hubs. Those areas can’t give you the urban impression of the local lifestyle.

Three young architects from Vienna – Theresia Kohlmayr, Christian Knapp, and Jonathan Lutter – have developed a new hotel concept which offers the infrastructure for trips off the beaten track.

The idea is simple and convincing. Due to its proximity to the city life Vienna’s ground floor zone symbolises an area of unique urban character. At the same time massive vacancies of city shops urge for their revitalization. URBANAUTS bridges both aspects using vacant boutiques as authentic habitat for travellers. The founders converted former shops into urban street lofts.

Living like a local right where the city’s heart beats

The concept is unique. Hotel is no longer regarded in terms of a self-sufficient building. Based on the theory of the horizontal hotel it stretches out over the city. Fragmentation is the keyword. Rooms are spread within a district, adding up to segments in different parts of the city.

And the lobby? All services are provided by the neighborhood. A well chosen network of so-called fellows welcome URBANAUTS guests with special offers or room service. The café next door serves as a breakfast room, the hammam vis-à-vis becomes the hotel’s wellness area, the bar around the corner – the hotel bar. Everyone chooses an individual mix. Nothing will be missed. The lobby is the city. Beyond touristic trails it allows for experience no guide can offer.

Kohlmayr, Knapp and Lutter created quiet oasis’s right in the middle of the city centre. Entered directly from the street the lofts offer a most private and discreet space right next to where city life happens. The lofts are spacious and comfortably furnished. The interior design of each loft relates to the shop’s usage before the conversion. This is a sensible and sustainable approach to revitalizing vacant spaces within the city.

Here are the facts if you want to book an URBANAUTS street loft:

• Room size: there are two room categories, couple and comfort, ranging from 25qm – 35qm.
• Price: the prices range is from 90€ – 140€ per night.
• Location: all street lofts are located in the 4th district of Vienna.
• Fellows: check out the URBANAUTS fellows for eating, relaxing, shopping, culture and more under this link.
• Features: the street loft have the following things included – kingsize bed, multimedia, TV, music, internet, rainshower, body care products, safe, 2 bikes, final cleaning.

The three young Archipreneurs already have 5 street lofts in operation. And they want to grow the business in the next years.

Next to the hotel business, the URBANAUTS also run temporary side projects like: BETONKÜCHE, BETONKLUB and SONAUTS which focus either on revitalizing unused space by cooking events, clubbing or arranging concerts at extra-ordinary buildings.

Keep up the great work Urbanauts. Next time I visit Vienna I will stay at one of your street lofts!

How do you like the Urbanauts street lofts? Or did you already stay in one of the apartments? Please share your travel experiences or your favorite places to stay in the comments section! I am looking foward to your stories.

The post How 3 Young Architects Develop a New Generation of City Hotels appeared first on Archipreneur.