Image courtesy of Runa Workshop

Runa Workshop is an Austin-based architectural and interior design practice with a rapidly growing roster of completed projects in the city's hospitality, retail, commercial, and institutional sectors. After gaining experience at a large architecture firm, founding principals Jean Pierre Trou and Aaron Vollmer longed for a different, more collaborative design process based on compact, nimble teams and decided to branch out on their own in 2009.

Since then, Runa Workshop has grown into a studio of seven architects and interior designers, with a strong emphasis on healthy work-live balance, and, as Vollmer and Trou told Archinect in this week's Studio Snapshot, they're ready to take it to the next level.

Can you tell us how Runa Workshop was founded?

AV: Runa Workshop was founded out of a passion for design and collaboration. Jean Pierre and I worked together at a large firm and quickly realized we both had the same collaborative and concept-based approach to design. This resulted in the creation of a modern landscape furniture piece, the ESE bench, for Jean Pierre's new home patio. We took a chance and entered it into ICFF in New York, and it ended up winning a Bernhardt Award for Design! We wanted to bottle that excitement up and create it in our daily lives — we knew in that moment what needed to happen.

JPT: From our early collaborations, we were convinced that we could do any type of project with a compact and nimble team. We wanted to create a practice where we could reinforce that idea of collaboration and add value to our clients through great design. 

What inspired you to leave a job at a large architecture firm to break out on your own?

AV: Our large-firm experience was great. We were able to gain a lot of experience and learn about a wide variety of project types. We also saw the downsides of a large firm. The endless cycle of accepting more and more projects to pay for increasing staff. The diminishing individual principal project involvement as the firm continues to expand. We thought that there could be a better business model, one where a compact group of highly talented professionals works collaboratively and efficiently; delivering a high level of design, service, and quality with constant principal involvement.  

JPT: The idea that I needed to break out in order to push myself professionally and improve my design skills. I felt I could do better, and with the right partner, we could provide our clients with great design and great service. It’s what inspired me to invest in research and development, and ultimately pursue my Masters to further my skills in theory. We were interested in more conceptual-based design. Pushing the envelope and always striving for better. Aaron brings that spirit. Always pushing for better and coming from a place of "Yes." Not only on the design side but also the firm. We wanted to cultivate a culture that breaks out of the mindset of "we can’t." At Runa, we will always find a way, we never say it can’t be done.   

Can you talk about your decision to include the term "Workshop" in the name of your firm?

AV: We feel that when everyone has the spirit of openly exchanging ideas (the genesis of a workshop), great things happen; ultimately improving our designs and adding value for our clients.  

From our early collaborations, we were convinced that we could do any type of project with a compact and nimble team.

JPT: We wanted a name that resembles not only how we see architecture and design but also to have something from each of us individually, Aaron and I. Runa is actually coming from Quechua, the native language of the Incas, meaning people. We wanted to have an equivalent in English, which we felt should be about exchanging ideas, the definition of workshop. So together, it was about people exchanging ideas. That is how we envision design, people collaborating. It wouldn’t work just to call it Runa or Workshop. These two words have to live together, and so do we. 

How many people are currently employed at Runa Workshop?

AV: There are currently 7 of us at Runa which is made up of a mix of architects and interior designers. 

JPT: Seven strong, diverse individuals that all bring something special to the table. We strongly believe that our cultural differences enrich our design decisions. 

Would you like to scale up and grow your team? What do you consider the ideal size for your practice?

AV: The goal of Runa Workshop is to maintain the size of a typical studio totaling 15 people per office location so that we can always deliver the high level of principal involvement for all our clients. 

JPT: Yes! 15. Any more people than that would start having an impact on the culture and would make us deviate from a compact, nimble, principal-involved culture to something we wouldn’t recognize. Something we don’t want to be. If circumstances made us grow from there, it would be small studios of this size in different locations.

What have been the biggest challenges starting and running your own practice?

AV: We have learned so much over the past ten years. Hiring the right, talented people, maintaining a healthy office culture, and staying competitive with our benefits offering sit at the top of that list. In a city where startup culture and unlimited vacation are prevalent, we have definitely felt that we should follow suit — but this really was a no-brainer for us. As a family-focused firm, we want to encourage a healthy work-life balance with normal work hours and rewarding our staff with these perks that larger firms don’t have the flexibility to provide. 

In addition to that, another big challenge always comes in our first meeting with a client. Most have historically worked exclusively with larger firms, and so our mission is to exude a quiet confidence and convince them that their experience with Runa will be different, more personal.

We thought that there could be a better business model, one where a compact group of highly talented professionals works collaboratively and efficiently.

JPT: The biggest challenge when we started was the economy and the reluctance of financial institutions to provide us credit. We had to make conscious decisions and self-finance the beginning of Runa. Then, transforming and scaling and showing credibility. That was hard, too. We were the underdogs. We knew that our work would speak for itself, we just needed to get there. Medici Austonian gave us that credibility. Things started happening from there.

Do you think Austin has a unique style of architecture?

AV: It has been amazing to see downtown Austin transition from what we used to jokingly call "50 shades of beige" to a more modern aesthetic. This more modern, culture-oriented design trend really began in restaurants and office interiors, and then spread to structures of all types.  

JPT: No. I think Austin is evolving and has the potential of having amazing architecture. In the past ten to fifteen years, it has transformed from not having any contemporary architecture, to having a community of really great designers. Other small boutique firms are putting out great designs and pushing that envelope. The types of projects we have in the pipeline now, you wouldn’t dream of having ten years ago. You wouldn’t have even been able to pitch these projects. We feel really proud of that change. 

Describe your work. How you define your own unique style and approach?

AV: We have a diverse body of work that is informed by our clients. It is not about our style necessarily but more about understanding their needs and designing the best space possible to fit within those parameters.

We strongly believe that our cultural differences enrich our design decisions.

JPT: Our work is concept-driven and collaborative. Everything starts with the main idea as the driver of the design. You can experience our project, and ideally, you don’t see the hand of the designer — it just feels natural. It also starts with understanding our client and our client’s needs, as well as their brand. We don’t just want to solve a program, we want to take it a step further and bring creative ideas that improve the way they work while pushing their brand through design. That is the owner-centric part of our approach which means that not a single project is the same. Each is its own story, concept. 

We also tend to like more simplistic solutions, one of the hardest things to do. We really strive for complexity within simplicity.

What do you want your firm to be known for? 

AV: Providing amazing design and service that supports our clients’ business goals.

JPT: Great design and great places. We want to create environments for people.

In a city where startup culture and unlimited vacation are prevalent, we have definitely felt that we should follow suit — but this really was a no-brainer for us.

Where do you see your firm in 5 years?

AV: We would like to have several built and in-progress towers in Austin and other markets.    

JPT: Looking at different horizons, other markets. I see us also being more in the driver seat of the development of projects. Perhaps being able to generate our own projects.

Do you have a favorite project? Completed or in progress.

AV: We are working on an amazing mixed-use tower near downtown which will include an exterior diagrid structural frame. Currently, that project has everyone buzzing with excitement! 

JPT: My favorite project is Runa Workshop: Creating a fun place to work that embraces diversity and collaboration while aspiring to be a great design firm is so rewarding. We are always learning to get better and better, so the project gets more exciting as we evolve and as our people evolve. It’s a project because neither of our names is incorporated. We knew from conception, this would be a legacy, not about me or Aaron. 

If you could describe your work/practice in three words, what would they be?

AV: Listen. Design. Repeat.

JPT: Design. Collaboration. Fun.