Slow Space: Mette Aamodt on Health, Happiness, and a New Path in Architecture
By Julia Gamolina
Mette Aamodt is an architect, design activist and mother of two, living with MS. She is co-founder and CEO of Aamodt / Plumb, a socially and environmentally conscious architecture, construction and development firm whose mission is to create housing that is good, clean and fair. She is also co-founder of The Slow Space Movement. In her interview, Mette talks about setting a new standard for practice, founding a movement, and her interest in affordable housing, advising those just starting their careers to work smarter, not harder.
JG: How did your interest in architecture first develop? What did you learn about yourself in studying it?
MA: My interest in architecture was cultivated at a young age by my father, a Norwegian Architect who studied architecture in Vienna in the 1960s. That was a time when the Bauhaus’s social values were alive and well, and he took me around Europe to visit cathedrals and admired social housing everywhere we went. But I explored many other subjects on my path to architecture. At first, I was a Women’s Studies major at the University of Virginia until my roommate, who is Black, opened the door for me to Black UVA. I saw the racism of white students and how the Black students supported and protected one another while still inviting me in. The intersectionality of women’s studies and racial justice became real for me.
I transferred to Barnard to do Urban Studies with a concentration in Planning. Using New York City as my case study, I explored complex social issues through the lenses of sociology, anthropology, political science, and urban planning. Through the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, I spent a semester in Paris studying planning and the socio-economic impact of immigration from post-colonial Africa. With that research, I wrote my undergraduate thesis comparing the history of public housing in New York and Paris.
Lake Austin, Dock. Photography by Casey Dunn.
Lake Austin, living room. Photography by Casey Dunn.
Lake Austin, bar detail. Photography by Casey Dunn.
How did you get your start in the field?
After Barnard, I worked in Norway at the Oslo Planning Department on the Bjorvika Waterfront Redevelopment Plan that would eventually be home to Snøhetta’s Opera House. I also worked at the Department of Historic Preservation, writing preservation guidelines for Oslo’s Garden Cities – turn of the century social housing developments inspired by Ebenezer Howard. Then I received a Monbusho Fellowship to study Urban Design in Japan and spent a year learning about a different way of conceiving and organizing space and cities based on principles entirely different from those in the West. As a result, I questioned the aspirations, assumptions, and cultural biases of urban planners and designers and believed in the organic growth of cities shaped by local cultures over long periods of time. Ultimately, I settled on the scale of a building and went to the Harvard GSD for architecture.
Tell me about your time there.
Truthfully, the GSD was grueling, and I graduated with a MArch and MS, aka a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis brought on by high stress and little sleep. So I started my career very sick and knowing I was going to have to do things differently. I could not work for a Starchitect demanding long hours like many of my peers, and I could not build a career based on sacrificing my health. So my partner Andrew Plumb and I started designing our lives with a triple goal of doing good work, being healthy and happy, and making a good living. Twenty years ago, this was a pipe dream in architecture.
“...my partner Andrew Plumb and I started designing our lives with a triple goal of doing good work, being healthy and happy, and making a good living. Twenty years ago, this was a pipe dream in architecture.”
You’re setting an incredible standard. Tell me about your practice.
I can’t overstate what an impact having MS has had on my life and career. It is a chronic illness that affects me every single day with some level of pain, fatigue or loss of function - and it will only get worse. Every existing career path in architecture was going to make me sicker. So I questioned every assumption, norm, and stereotype, determined to find another way forward. I had to work a lot on my mindset, trying to rid myself of the Type A memes running through my head. I focused instead on working smarter, not harder, enjoying the process rather than obsessing about checking things off the list. Life is not a race, and I am not a rat, or so I tried to tell myself.
A break came in 2006 when Andrew and I were asked to design a friend’s house, and we launched our firm. Having our own firm has meant we can make the rules, set the pace and the goals. Although perhaps more stressful than working for someone else, being my own boss has given me the flexibility I need to take care of myself and have a family. It has also given me the opportunity to share my beliefs and values and create an office culture that is good for everyone.
The Aamodt / Plumb team.
We have been extremely fortunate with opportunities to design some beautiful homes. But after about ten years of learning the ropes and getting good at our craft, we wanted to have a more significant impact. I learned about the Slow Movement and realized there were other people trying to live slowly and intentionally like us. The principles of the Slow Movement also applied to what we loved most about architecture - thoughtful, well-crafted spaces that engage people’s senses and support their wellbeing. There was a Slow Movement in every industry except ours, so we launched Slow Space. Rather than Slow Architecture, we coined the term Slow Space because it is inclusive of all of the designers, architects, builders, and artisans that come together to make spaces. Simultaneously, we were pivoting our practice to architect-led-design-build, so an inclusive movement made sense.
2020 was a major milestone for us. The ‘Great Pause’ that came in March with the coronavirus pandemic brought normal life to a standstill. All non-essential businesses were forced to close, and non-essential construction projects were shut down. In Massachusetts, housing was considered essential, but we didn’t think expensive single-family homes really fell under that heading. What had been gnawing at us for a while then became crystal clear - to have a more significant impact and do something essential, we need to do multi-family affordable housing. What had been an interest of ours all along now became our mission. The Great Pause gave us the time and space to set a new course, but the murder of George Floyd reignited a fire for social justice. I cannot protest in the streets because of MS, but I will use what energy I have, along with my talents and privilege, for social justice to create housing that is good, clean, and fair, in line with the tenets of The Slow Space Movement.
“Every existing career path in architecture was going to make me sicker. So I questioned every assumption, norm, and stereotype, determined to find another way forward...I focused instead on working smarter, not harder, enjoying the process rather than obsessing about checking things off the list.”
Where are you in your career today?
Honestly, I am tired. Andrew and I have built an architecture firm, started a construction company, and are raising a family - all while battling MS. We have climbed many hills already, but we have one more hill we would like to tackle and that is developing affordable housing. We have already begun our first four-unit building in Cambridge. But Andrew and I are not doing this alone. Since the beginning, we have wanted to build a company that could take on a life of its own and eventually succeed us. We have an amazing team of people that are all excellent at what they do, from bookkeeping to design to carpentry. I have been able to step back from the day-to-day project work to focus on office culture, mission and values, and long-term strategy. This is where I want to be, and this is what I am good at.
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge for me has been balancing my ambition with my health because for me they seem to be at odds. What has helped has been owning my limitations and disability and being open about my MS with colleagues, clients, and the public. Developing a personal philosophy around slowness has helped to bring work and life together so that they reinforce one another rather than competing.
What have been the highlights?
The highlight of my career has been the opportunity to use our business and design practice for good, particularly in the realm of social justice. That includes impact based hiring, where we actively recruit talent from underrepresented groups. It means partnering with YouthBuild Boston to hire BIPOC youth who want a career in construction. It means fair labor practices for all our employees. It means shedding light on the exploitation in the construction industry and material supply chain, including its contribution to Modern Slavery. And it means developing affordable housing that is good, clean, and fair in our home town and surrounding communities.
Modern Texas Prefab, end wall. Photography by Casey Dunn.
Modern Texas Prefab, bathroom. Photography by Casey Dunn.
Modern Texas Prefab, entry. Photograhy by Casey Dunn.
Who are you admiring right now and why?
I really admire Breathe Architecture in Melbourne, Australia for their beautiful designs, leading-edge sustainability, and commitment to accessibility and affordability. They founded the Nightingale Model for housing, where they act as the developer setting a triple bottom line of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. They have completed several multi-family developments and are training other architects in Australia to do the same.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? What does success mean to you?
I want to use architecture for good and improve people’s lives through the spaces we create. I want to change the conversation in architecture because for too long it has been about theory, form, and technological innovation and not about people. I want to improve the quality of buildings to be beautiful, long-lasting, and use non-toxic materials. I want to build a movement of like-minded architects, designers, builders, and artisans who together can make change. I feel like I have already succeeded in so many aspects of life. Our company mission is to create housing that is good, clean, and fair, with a goal of affordability. We are well on our way to achieving our goals, but I don’t want to be the only ones doing this work. So the ultimate success is when others take up the challenge to create buildings that are good, clean, and fair.
“I want to change the conversation in architecture because for too long it has been about theory, form, and technological innovation and not about people. ”
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
The profession of architecture is struggling and may be dying a slow death. Architects design less than 2% of all buildings. Developers are the ones that build our cities and call the shots. Architects have been further and further sidelined, in part due to the policies of our own organizations to “professionalize” our field and limit risk. So my advice is don’t become an architect. But if you insist, don’t waste your money on a Master’s; get a BArch instead. And then don’t bother getting licensed unless you plan on having your own firm because only the firm principal stamps drawings. I say that because I have done all of those things. I have jumped through all of the hoops, had all of the best opportunities, and have had so much luck, and it has still been so incredibly challenging. Thanks to MS I have an enormous amount of grit and will to survive, which is the single biggest reason I am where I am in my career today. To survive, you must be positive, adaptable, and always have hope. Andrew and I have transformed our business several times from architecture to design-build to development to find a viable business model to achieve our goals.
My advice to women is to work smarter, not harder. No one can do it all - not even you! Find a niche you are passionate about and become indispensable in that one thing so you can do what you love, earn more, and work less.
[Whispering … My other advice to women is to act like a man. What I mean is pretend you know what you are doing at all times, ask for more money, and don’t talk about your hair or clothes EVER.]