Michelle Kaufmann's Prefab Design Firm Takes a Break

DESIGN - 2009-06-20 - MK DesignIn practice since 2004, Michelle Kaufmann advanced the ideal of high-quality, well-designed, prefab residential architecture.  She and her colleagues completed 40 prefab houses. While reducing waste in construction and embodying other benefits of prefab, the houses integrated outdoor spaces with interiors.  She also worked toward increasing the affordability of high design. On May 27, 2009, Michelle annouced that she was closing her firm, saying that, " .  .  . the financial meltdown and plunging home values have caught up with us."  Ms. Kaufman says she is looking toward the next chapter and is confident that there will be one.  No doubt, fans of modernist design hope to see her back on the scene as soon as possible.  For the Los Angeles Times article about the shuttering of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, go to http://bit.ly/4BZAFL .  

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

https://urbanexus.com
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Housing Assets as a Percentage of Gross Development Product