Last month, we reported on two stories that demonstrate the range of architectural start-ups emerging to address a lack of housing in the USA and further afield.

One example came from established leaders in the industry, with Bjarke Ingels unveiling details of Nabr, his “people-first housing company” which promises to “put more people on a path to owning a high-quality, environmentally friendly home in the city.” Boasting partnerships with Google, NASA, Apple, Lego, and Tesla, Nabr is an example top-down innovation, with global corporations injecting capital into novel approaches for the future of living; funding which has already allowed Nabr to amass $1 trillion in projects under planning.

December also saw an example of bottom-up support for innovation in housing, with the announcement that UK-based start-up HOKO Design had raised $590,000 in a crowdfunding campaign. Founded in 2019 by a recent architectural graduate from Glasgow, Scotland, HOKO seeks to become “the first household name for residential architecture” with a focus on integrating virtual reality, real-time client feedback, and a streamlined administrative process for clients.

Whether big-name disruptors such as Nabr, or grassroots start-ups such as HOKO, the growing portfolio of companies dedicated to innovation in housing will inevitably generate new job opportunities for architects and designers. To demonstrate this point, our Job Highlights Series is focusing this week on Juno, a California-based real estate start-up seeking to “radically rethink how housing and apartments get designed, built, and developed.”

Later this year, the company hopes to deliver its first development in Austin, Texas, described as “a new type of apartment building for the future of the American city.” According to Juno, key aspects of future projects will include the elimination of natural gas, and the use of mass timber, smart building software, organic and anti-microbial surfaces, and adaptive lighting. Meanwhile, the company seeks to build a new model of residential design and delivery, with a component-based modular design system, decentralized manufacturing for cost efficiency, and flexibility between on-site or off-site assembly.

Over on our jobs board, the company is recruiting several positions, namely a Technical Computing Manager, a Product Design Director, a Design Manager, and a Product Sustainability Senior Manager. Echoing its ambition to bring new ideas to real-estate, Juno is also an example of a company embracing remote working as a staple of the future workplace., with all four jobs advertised as “remote.”

“Juno as a company has embraced a fully remote approach to work, with teammates based in cities across the US, with regular opportunities to get together in person,” the company says. “Our preference is for teammates to be based in San Francisco, Denver, or New York when possible, for the opportunity to be based near other teammates.”

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As part of Archinect's job highlights series, we showcase employment opportunities for individuals with architecture backgrounds who are exploring other ways to apply their skills beyond a traditional architecture firm.

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