Michelle Kaufmann is an American architect and designer. In 2002, Kaufmann founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs, which designed and built single-family and multi-family

green home A green home is a type of house designed to be environmentally sustainable. Green homes focus on the efficient use of " energy, water, and building materials". A green home may use sustainably sourced, environmentally friendly, and/or recycled b ...

s using prefabricated modular technology. The firm was closed in May 2009 and Kaufmann started a new design firm, Michelle Kaufmann Studio. Kaufmann is also a co-founder of Flux.io, a company developing collaborative design software for the building design and construction industry.

Personal life

Kaufmann grew up in Iowa and received her undergraduate degree from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

and her Masters from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

. Prior to founding Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Kaufmann was an Associate with

Frank O. Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

and had worked with him in Santa Monica. She also worked with

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Gr ...

. Kaufmann relocated to Northern California, where she founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs. She has been a lecturer and keynote speaker for numerous events, and has taught at

and

Woodbury University Woodbury University is a private university in Burbank, California, with a satellite campus in San Diego. History The school was founded in 1884 as Woodbury's Business College by its namesake, F. C. Woodbury, formerly a partner in Heald's Busin ...

. Kaufmann currently lives with her husband and their two dogs in their Glidehouse in Marin County, California.

Projects

The first project, titled Glidehouse, was designed by Kaufmann and her husband, Kevin Cullen, in 2004. A full-size replica of this home was built for the

National Building Museum The National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning". It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit i ...

in Washington, D.C. from May 2006 through June 2007 as a part of the exhibit The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. The style is influenced by "Japanese homes, along with Eichler and Eames, as well as the rural farm buildings from" her "childhood in Iowa". The first Sunset Breezehouse was designed by Michelle Kaufmann in collaboration with

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spr ...

magazine in 2005. The first MKLotus designed by Michelle Kaufmann was built in front of San Francisco's City Hall in 2007 as a part of West Coast Green conference on sustainable building. This design is among the smallest of the open-space homes offered by MK designs. It includes a "front wrap-around deck and enclosed meditation garden" and is "Intended as a vacation or small stand-alone home". It uses the same sleek, geometric shapes as her other designs. The MKSolaire was exhibited at the

Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is a science museum located in Chicago, Illinois, in Jackson Park (Chicago), Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is house ...

within a show titled "The Smart Home: Green and Wired", which was open from May 2008 to January 2009. The Solaire has been "redesigned to reflect the lifestyle of a couple looking to minimize home maintenance, maximize efficiency, and settle in to a space that not only is beautiful, but functional".

Awards and honors

In 2007 Kaufmann was named the "Henry Ford of green homes" by ''Sierra'' magazine, published by the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, w ...

. Kaufmann’s work is widely published and her homes have been showcased in a number of museums, including the National Building Museum, the Vancouver Art Center, the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's or ...

, and most recently, in the "Smart Home: Green and Wired" exhibit at the

. Other awards include: * Top Firm Award 2008 from ''Residential Architect'' magazine. * Innovations Award 2008 from

Social Venture Network Social Venture Network (SVN) is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1987 by Joshua Mailman, Thomas H. Stoner Jr and Wayne Silby, SVN. Events Social Venture Network hosts two annual conferences, one on the West Coast in Spring and one ...

. * Kaufmann was named "Advocate of the Year 2009" by the

National Association of Home Builders The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is one of the largest trade associations in the United States, representing the interests of home builders, developers, contractors, and associated businesses. NAHB is headquartered in Washington, ...

Written works

* ''Prefab Green'' (published by Gibbs Smith, )

References

External links

Kaufmann Studio official site

Presenting at Cusp Conference 2010 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufmann, Michelle American architects Living people Iowa State University alumni Princeton University alumni Iowa State University faculty Woodbury University faculty American women architects Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century American women