L.A.-based Icelandic natives Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson of Minarc created the 320-square-foot Iceland-inspired tiny dwelling Plús Hús to be a sustainable and useful solution for addressing the housing shortage in their adoptive home. The Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is prefabricated at the company's mnmMOD’s facility in downtown Los Angeles, shipped flat pack, assembled with minimal waste and can be delivered anywhere in the U.S. starting at $37,000.
The Future of Building. An inside look at the mnmMOD team onsite a project in downtown Los Angeles.
mnmMOD panels were thoughtfully developed in reaction to the limitations and risks inherent in traditional wood framing. They are simpler to build with, more durable, more energy efficient, and far better for your health than traditional wood construction.
Plús Hús Garners Award for Its Big Ideas in Small Spaces
Plús Hús, the 320 sq. ft. customizable modern structure designed by MINARC and sustainably manufactured in Los Angeles, CA., is one of twenty-three stunning and meticulously designed residential projects bestowed Residential Architecture Awards (RAAs) by the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter (AIA|LA) at a ceremony last month in Los Angeles.
“We are grateful to be recognized for the work we are doing to provide affordable housing solutions at a time when it’s most needed,” remarked MINARC principal Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir.
Plús Hús received a Citation in Accessory Dwelling Units, a new category honoring design excellence in this emerging class of built environments, a testament to AIA|LA’s continued advocacy for more housing in the region.
Each Plús Hús is constructed of mnmMOD panels, another MINARC innovation, for a long lasting, energy efficient structure. Jurists noted, “The design is super simple, cute, fresh and has a great flow to it.” In addition, the Plús Hús is, “Aesthetically really beautiful. Anyone would be proud to have it in their backyard.”
Recipients of the awards ranged in scale from additions or small homes of less than 2,500 square feet to large residences and multi-unit projects comprised of more than 50 units. 2019 AIA|LA President Barbara Bouza, FAIA noted, “The Residential Architecture Awards demonstrate that quality architecture is at the service of clients, no matter the scale of project.”
“It may have small footprint,” confides Erla, “but it’s filling a big need in affordable housing.”
Our Plus Hus showroom had its Big Reveal! More than 100 people came for the “grand” opening of our 320-square-foot, brick-and-mortar showcase unit. Want to check out Plus Hus for yourself? Book a tour here.
We also had a unique opportunity to put Plus Hus into action: It was completed just as the devastating Woolsey fires raged through Southern California. With thousands of residents evacuated from their homes, we were able to house evacuees in our showcase unit, including two Pepperdine students who called Plus Hus home until it was safe to return to Malibu. Grateful for the opportunity to help.
Minarc is always testing the limits of indoor-outdoor design with sustainability in full view. Exhibit A: The GRASSsit bar stools, which are topped with synthetic turf that’s recycled from football fields. “We are big on no waste,” says principal Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir.
Understatement. Football fan or not, these are some of the greenest seats in the house.
Our Santa Monica offices are located next to The People’s Concern social services shelter.
We wanted to support this amazing organization that works with the homeless to provide permanent housing through an innovative approach to building self-sufficiency.
So our mnmMOD team cooked and served lunch for its residents on two occasions. Both times were amazing experiences and we look forward to doing it again soon!
One of our Minarc-designed, mnmMOD homes is nearing completion in Manhattan Beach — stay tuned for a complete home tour of images soon!
Even bigger news: ERLA Construction launched this January, a full-service contracting firm offering a hands-on approach to delivering the highest quality projects with an unwavering commitment to sustainable design. Interested in learning more?
Email us here.
Switching to a plant-based diet may be one of the greenest things you can do for the planet, but it doesn’t mean giving up flavor — or color. Food journalist Kat Odell’s latest book, Unicorn Food: Beautiful, Vibrant, Plant-Based Recipes to Nurture Your Inner Magical Beast, is designed to import the rainbow to your plate, without any chemicals or dyes.
“There’s been a huge trend of rainbow food but 90% of what’s out there is artificial color. It’s the opposite of what I’m doing, which is focusing on natural-hued foods. Fruits and vegetables like purple broccoli, blueberries, romanesco are more healthy than white food, and beautiful to look at.” The book includes a kaleidoscope of 75 superfood recipes.
Plus Hus was recognized by Dwell as one of the very top prefabs (in the world!) while our ION City Hotel won the World Architecture & Design Award for 2019.
ION City Hotel also earned an IDA Bronze award while scoring even more recognition from the German Design Awards.
Minarc’s Dropi chair also garnered a World Architecture & Design Award. Gratitude all around!
We also had a chance to speak with Tom Dioro about our work — have a listen here.
Billi Rakov is an artist and designer, based in West Los Angeles California. Growing up in an Amish town in Ohio where sewing was prevalent, the West L.A.-based artist was drawn to the craft from a young age, joining a 4/H sewing group and then stitching her own garments. “When I was in elementary, my next door neighbor frequently held quilting bees in her home,” says Rakov. “I would go over and play under the quilt frame as the neighborhood ladies quilted and socialized.”
Then college, career and kids happened, putting her passion on hiatus while she dedicated herself to raising a family and creating innovative package designs for companies such as Anthem Worldwide and Leon Richman Design.
When breathing room returned, so did Rakov’s passion for painting with fabric. “I put quilting off for a long time, and then started going to a sewing store in my neighborhood. I found a beautiful sense of community there,” says Rakov, who went on to join the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild and soon found herself stitching a new chapter in her creative life.
Rakov’s work has resulted in a series of stunning, handcrafted quilts that rely heavily on recycled materials: She uses everything from her children's outgrown clothes to second-generation sheepskin, “fish leather” from Iceland and even pieces of plastic. “A lot of times it’s a piece of recycled cloth that will start the inspiration for a new piece,” she says of her non-symmetrical creations.
Inspired by The Quilts of Gee’s Bend — the improvisational, recycled creations from a small community of women in Alabama dating back to the 19th century — Rakov’s pieces are a study in abstract, geometric simplicity. “These women didn’t have the resources to buy a whole bolt of fabric,” says Rakov. “They were piecing together old clothes or flour sacks and out of that came these pieces that are so unique. They were also incredibly pragmatic: They made these quilts to warm their homes.”
Each quilt takes Rakov up to 150 hours to make, working mostly from her home studio in Rancho Park. “When I’m working on a piece, I’m not following a specific pattern, but I do have a story in my mind. You set out to make a quilt and the pieces of fabric take a journey of their own.”
See more of Rakov’s work in Instagram: @billirakov
Ryan Hickman may only be 9 years old, but he’s a green giant of the environmental community, having saved 460,000 cans and bottles, totaling almost 90,000 pounds of glass, plastic and aluminum from the landfill. His passion for environmentalism started at 3, when Ryan accompanied his dad to their local recycling center. After cashing in a few bags of cans and bottles, the toddler decided then and there that recycling was his future.
Since that moment, Ryan’s commitment — and recognition — for recycling has only grown: He has received CNN’s Young Wonder Award, was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in Orange County by the OC Register, and has appeared on The Ellen Show, ABC World News and countless other programs.
While he’s traveled across the United States speaking about the importance of reusing materials instead of throwing them in the trash, Ryan remains committed to implementing his philosophy in his immediate environment. At home, he has set up 24 recycling bins. “We use really big green bags that go in the bins,” he says. “The bags are almost as big as I am.” At school, he has mobilized all of his teachers to save cans. “Every Tuesday I go around and collect them,” he says.
With the money he’s earned from recycling, Ryan has donated more than $8,000 to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. “The most common material we’re getting is plastic. If I could change just one thing, it would be for the world to stop making plastic.”
Interested in learning more about Ryan’s commitment to making the world a better place? You can see his website here.
In this issue, we focus on a deeper commitment to sustainability, whether it’s total dedication to ensuring your school’s cans and bottles don’t end up in landfill or adopting a more artistic approach to using second- and third-hand materials. We hope you enjoy our latest issue of Minarc Living.
Have questions or want to pitch a story?
Reach us at info@minarc.com
by editor Alex Abramian
The YIMBY moment has arrived. The name stands for “Yes In My Backyard” and is a grassroots movement to make housing affordable and accessible to far more people. Some of its biggest advocates in California include Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, while YIMBY-ism is rapidly spreading throughout the country in places like Boulder, Minneapolis and Austin.
The YIMBY movement aims to help end the housing shortage and ease the skyrocketing number of homeless people. In Los Angeles alone, the homeless population exploded from 32,000 to roughly 55,000 in just six years.
And even when people do find housing, skyrocketing real estate values mean they’re often pushed farther and farther from the centers of cities, forcing long commutes. Those hours on the road not only rob people of time, they also dramatically increase carbon emissions.
Minarc has designed Plús Hús to offer homeowners a way to become an agent of social change, starting in their own backyard. With recent Accessory Dwelling Unit legislation, homeowners can now legally help alleviate California’s housing shortage, and Plús Hús offers a low-maintenance, environmentally responsible way to do this.
The 320-square-foot home comes delivered completely flat-packed and is assembled on site, easing delivery and construction processes as well as overall cost.
Here’s more information about Plús Hús and here’s info on California’s YIMBY movement.
During the 14th annual HD Awards ceremony in New York at Cipriani 25, Hospitality Design (HD) magazine announced its project and product winners. Nearly 1,000 submissions from across the globe were considered in 23 categories, including Luxury and Upscale Hotels and new categories like Restoration, Wellness and Nightlife. Minarc won top prize in the Upscale Guest Rooms/Suites category for the new Ion City Hotel!
Iceland is one of the world’s prime spots to see the aurora borealis. Here’s a quick guide to one of the world’s most dazzling natural performances.
1. The Northern Lights often appear to shoot out of mountains like lava from a volcano, but that it’s merely an optical illusion. The closest that the Northern Lights ever come to Earth is 80 kilometers above the Earth's surface. In comparison, a plane flies about 10 kilometers above the surface.
2. Auroras are relatively dim, and the redder lights often marks the limit of what the human retina can detect. Cameras, however, are often more sensitive, and with a long-exposure setting and a clear dark sky, viewers can get some spectacular shots.
3. The Vikings believed the fiery ring was a bridge to the afterlife.
4. You have to look north to see the Northern lights. (Doh!) Make sure you know which direction is north. The Aurora is quite unpredictable and can be fleeting. When the sky is dim, it can look like a wispy gray or white cloud so be careful not to miss it.
5. The floor-to-ceiling windows at Minarc’s Ion Adventure Hotel are designed for optimal aurora borealis viewing.
Knitting in Iceland is serious stuff. The country’s famed wool — sourced from sheep originally brought to Iceland by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago — is known for its combination of inner and outer fibers and distinctive natural colors.
Minarc has taken that passion for the traditional craftsmanship and reimagined it through a contemporary design at Ion City Hotel. There, knitting stitches are magnified to create a graphic pattern used on blankets throughout the hotel.
Minarc has taken the concept even further by fixing the pattern onto the ceiling, which, in turn, casts an even larger pattern of the stitching onto the floor.
Plús Hús in the press! We’re happy to share our recent articles in Attitude Magazine, Design-Milk and Rue.
Ion City Hotel was recently featured in The Australian, which notes, “Scandi-chic guestrooms offer moody views and ready access to the city’s cafes, bars and restaurants.”
Architectural Digest recently described Ion Adventure as an “architecturally striking, rural retreat [where] gray-and-green-tone interiors reflect the Nordic landscape.”
Tíu Dropar?
The Icelandic idiom means Ten Drops, referring mostly to coffee but sometimes wine.
And it’s an essential philosophy of Minarc, the award-winning design firm best known for blurring boundaries between inside and out. In this issue, you will also find an intersection of cultures, Iceland and Southern California, where principals Erla and Tryggvi first arrived nearly two decades ago.
In Iceland, natives share a formidable bond to the natural environment, but also to neighborliness, becoming essential to one’s livelihood during long, harsh winters. Across continents, Minarc creates spaces with this inclusive community vision — to be lived in, shared — from a stargazing hotel lobby on a UNESCO Heritage Site to a sunlit multi-gen home in LA.
Also in this issue, functional minimalism gives way to new ideas like Plús Hús, a sustainable Accessory Dwelling Unit created as a solution to California’s housing crisis. The structure is not merely a teeny homage to cool Nordic design, but a resourceful blueprint for new California urbanism where dreams begin in the backyard.
Winged Victory: As of June, Icelandair has brought back its international service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Reykjavik.
Our first Plus Hus has broken ground in Santa Monica, the beach city where Minarc is based.
In other tiny-but-mighty news: Cities across the US are banning single-use straws.
Zero-waste confirms its place in the lexicon as an eponymous bistro pops up in NYC.
The heat is on at The Nordic Museum in Seattle, which recently opened with a century-old pop-up sauna as part of its exterior.
We create sustainably built, high-functioning homes designed for people to connect — with others, with the outdoors, or just with themselves.
At our latest project in Mar Vista, we've designed a home that will go up two stories and down one. The 8,000-square-foot house will include seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a basement level that features a screening room, gym, au pair living quarters and a wine cellar. Like all of our homes, the outside is just as important as what goes on within: Here, glass walls disappear to invite gardens, the pool area and courtyards as completely livable environments.
The thermostat is perennially set to 70° in Southern California, so only warm, open spaces will do. This is the philosophy of principals Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson, who decamped from Iceland to Los Angeles some 20 years ago, creating a portfolio of projects that distinctively soften modern edges and encourage togetherness. Their designs honor a respect for nature and a bond toward community, which are ingrained in Nordic sensibilities, shaped by long, dark winters. Today, it’s the award-winning Southern California blueprint for Minarc’s new wave of sustainable, connected living.
We are makers, builders, designers and dreamers with a passion for collaboration in creating sustainable, human-centered spaces. Together, we bring a diversity of experience and knowledge to every phase of each project.
Unique vendors. Engaging programs. Endless inspiration.
Now in its seventh year, WestEdge Design Fair offers the best in modern design in an environment designed to engage, entertain and inspire.
Plús Hús and mnmMOD were thrilled to be a part of this incredible weekend in Santa Monica amongst so many talented designers and emerging brands. Looking forward to next year!
What would you do with 320 square feet?
Excited to announce that mnmMOD has been honored by Hive as one of this year’s top 50 innovations in housing for our customizable building panels, using recycled steel and EPS panels.
Be sure to VOTE FOR US and check out the full list of honorees here.
Hive celebrates 50 examples of people, processes, products, and platforms that release newfound strength, functionality, and beauty from the tight grasp of the future. The 2019 Hive 50 list—spanning design, building technology, capital commitment, customer intelligence, and business and consumer strategy—highlights applied brilliance that reflects how the future now defines this community more so than the effect of all the past millennia put together.
We’ll be celebrating at the Hive conference, Dec. 4-5, in Austin, Texas.
On a mission to share the variety of attractions that LA has to offer and bring light to local businesses at the forefront of change, The Los Angeles Business Review stopped by our offices to meet with Erla and Tryggvi and discuss all things mnmMOD. Below is the article by Patrick Pitre for you to read and be sure to check out their blog for more valuable insight into this city.
“Like every other advanced city in the world, Los Angeles has begun to embrace the Sustainability Movement. In an era where ecological concerns lay at the forefront of our awareness, one of the biggest areas where we can improve energy efficiency and reduce deforestation is through the smart design/build systems and methodologies in the construction industry. Erla and Tryggvi founded mnmMOD in 2007, with the stated objective of changing the way that people build. It was as if they were preparing to be poised for the moment. Visionaries are that way.
“We wanted to encourage the utilization of steel and foam, and reduce the utilization of trees,” Erla explains. “Traditional wood framing is prone to termites and fire, requires more energy to heat and cool, and contributes to the continued deforestation of the planet.”
Their modular construction technology uses panels that are a blend of recycled steel and EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) insulation, making the system extremely energy-efficient, fully customizable, modifiable and affordable Green-alternative to traditional home-building techniques. In the distinctive dialect he shares with Erla (they both hail from Iceland) Tryggvi chimes-in on the challenge of introducing change to the traditional American construction industry: “In the beginning, there was a constant, ongoing educational process that we needed to support; with architects, engineering firms, developers and owners. After 12-years of this, we feel like there now exists a base-level of knowledge about who we are and what we do, in Los Angeles, and the world. We can feel the wind in our sails. We’re answering inquiries every day.”
When talking with Erla and Tryggvi, one clear and recurring theme is a “creative minimalism” that characterizes not just their panels and construction methodology...but also their work. “In Los Angeles, Designers, Builders and Owners want to work with a system that is straight-forward, cost-effective, ecologically-sound and with a long life,” Tryggvi explains. Complimenting the simplicity, efficiency (and energy efficiency) of this modular system is the fact that mnmMOD’s manufacturing process is environmentally-friendly. Their panels utilize “cradle to cradle” certified, extruded polystyrene and 30% of the steel used is recycled. As confidently humble as Erla and Tryggvi are, this writer wouldn’t fault them for boasting proudly about the fact that there is zero waste generated throughout the panel-fabrication process. Such a positive production process compounds the original earth-friendly benefit of countering the demand for wood as a primary building material in the first place. With the number of traditional construction firms in Greater Los Angeles - and the world - continuing to deal in practices that threaten to dramatically reduce our precious forests, and remembering as well that these forests are also habitats for many creatures, Erla, Tryggvi and mnmMOD are the best news we could have. With their design having been tried, tested and true on projects over the last 12-years, mnmMOD is poised to continue meeting the demands of green-building initiatives of Los Angeles...and the world!”
Honored to have been awarded the Hive 50 Peoples’ Choice Award for this year’s top 50 Innovations in Housing for mnmMOD’s customizable building panels, using recycled steel and EPS panels.
We had such a lovely evening celebrating in Austin, Texas last night and were thrilled to be in a room with such brilliant minds, changing the ways in which we operate for the better.
A big congratulations are in order to our fellow honorees. Excited for what the future of building has in store!
Architecture Press Release (APE) is the online Architecture Awards Portal and a leading body of architecture press globally. With a mission to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life, we are truly grateful to announce that Minarc has received Second Award for our project, Ion City Hotel, in the category of Hospitality Hotel Design, as well as our Dropi chair, suspended like a solitary drop of falling rain, bringing home the First Award for best product design.
With APE’s reputable roster of jury members and over 700 entries from across the globe, we take a moment to pause and appreciate this honorable mention as truly something commendable.
As designers we find inspiration everywhere. Through people, music, math, in books and, of course, in nature, but most importantly, within our community.
2019 was a great year for us and we are so proud of the accolades we have achieved, leaving us feeling more inspired than ever for 2020 and all that is yet to come.
From the unveiling of our Plús Hús showcase unit in Santa Monica, to mnmMOD bringing home the HIVE 50 Award for Innovation in Housing, Minarc being recognized worldwide as the Most Prominent Architecture Firm in the United States by American Architecture Awards, and the launch of ERLA Construction, a full-service contracting firm offering a hands-on approach to delivering the highest quality projects with an unwavering commitment to sustainable design, below is a list of our proudest moments.
2019 Year In Review:
AWARDS
HIVE 50 Awards - Innovation in Housing (Winner)
Interior Design Best of Year (BoY) Awards - Innovation (Honorable Mention)
American Architecture Awards - Most Prominent Architecture Firm in the United States (Winner, Minarc)
LIT Design Awards - Residential Lighting, Longford (Honorable Mention)
IDA Design Awards - ION City Hotel, Iceland (Architecture Bronze Winner)
World Architecture and Design Awards (Winner)
Architecture MasterPrize (Honorable Mention)
Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards - Minarc Dropi, (Second Award, Product Design Elements)
Blueprint Awards - Best Product, Dropi
AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards - Residential Architecture (ADU Citation, Plús Hús)
NEWH Top ID Honor - Top Hospitality Interior Design Firm 2020 (Honor)
LIT awards
JUDGES
CODA Awards Collaboration of Design & Art
Architizer A+ Awards
EXHIBITIONS
Boys & Girls Club of Malibu
SQA Sustainability Expo, Santa Monica
WestEdge Design Fair
LUXUREA, The Beverly Hills Luxury Festival
SPEAKERS
The Modern Architect Radio Show with Tom Dioro
TV Interview with Alex Tabani
