»Our customers’ trust in our work has automatically led to projects around the globe.«

I trained as an interior design consultant and then went to New York for a year and a half at the age of 20 and then to Zurich for four years. I learnt most of what I do today during this time, although I am also a great believer in the idea that you never stop learning (smiles).

I am certainly also influenced by my father, who is an interior designer. Even when I was at school, it was very clear to me what I wanted to do. There was never any doubt. I always wanted to be involved with beautiful things and so there was no other option that ever seemed more attractive to me.

The company employs 6o people, of which the creative teams are based in our offices in Vienna and Munich. Our project management unit is based in Aurach at our company headquarters, where I am also based, and our production team is based in Stuhlfelden in Salzburger Land. This is where it all began with Bernd Gruber’s father’s traditional carpentry business.

The way it starts is the way it ends. A well-organised start is important. And then it should certainly be emphasised that a project requires a great deal of expertise from the first workshop to completion. As a result, we always ensure that the right expertise is part of the project team in each individual phase. At the beginning, the focus is on creativity, and as the project progresses, this shifts more to the implementation side, which is organisationally strong.

That is a crucial point for us. There are projects that are completed in a year, but there are usually a lot of projects that take five to six years if you include all the approval processes. In order to understand our customers precisely, we go through a clearly defined process together, which begins with a so called empathy workshop. We start by finding out how and on which channels the customer prefers to communicate.

At the same time, we work out the basics. What does the customer mean when he or she says “modern”? Or “high-contrast”? We work with mood boards and approach the customer’s perspective in a structured and rapid manner until we are sure that we understand our customers in depth.

Of course, the customer needs to have a basic response to what we do. But you can sense that quite quickly at the start of a project. If we don’t fit together, then it doesn’t make sense. Ultimately, a project always fits when three aspects come together in equal measure.

Firstly, it is the culture of the client’s input, secondly, it is the location and its culture where the project is to be realised, and finally, our own approach rounds off our philosophy and our response to the framework conditions of a successful project. Our homepage does not show everything that makes up our range, as we are not always allowed to publish all of our projects for understandable reasons.

The given context defines the respective take-off height and is therefore a good starting point for offering the customer more than is usually expected. That’s the beauty and appeal of working with existing specifications. You have the chance to incorporate the narrative of the respective design era of the building and incorporate it authentically into the project. Something like that is simply great fun!

Absolutely! As banal as it may sound, every place has its own power, magic and desire. It’s quite normal to work with cooler materials in warmer climes like these. On location in Los Angeles, you automatically absorb the modernism from the 60s that is in the texture of the city. You perceive the longing for the blue sea and blue sky and want to manifest this lightness and give it a frame. You can’t think this up at a desk in Vienna, you have to be inspired by it on site.

Japan has certainly influenced me the most. This love of meticulousness and appreciation for the highest level of craftsmanship is a great source of inspiration for me. The design language, the culture and also the connection to craftsmanship is something that naturally resonates strongly with our values.

Our customers’ trust in our work has automatically led to projects around the globe. It is simply a wonderful compliment when customers engage us for the sixth or seventh project in a row. This means that we are represented with our work on all continents and are delighted with growth based on appreciation. The magic lies in the first steps, which have to be approached correctly, and that brings us back to the empathy workshop I mentioned earlier (laughs).

If the starting point is precise, then a project is much more enjoyable than anything else. For our customers and also for us. Just last week, a client told me that all her friends strongly advised her not to embark on a completely new construction project because, from their point of view, it would cause nothing but stress and frustration. However, she said that she was looking forward to the process as she had already worked with us and knew how we structured it. The aim of our work is to create precisely this feeling – that property development, if well organised, can also be a pleasure – and I think we’re succeeding quite well.