HOW CAN WE DESIGN NEW
LIVING SPACES?
Maximilian Hurler — ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND DESIGN
AN INTERVIEW WITH MAXIMILIAN HURLER, PARTNER IN THE JOST HURLER GROUP, A REAL ESTATE COMPANY WHICH PLACES THE CREATION OF SUSTAINABLE LIVING SPACES AT THE HEART OF ITS APPROACH TO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT FOR RESIDENTS AND USERS.
Questions by Frank Wagner
“Making the best out of the time available to us” — this is Maximilian Hurler’s life philosophy. In an interview with us — the nomad magazine — , he offers an insight into his personal experiences and what drives him to bring a company steeped in tradition into the future.
Mr. Hurler, where does your interest in design and architecture come from?
I believe that a fundamental appreciation for design is something we all have. Personally speaking, cities and metropolises have always inspired me. Their squares, spaces and buildings are fascinating in terms of design and architecture.
However, the truly special thing about cities is their vibrancy of life. Who are these people and what are their stories? What are their needs? What trends can be observed in society? How can city life be reconciled with increasing awareness of environmental and health factors? Where are new opportunities for art and culture emerging?
Today, in our role as project developers, we are working together with architects, engineers, designers and other partners to come up with the answers to the question of how to better create — or rather design — the spaces in which we live.
Why did you not become a designer? There is an intense discussion taking place as to whether or not design can decisively improve people’s living environments. What is your view on this? Is this a naïve stance or a relevant question to pose?
Well, what is a designer?
According to a renowned Munich-based design and brand agency — hw.design gmbh — , “designers anticipate and shape the future”.
As Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel once said, “An entrepreneur is first and foremost a designer”.
Perhaps design and entrepreneurship can be understood to be methods of taking a situation or condition or state, for example, and improving it. Human life. People. These are at the centre of this process. Time is a precious and finite concept for us all. It is therefore likely that we all ask the same question. Namely, how can we make the best of the time available to us? This issue transforms what we do from a mere job to a calling in life.
Squares, buildings and spaces provide the framework for life, for human activity. As project developers, we are given the wonderful task of playing a part in shaping the areas in which we live our lives. We moderate and coordinate a common and fair process anchored in brainstorming processes, design, structural implementation and business.
In this way, design and the process entailed help us to achieve our goals and, in doing so, meet our responsibilities head on.
It is up to each individual as to whether they perceive themselves to be a designer. However, what’s for sure is that nobody can ignore the social relevance of design.
You are 33 years old now. During your training, you spent nearly a decade abroad, mainly in London and New York. To what extent can a country like Germany, or more precisely a region such as Bavaria, influence you from afar?
I never felt like it was so far away. To me, London and New York are two of the most exciting cities in the world. In my early 20s, I moved there and was so excited to discover the cities and experience life there.
Luckily, I was always able to keep in touch with my home town, family and friends. In this way, I actually felt and experienced both the concepts of home and distance simultaneously.
What most impressed you when living abroad, particularly with regard to cities as spaces for living? What were the most important personal experiences for you while living outside Germany?
The size and sheer height of the buildings in these cities really amazed me, but above all it was the vibrancy, dynamism and versatility of life there. No matter whether you are an investment banker or artist, whether it’s the Freedom Tower or a brick building, the Metropolitan Opera House or a jazz bar — the extreme and simultaneously joyful variety makes for an incredibly exciting way of life there. Moreover, it often strikes me that everything seems to have happened first in New York. Societal trends, politics, economy, art, media or architecture and design. This then filters out into the rest of the world. You get the feeling that you are actively shaping the zeitgeist. And I like that feeling to this day.
The special thing about any time of life is the people with whom you spend it. The most memorable experiences were therefore also the touching stories of people who I got to know from all walks of life. Because of these genuine friendships and various circles of friends with whom I am still in touch to this day, I remember these times fondly and still feel at home in both London and New York.
Your grandfather–Jost Hurler–founded his eponymous company shortly after the war. To what extent is his leadership style still of relevance to the company today?
Jost Hurler was an entrepreneur through and through. His great strength was to recognise an opportunity and exploit it to the full. The Wirtschaftswunder and period of post-war reconstruction was his heyday. During this time, he built up the company from nothing alongside his wife Josefine and became a pioneering figure in the world of business. As was the norm back in those days, Jost Hurler led the company in a very patriarchal manner.
For sure, many of his characteristics set an example and provide inspiration for successful entrepreneurship and to us as a corporate group.
However, we cannot simply rest on our laurels. Times change ever more quickly and new opportunities and challenges emerge as a result.
To capitalise on these, we have sought to transform the once patriarchal management culture at Jost Hurler by restructuring the company into a modern group with new business areas and management levels. Just as during its formative years, the company now once again has its finger on the pulse of time.
We have already spoken about the Jost Hurler Group’s new self-perception. The interesting thing is that this does not equate to a repositioning of the company. Rather, it is a change which has emerged from a new generation and is therefore an internal development. How do you view this evolution?
The Jost Hurler Group’s contemporary self-perception is far from a given. In reality, it is based on the day-to-day effort and dedication of our entire team.
This includes mutual trust and, of course, common conviction in addition to embracing entrepreneurial opportunities with enthusiasm.
Succession planning for a new generation to take over at management level is a major challenge –for every company. Unfortunately, this process was marked by a tragic occurrence at the Jost Hurler Group. Leo Hurler, son to Jost and Josefine, was his father’s heir apparent before a fatal accident in 1982. Of course, it is not our wish to replace a person, even if we were able to, but the company is now represented by his second, and our third, generation.
If he were able to see this all today, he would definitely be impressed with the group of companies we have now.
Of course, we maintain and honour his values and traditions. Yet we are also seeking to go our own way and write a completely new chapter in our company history
How will the Jost Hurler Group look in 15 years? What ideas do you intend to bring into the company?
The Jost Hurler Group is a real family company. We are currently building up our project development business and have identified outstanding opportunities — predominantly in Munich. With partner firms we are developing new services and technologies which will shape and improve urban life in future. These include intercommunicative apps, co-working, sharing and delivery services, etc.
Developing ideas and concepts, realising these within a team–these are fantastic tasks. Project development is a real “people business”.
Personally, I enjoy discussions on a day-to-day basis with a wide range of people working in an array of different disciplines. I am particularly excited about our company relocating to Leopoldstraße within the framework of our current “Schwabinger Tor” project.
Schwabinger Tor — a newly designed district in Schwabing, Munich, covering a total area of nearly 100,000 m will be completed in 2017. This project is a good example of the new direction of the Jost Hurler Group. How would you describe the basic rationale behind the Schwabinger Tor project in just one sentence?
To make the best of the time available to us!
If you were to consider the Schwabinger Tor project as a brand, what kind of (brand) experience should be offered to tenants and visitors to this area?
“Schwabing is not a place — it’s a state of mind” — a famous quote from the author Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow.
Schwabinger Tor should supplement this colourful, free-spirited and lively district of Munich. It is my hope that we can offer visitors and future residents the chance to enjoy an incredible urban experience rather than promote Schwabinger Tor as a kind of brand.
Many people are not aware that the Jost Hurler Group is not just constructing Schwabinger Tor, but will be responsible for managing it too. To this extent, the Group’s involvement as constructors is focused above all on its future use as residential space. What is being done to create the right ambience to provide a high-quality lifestyle?
The special thing about Schwabinger Tor is the variety and valuable experience it offers. A dedicated “Schwabinger Tor team” works on site and offers special services to our residents and visitors with the aim of providing an exceptional urban experience: Inspired by the “Bohemian Schwabing” era, we are promoting local artists active in a wide range of disciplines, including paint, graphic and digital design, video and music together with Schwabinger Tor residents.
These artists are afforded space to create their work in specially equipped and centrally located studios, with the idea being for them to then display their masterpieces in public during cultural events.
We will also be offering company founders the opportunity to establish start-up offices at Schwabinger Tor, exchange with other entrepreneurs and build up a customer base as a subcontractor for established firms in the field of co-working. Our intention is to invite potential investors to start-up events. Company founders can then present their ideas to them.
We are developing the first district-centric car sharing initiative together with a renowned Munich-based automotive firm.Schwabinger Tor residents can select an appropriate vehicle from the fleet, perhaps for a weekend trip to the mountains, and hire it as and when needed. Using the district-exclusive app, tenants of Schwabinger Tor can directly connect with and get to know each other. This opens up opportunities within the Sharing Economy: sharing tools, food, books, videos and bike sharing will become possible.
For the Schwabinger Tor project, you collaborated with the Swiss architect Max Dudler, among others. What was this experience like? Or, to pose the question slightly differently: what role did architecture play in the Schwabinger Tor project?
The objective of Schwabinger Tor is to add to a much beloved area of Munich. From the very start, I detected real enthusiasm from everyone involved in the project, particularly from the architects. The architect offices responsible for the design of above-ground buildings in the area, namely Max Dudler, 03 Architekten, Hild & K and Hilmer Sattler & Albrecht and Ahlers, quickly developed a sense of community spirit. This was soon plain to see, as the buildings are certainly very different in their conception, yet they dovetail well to form a fantastic holistic concept.
A new style of European city is emerging: spaces which feature a combination of multipurpose buildings, a lively, open-plan ground floor area packed with restaurants, businesses and public squares interspersed with green spaces.
Continuity is an expression and guiding philosophy of the Schwabinger Tor project and its architecture. People are at its core, however. Despite their architectural nature and quality, our buildings are not sculptures. They are houses. They provide the framework for human activity. Our objective for the completed Schwabinger Tor project is for this area of the city to become so vibrant that the architecture seems to automatically blend in to the background.
In the year 2050, 70% of people around the world will be living in highly populated areas. What is your view: how can we ensure that people benefit from these urban areas despite rising population densities in urban areas?
By making use of interdisciplinary work, combining technology, art, the economy and politics.
Rising population density can also be viewed a real opportunity for living spaces. City life offers huge advantages over more rural lifestyles: a feeling of belonging in society, diversity, improved employment prospects, training opportunities, culture and history, interlinked private and public spheres, emancipation, short distances, and much more.
At the same time, however, cities, their buildings and their infrastructure all combine to pollute the environment, for example through traffic. In extreme cases urban life can even be life-threatening, especially when we consider the smog in megacities such as Beijing, China, or the hectic transport infrastructure of a city such as Mumbai, India. The possibilities presented by wind and solar energy, recycling and biomass have certainly not yet been fully exploited.
Designers, mavericks, free spirits and artists often think empathetically and are particularly able to evaluate social requirements and preoccupations. They express these in their work and words.
By working in tandem with politicians, entrepreneurs, planners, engineers and programmers, incredible ideas and technical innovations are emerging.
Where and how would you like to live in 15 years’ time?
I will definitely still be living in Munich but at the same time, I’m sure that I will retain my enthusiasm for travel, above all to the world’s big cities.
The interview was published in Issue 1 in 2016.
