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comment  | KRDB:
The art of the deal |
How does a guy with a degree in finance from Michigan State University end up as principal of an architecture firm in Austin, Texas? “Currency arbitrage just wasn’t giving me a creative outlet,” laughs Chris Krager, principal of Austin-based KRDB. “I did the banking thing for four years. That was enough.” Krager moved to Austin to seek a degree in architecture. “I wanted to build, and the University of Texas had a good balance of theory and practice.”
KRDB’s modular line, in two module sizes, 36-by-15 feet or 60-by-15 feet, has three floor plans available, which make up the six building blocks of the system.
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Krager worked for several esteemed architects including Michael Rotundi, Kevin Alter, and Juan Miro, before he and his friend Chris Robertson started KRDB (Krager Robertson Design Build) in 2000. While the firm’s main mission was to offer modern design at an affordable price, Krager had other aspirations for the practice. “I always saw the vertically integrated package as the way to go,” he says, “where we act as developer, designer, and builder. I thought, the city must have a program or incentives for this kind of work in the kind of neighborhoods we were interested in. They did, and though we had no track record, we borrowed the money and made it happen.” The firm’s first few projects, including Cedar Avenue, two residences on Austin’s East Side, garnered interest from both the local and national press, and more clients came. Still, Krager wasn’t seeking commissions as much as he was interested in the development side of the business. In 2004, when Robertson left the firm to pursue his own projects, Krager was able to redirect the practice.
“Maybe it’s my banking background,” he says, “but I love the deal. I love gathering the players—the investors, the contractors, the neighborhood organizations—I love partnering with all these different groups, then creating the right design and developing the project. I love finding the city incentives and keeping the costs down while keeping the design above a certain standard. It’s challenging, but very rewarding.” Krager says that finding investors hasn’t been that difficult, either. “One person bought a spec house I developed, and now he’s a partner in my modular company,” he says. “People like him aren’t the type who are just looking at the bottom line. They’re interested in design, in sustainability, and they’re interested, as I am, in economies of scale.”
KRDB has a slew of development projects in the works, including multifamily housing in Austin and mixed-use projects in New York and New Jersey. With Krager heading up all segments of the practice, the daily business of running a growing firm can be challenging. “I guess I’m just one of those people who functions more efficiently when I have more to get done,” he says. “If I stopped and thought about what’s happening, I’d have a heart attack. I enjoy the broad scope of what I’m doing, and I’m a little ADD—I have a short attention span, so it works.”
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