Yasmine Mahmoudieh: Committed in Driving Change

00:00:06:07 – 00:00:33:15
Claudia
Hello and welcome. This is season two of my podcast Shift Happens. My name is Claudia Mahler. I am your host, and I invite you to celebrate women’s voices and stories with me. With this podcast, I’m creating a space for women to share a pivotal moment and a turning point in their life. Shift happens is now on my YouTube channel, Shift Happens Dot podcast.

00:00:33:17 – 00:00:59:20
Claudia
Check it out. Today I’m in conversation with renowned architect and design innovator Yasmine Mahmoudieh. Yasmine has lived and worked all over the world. She speaks six languages, is a multiple founder, an entrepreneur and currently a visiting professor to the Institute for Books Indian. She is a mentor to the architect department at the Royal College of Art in London.

00:00:59:22 – 00:01:30:19
Claudia
But read her full, vibrant and comprehensive bio on my website, https://claudiamahler.com/en/podcast/. Yasmine will share with us how a swim in the Mediterranean 20 years ago awakened her to shift her focus and work and life to sustainability, to make it her mission to mobilize her industry and beyond towards ecological awareness and taking on a collective responsibility.

00:01:30:21 – 00:02:01:07
Claudia
Yasmeen is a reference in her field, speaking regularly at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and she was at the last Cop 28, the 28th annual the United Nations Climate Meeting in Dubai. Listen in and meet a woman with boundless ideas and work projects always geared to be ahead towards the future, to embrace it and make it better.

00:02:01:09 – 00:02:09:16
Claudia
For.

00:02:09:18 – 00:02:37:04
Claudia
So today I welcome Yasmine Mahmoudieh here to shift happens. We’ve known each other for a very long time. From Feb old Berlin days, but it’s been forever. Like totally forever that we’ve been personally in touch. And, of course I’ve followed your stunning stellar career over the years and, Yeah. Welcome. I’m excited that we have the time to have a conversation today.

00:02:37:06 – 00:02:44:21
Yasmine
Yeah. Thank you so much for inviting me. And, I’m also very excited to have an opportunity, you know, after so many years to to talk to you again.

00:02:44:23 – 00:03:00:00
Claudia
Yes. So before we get into the shifts and the pivots that we are talking about in general, on shift happens. I have a few questions for you. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

00:03:00:02 – 00:03:41:04
Yasmine
For me, the idea of perfect happiness is if your mind, body and soul is in harmony. And I think we have to equalize a lot of different things in our life. And, you know, if we if we have an exciting life, life where there’s a lot of trouble and a lot of different, you know, inspirations, we have to make sure that, there’s something, in us that keeps, you know, being taken care of and, that we also, I think some it’s also the awareness of, exactly enjoying every moment in my life and, appreciating, you know, which for me, I’m sure for us, the shame of having wonderful children, having

00:03:41:04 – 00:03:58:12
Yasmine
a very fulfilling job. And, you know, being very blessed and very grateful to for the opportunity that I have. And I think, it’s very important to, to have this gratitude and learn this more and more. I mean, I did learn it already because, you know, I lived in California and I was always very interested in spirituality.

00:03:58:12 – 00:04:07:11
Yasmine
But as as you grow older, I think it becomes even more, you know, more important, to really focus on the essence of life. Yeah. The important.

00:04:07:11 – 00:04:13:13
Claudia
Things. Yeah, yeah. Well said. What do you most value in your friends?

00:04:13:15 – 00:04:35:09
Yasmine
Well, I think, the most thing I value, my friends is that, it’s to be there for each other and, you know, in good and in bad times. I mean, I just never, you know, a straight line up that has ups and downs. And I think it’s even because I have lived in many different countries as you have and, you know, different cities.

00:04:35:09 – 00:04:56:02
Yasmine
And, so you don’t have just kind of nucleus like some people have all your life. Your best friend is next to you. I don’t have that sometimes. Sometimes it’s that, you know, because you miss this. But on the other hand, when you if you keep in touch with them and there has been a level of closeness that you feel you can, you know, you haven’t seen each other for a while.

00:04:56:02 – 00:05:17:03
Yasmine
And if you continue like where you left off, when you when you had seen each other, I think that’s the beauty of life. If you if you are more adventurous in life and you want to explore more and you’re curious as I am, there is, you know, there’s some kind of drawback to have just kind of like, very steady, environments that you have when you always have the same place.

00:05:17:05 – 00:05:29:15
Yasmine
But, it’s for me, it’s the beauty to see that even distance doesn’t separate you and that you still have things to share. And and you are there for each other and in important moments, you’re always there.

00:05:29:17 – 00:05:34:15
Claudia
Yeah. What is your most treasured possession?

00:05:34:17 – 00:05:56:23
Yasmine
well, possession. if you’re talking about, you know, like, I, like I said before, for me the most, the grateful I have one two wonderful children that you. If you can call it possession. maybe that’s not the right word, but it’s definitely, you know, one of the things, again, treasures or, you know, things in life I’m very grateful for.

00:05:57:01 – 00:06:18:05
Yasmine
And, for me, it’s my freedom. And it’s really, I think my somebody, it’s freedom, that I can really choose to live where I want to live. That I have to work, that I can work globally, that I’m not fixed in a place and have to do with it. I would be a bit like a prison. So my freedom is my biggest possession.

00:06:18:05 – 00:06:21:19
Yasmine
I think that’s most treasure I have.

00:06:21:21 – 00:06:24:08
Claudia
And what is your greatest fear.

00:06:24:10 – 00:06:55:19
Yasmine
Well you know I think I’ve been working a lot of fears come and go and, and they’re always in your mind somehow I, I, you know, I think that we have to master our mind and our subconscious, you know, and more and more that the subconscious mind to, I think I’m not really a fearful person. I, you know, I’m more than hoping I’m working on being able to, you know, even I really like the idea of longevity and living a very long life, but with health spent.

00:06:55:21 – 00:07:18:12
Yasmine
So I’m very interested in longevity and biohacking myself so that I can, you know, I think that that I can do as much as I can do in order to keep very healthy and very fit. You know, as in the older age, later on and, enjoy longer, as you know, you know, our physical, you know, beings in this world.

00:07:18:13 – 00:07:27:06
Yasmine
So but I’m not really, fearful in the sense, that I have, like, one big fear, I don’t.

00:07:27:08 – 00:07:32:00
Claudia
Okay. And last question. What would you come back as.

00:07:32:02 – 00:07:35:04
Yasmine
You mean, in a different life if I would, I’m.

00:07:35:04 – 00:07:37:02
Claudia
Back in a different life. Yes.

00:07:37:04 – 00:07:57:20
Yasmine
I think, you know, when I look at my life, I have really done what I wanted to do. There are always some things that you consider, you know, I wish you would have done differently. I started my own company very early, and I just jumped into everything. And, I think I would have spent more time on learning some other skills that I haven’t learned in this lifetime.

00:07:58:01 – 00:08:19:02
Yasmine
But, I think there’s a reason for what we are doing and why we are here. And, and we have to find a reason why our purpose. And, I think if you have that purpose, you will never think about, you know, is there any other way I could have, you know, lived this life? And if I come back, it will be a different, you know, just on purpose, a different challenge.

00:08:19:04 – 00:08:30:17
Yasmine
But I’m. I’m also based on my life on the earth now. Not good.

00:08:30:19 – 00:08:50:06
Claudia
Yes. And we are benefiting from this because for you, really the major, major topic is sustainability. And. Yeah. So I’m really curious if you could explore this pivotal moment that happened to you. And, and then I want to know later why particularly that moment.

00:08:50:08 – 00:09:14:20
Yasmine
I’ll, I you know, I’ve been always interested and curious in, in pushing boundaries and and and having more than just, you know, esthetics as an architect and designer creating beauty and, you know, esthetically interesting places. But to, to see what’s the purpose behind how can I make life better? I, I see me as an architect, for life, you know, because we are creating spaces that human beings are living in.

00:09:15:01 – 00:09:32:05
Yasmine
And I always say that’s the difference between applied arts and liberal arts. Is that applied arts, you have to live with it. You can’t just say, oh, you know, I’m going to do something, you like it or you don’t like it. It has to, you know, address feelings, emotions that you have to make people really, blossom and love where they live and where they work.

00:09:32:05 – 00:09:55:22
Yasmine
And, you know, everything like that. But then I think, we are like a little part of the bigger, you know, picture, which is the universe, and it’s the Earth. And I remember still when I was in Germany in high school, I think I was really young in the 40s or something, that the geography teacher who, you know, in 50 years, there’s going to be a major problem with the world for the climate.

00:09:55:22 – 00:10:19:17
Yasmine
And it was this is literally when I was like nine years old or ten years old, and he was giving us a very gloomy picture, us to vote and, you know, at the time, I think back sometimes about it because it was so far away from anything, you know, at that time. That was my, I think my, my first experience where I, you know, I have a flashback looking at what’s happening with the world today.

00:10:19:19 – 00:10:43:06
Yasmine
And then, what happened is that I was in Greece, which I really like a lot. And I’ve been going there forever, and I was swimming in the ocean, and this is already ten, 15 years ago. And just finding this plastic thing stick to rocks and and diving a bit under the sea and finding a lot of plastic, which really shocked me and also gave me the awareness that it’s there.

00:10:43:08 – 00:11:04:00
Yasmine
It’s just invisible because it’s in the water, you know, it’s under the water. And even before that, I have always researched materials and design architecture, which are sustainable because I always felt that we are producing a lot as architects and designers in the world. You know, I mean, it’s massive square meters of buildings, of cities, of villages all over the world.

00:11:04:02 – 00:11:23:21
Yasmine
And, must be some drawback. There must be something that can’t be that good. And the whole idea of the CO2 emissions coming from the building industry and, you know, from many other industry, like fashion, is something that I really studied. And I also try to understand what is happening with circular economy and embodied carbon, what are all the effects.

00:11:23:23 – 00:11:41:23
Yasmine
So that was something that interested me because I saw that it’s going to be a danger in the future, much earlier than many people were, you know, looking at it. I mean, it’s only in the recent years that there’s this huge, you know, awareness. And it’s always been that, to be honest, we should have looked at it much earlier.

00:11:41:23 – 00:11:47:14
Yasmine
But, the awakening was very late. And for me it was quite early, I have to say.

00:11:47:16 – 00:12:10:02
Claudia
So. And this moment in the, Aegean Sea was so striking for you to shift your focus in your career or really focus more on sustainability and materials and why particularly there? I mean, we have plastic and garbage and things, you know, waste lying around everywhere, even already 20 years ago.

00:12:10:04 – 00:12:27:23
Yasmine
It’s everywhere. But when you go to the beautiful island and you are in this natural environment, you know, but it looks also, you know, perfect and to see and the weather and the sun and beautiful beaches, you know, you feel that this is untouched and this is still pure beauty. And then you realize that it’s not what meets the eye, you know.

00:12:27:23 – 00:12:45:07
Yasmine
So that was the shock for me. And then for me, it was just so shocking when I then did research with my team on how much plastic waste we have all over the world, and then to see how they put all this plastic into Thailand, into some third world countries where they get paid a lot of money to just dump it there.

00:12:45:09 – 00:13:09:17
Yasmine
And and then I met I was also at a dinner in Berlin at, be honest, 15, 20 years ago, almost, where there was somebody from South America, from a German drum something. And he was saying that there are these areas in the ocean that are plastic, just plastic filled. And as much as, you know, I mean, everywhere, and it’s only because you don’t have it in front of you every day doesn’t make it disappear.

00:13:09:19 – 00:13:29:01
Yasmine
So that like you said, I have to say, in the UK, in the school of my church, it’s very much made aware of plastic. And they were very from small and very you shouldn’t go with plastic to the supermarket or we should have something else. So there was a lot of education. I mean, I have to say, and I’ve felt that plastic is one of the big problems that we have.

00:13:29:03 – 00:13:47:05
Yasmine
And I came to this, you know, it’s not that it changed, but it’s an additional part of looking into 3D printing of recycled plastic, which I really started a bit before the pandemic. But seriously, during the pandemic, when I was having time off from other things that kind of sell through, you know, because of the.

00:13:47:07 – 00:13:57:17
Claudia
3D printing of plastic or with plastic, obviously. Okay. So explain this to me. And I’m like someone I have no idea about anything, sadly.

00:13:57:17 – 00:14:19:12
Yasmine
So practically, I’m working with, the charities or startups, either with the charities who clean the ocean. And it’s not only the ocean, the plastic comes from. I mean, you can’t imagine how much plastic is now after Covid, all the pieces of plastic, you know, that was used and all the medical trays from everything. So you have different sort of plastic.

00:14:19:18 – 00:14:42:10
Yasmine
And there are like fortunately some startups, they do filaments from it. So they process it, take out the toxins. I’m working with particular one in Amsterdam, and then they make it, in filaments that you can use it for 3D printing and 3D printing, this sumptuous way of because you have no waste, you know, you just print, exactly the element that you designed it.

00:14:42:10 – 00:15:04:06
Yasmine
It’s going to be printed. So I thought that this is an amazing way to get rid of the plastics, because only 90% of all the plastic we produce in the world is being recycled, which means that 91%. I mean, I’m always shocked when I go shopping just in one day. You know, I have plastic filled because everything is in plastic.

00:15:04:11 – 00:15:21:16
Yasmine
Every fruit of a vegetable, everything is packaged in husk. So if you think how many billion people we are in the world and we all receive this, it’s it’s really terrifying. And I think the problem with plastic is you can’t just make it disappear. You should substitute it. Which, you know, it’s another subject we can talk about.

00:15:21:22 – 00:15:36:15
Yasmine
But then with what you already have, if you repurposes in the architecture and design, you can take tonnes of plastic and reproduce it for architecture. And this is what I’ve been trying to show in my exhibitions, like the one in Basel, the Design Miami exhibition.

00:15:36:17 – 00:15:57:10
Claudia
Fascinating. So I also read that you probably as a consequence of this realization about plastic and materials, that you started a library. Yes, of different materials. And is it like a physical space or is it, well, virtual? And how do people and companies get access to it?

00:15:57:10 – 00:15:58:09
Yasmine
Well, I had.

00:15:58:10 – 00:16:00:21
Claudia
Do they each have their library card?

00:16:00:23 – 00:16:22:07
Yasmine
It’s I will tell you, it’s an interesting project of mine now. So what happened is that I used to have a physical library in London, but then when the pandemic hit and we left our office because the office was complete, you couldn’t go to the office. It was closed. So then we dissolved the physical and we said, we just do it all online, you know, because we can’t go any place to show it to anyone or have anything.

00:16:22:09 – 00:16:44:22
Yasmine
So it’s, I used to have for two years a person hybrid in my office that was doing nothing else, and to research sustainable materials all over the world. So literally she was, you know, looking into the whole world because when you work globally, I said it would be great to know what’s the local sustainable materials. When you work in a different country, you know, you don’t want to transport something from America to Europe.

00:16:44:22 – 00:17:10:07
Yasmine
For example. So that’s how it was started. And now we have 300 plus materials. What I’m going to do actually to make it, feasible is by the end of the year, we’re going to launch a marketplace for sustainable materials. Well, one hand, we have all these amazing producers, which is, you know, for me, a marketplace is the most democratizing concept that you can have because you give a voice to small companies tool which I never found.

00:17:10:09 – 00:17:34:02
Yasmine
And to be honest, even some of the bigger ones are very hard to find with too many people. There’s too many things on the Google and you know that, you know, so big companies don’t buy all the first stages, so you end up being not seen. So the idea is to make them visible on the platform and then to have to idea that, you know, you can sign the materials on a I call it like the booking.com of materials.

00:17:34:03 – 00:17:38:14
Yasmine
This is what we going to launch and to make it available for really everyone.

00:17:38:16 – 00:17:45:07
Claudia
So who would be a customer and why would they be a customer? Like what could they buy for doing what with it?

00:17:45:09 – 00:18:07:10
Yasmine
We will probably start from the very to be first, because if you think about all the big construction companies, all the big developers, all the buildings are being built on a daily basis. 80% of the CO2 in the world comes from concrete. So concrete is the most harmful material in the world, and not used to be the cool material for architects to use for floors, the walls for furniture.

00:18:07:15 – 00:18:30:19
Yasmine
It’s actually terrible damaging. So we have done a lot of research on the alternatives. So we have no alternative materials to replace concrete. It’s not one because concrete does have a lot of function. It’s not one for exactly everything, but there are different applications, and there are also more and more companies looking into a ton of tips for concrete, totally understanding that.

00:18:30:19 – 00:18:56:19
Yasmine
So sustainability is a big problem with concrete. So if you imagine we are being able to help developers or construction companies or even architects when to specify a project to go on outside science, you know, what is the use for it? What’s the price? Everything in one side. Easy to find, easy to manage and then just order over outside to these companies that I wouldn’t even know and have it all organized in one site.

00:18:56:21 – 00:19:07:14
Yasmine
And the same thing is, you know, like for the small companies to have the possibility to be found for bigger projects and can grow more because, you know, there’s somebody that’s being aware of them.

00:19:07:16 – 00:19:14:23
Claudia
So it seems that you really are driven in this and an unstoppable motor.

00:19:15:01 – 00:19:36:14
Yasmine
I really I’m very passionate about it because I, you know, when we talk about purpose, I really hope that I can use my lifetime in a way to ignite a change. And, I think if anybody thinks about in depth session, whatever they doing, there’s something I’m sure everybody can do. And for me, because 40% of CO2 in the world comes from construction industry.

00:19:36:19 – 00:19:58:17
Yasmine
So we are in it’s, you know, I’m working in a field that is very much responsible for the climate, damage. And, it’s about sharing the knowledge, you know, getting awareness. I mean, when I’m invited to many talks around the world to talk about this, this is my mission to not only get awareness, but to also show tangible solutions, to say, we don’t need to use this.

00:19:58:17 – 00:20:21:21
Yasmine
We can build differently. We have in our library materials that can clean the air, can take the pollutants away, can take the allergens away. we, you know, we work with, rhubarb leather, cactus leather, apple leather coming from apple from the skin of apple. So we have some amazing materials. and, you know, I could go on and on and on, and they are so interesting.

00:20:21:21 – 00:20:46:07
Yasmine
And sadly, when I, you know, when I go to other events, or talks with many international designers, there’s not that much knowledge and they are not applying it. And I think we all have to do the research. We did it maybe extremely, because I found it so important, but I hope that I can ignite, you know, a change in the in the world by making awareness that we have to build differently.

00:20:46:09 – 00:21:16:22
Yasmine
it’s not an option to be sustainable. It’s a, it’s a must. And it’s actually becoming also more difficult with all the regulations also in Europe. So, it is also financially, you know, deadly if you don’t do it now because people will be taken over by surprise, by carbon tax. and also there’s, you know, I’m lecturing also at conferences, especially in hospitality, showing how you can increase your ROI through sustainability because there’s a misconception that it costs more.

00:21:16:22 – 00:21:25:02
Yasmine
We can’t afford it, which is not true. you know, it’s absolutely true. It’s just ignorance. Ignorance is the problem.

00:21:25:04 – 00:21:32:19
Claudia
Yeah. So I know you are also a lecturer at university, and the hotel school in Lausanne, I think. Right.

00:21:32:21 – 00:21:43:06
Yasmine
Yeah. I was, I was teaching ten years at hotel school in Lausanne. Now I’m teaching at DSC. Paul Books and Yale and Paris, and I’m also a mentor at Joy College of Art in London.

00:21:43:08 – 00:21:57:11
Claudia
Fabulous. And when you are working with the young people, how do you feel is their approach to the necessity of a sustainable lifestyle, starting with properly separating your garbage?

00:21:57:13 – 00:22:20:06
Yasmine
Yes, I do have very sensibilities, you know, and they are very interested and I almost like shocked that they didn’t know about it before. I mean, my, my class at and support books, which is, you know, now living in Paris, the students I it’s shifted you know, it was about architecture, design, new concepts and this now it’s becoming more and more just sustainability because they have no idea.

00:22:20:06 – 00:22:46:02
Yasmine
Nobody’s teaching it. So even the restaurant people, you know, because the public has the hotel management school, but also the, the restaurants, obviously, you know, one of the finest education. And I make them into groups and I let them be very creative to come up with new concepts, you know, with considering countryside and what can they do with organic food and how can I mean, even the menu is is influenced by it, but also what do you do with waste products?

00:22:46:06 – 00:23:07:07
Yasmine
I mean, we have for example, we work with food waste for tableware because there’s a there are companies that are using food waste to create, tableware. And they’re very interested when they find these things that I didn’t know exists. So I have a very close relationship to the students who usually contact me after my lectures because they are so curious to find out more.

00:23:07:09 – 00:23:24:22
Yasmine
And I think they are, you know, the younger generation is much more sensitive and the understanding that they have to do something and they are more worried rightfully so. it is, very much co-operative and, totally excited to be in that space and coming up with creative solutions.

00:23:25:00 – 00:23:52:01
Claudia
Yeah. Well, that’s truly hopeful that the younger generation is taking this seriously because it’s on them, right? To take it to the future and to all be an advocate for this. So what I wanted to also know from you. So you’re traveling a lot, you know, everywhere. You’re very involved. And what is your way to relax?

00:23:52:03 – 00:24:14:19
Yasmine
I, I don’t have, my life has never been. This is my work life, and this is my private life. How many transitions? you know, because I, I, I love art, I go to art exhibitions. I meet interesting artists all around the world. you know, I it is to me does a kind of a flow between the two for me, relaxing is, nature.

00:24:14:19 – 00:24:39:04
Yasmine
I mean, I do have the need to grow a lot into a beautiful nature. And, I have usually done every year, a few trips that are very important. And also with the kids, like, memorable. I love hiking, I love sports, you know, we’ve been many times to tennis camps in France and in Italy. So for me, sports, nature, that is very relaxing.

00:24:39:04 – 00:25:02:02
Yasmine
And I, you know, I do a bit of meditation and would like to do more, which I think I will do. And, you know, my son is now also going his university career that I would do more in that field which I’m very interested in. I’m doing every day since three years, I’m doing every day to Wim Hof, breathing in the morning every day and to cold shower for three years.

00:25:02:04 – 00:25:16:18
Claudia
Right. Yeah. I’ve been doing the cold shower also now for one year. It’s good. It’s nice. I used to do it as a child. I mean like, there was no way around it. Yeah. That’s what we had to do as kids. Yeah, yeah, but I picked it up again. It’s a good hack.

00:25:16:18 – 00:25:17:17
Yasmine
Yeah it is.

00:25:17:17 – 00:25:29:09
Claudia
And, I guess then I don’t have to ask you how you get energy, because I’m sure you’re. You seem so driven that there’s no lack of that.

00:25:29:11 – 00:25:44:05
Yasmine
Well, I think that, you know, as a creative, you always have too many ideas. You have more ideas. And you. I mean, I don’t know what boredom is. I have to say, I, you know, I, I always think my life time will be not long enough for all my interests. And sometimes it’s fun because you have to focus.

00:25:44:05 – 00:26:09:18
Yasmine
So you, you know, sometimes people that kind of focus me and say, okay, okay, you can do also a, B, C, d, but let’s concentrate on, on these things. But I think especially when you travel and when you see the world to get so inspired and it can be from a totally different area. It’s, you know, you just see something because you, you are looking at the world, as an actor and design, you always look into shape and color and sunlight and nature.

00:26:09:19 – 00:26:28:02
Yasmine
You know, everything and how people live. The cultures are so different is different things. And what is it that you take from another culture into your own culture? What is the what you can’t what doesn’t fit? So there’s always kind of an analysis in a certain way about, understanding different life forms. And and why is this our life?

00:26:28:02 – 00:26:56:08
Yasmine
It’s only one life we’re living, you know, because we are grown ups in the surrounding. And I find it so exciting to go to different cultures and understand how those people grew up and, and lived and, and, you know, when you combine this, when you work internationally as a designer or architect, if you have the chance to go to other countries to understand the I mean, that’s what a good architects or designers should do to really dig into the, you know, the different kind of traditions and history and what makes the place different.

00:26:56:08 – 00:27:16:05
Yasmine
If you go to Japan, it’s totally different. You know, the culture of how you live, how you eat, what you eat. And, I’m really extremely interested in that. And as I told you before, I’m very interested in longevity. And I’ve been following them for a very long time from the blue zones and had also connected to him, but he just had so company to someone.

00:27:16:05 – 00:27:39:11
Yasmine
But the idea that, you know, the blue zones are such an amazing example of how you can live actually. And what are the ingredients coming back to, you know, the purpose of life. And there are some very simple things that you can identify in all the different areas that I identified as the places where people, you know, Centennial saw a high amount of numbers.

00:27:39:11 – 00:27:54:23
Claudia
Yes. It’s very impressive. Yeah, yeah. No, it’s something one can always go back to again and again. Yeah. It’s very inspiring. Just also to see the faces of these many, Centennial, so to speak. Yeah. There are there something special about them? Yeah.

00:27:55:02 – 00:27:58:04
Yasmine
Yes. I mean, maybe you saw the Netflix. Yeah. Yeah.

00:27:58:06 – 00:28:00:00
Claudia
I did see the Netflix series.

00:28:00:00 – 00:28:16:03
Yasmine
They all have. They all look happy. I mean, they all have a smile on their face and it shows you it doesn’t have really to do with prosperity. You know, it has to do with, you know, contentment. And I loved also the scene in, I think in Okinawa where they have to smile when somebody needs help to help each other.

00:28:16:03 – 00:28:19:12
Yasmine
There’s this network of these women. What I think is.

00:28:19:12 – 00:28:28:14
Claudia
Yes, yes. Now, I thought that was impressive. But also the laughter, I mean, they were they were having such fun. Yeah. I was really envious.

00:28:28:16 – 00:28:51:01
Yasmine
Yeah. No, there were fun. And it makes you I think it’s good to see this, you know, and to think about it more often and, to really stop. I think we all have to stop. I mean, even I’m very busy, as you know, I do stop. I do stop more and more. You know, I take especially when you travel and when you’re in a plane or somewhere on a train or it’s, you know, you and you’re by yourself.

00:28:51:03 – 00:29:13:00
Yasmine
You have a lot of time. I never watch TV or any or movies. I usually really kind of, let my mind go and wander and reflect. It’s good to get outside yourself, to reflect about your life and what you’re doing and what you want to do. And, you know, and I think to take every moment very precious and to reconsider is just, you know, what you really how you want to spend your life.

00:29:13:00 – 00:29:22:12
Yasmine
And yeah, what are this? And then you there’s people like you said, and you’ve seen the amazing happiness in the faces and, the community that’s so close to each other.

00:29:22:14 – 00:29:38:07
Claudia
So I would like to know what’s next for you. and what’s your vision? I mean, you are an architect. You create, you build, you teach. And what is your most important mission? I, you know, what’s the next step for you in all this?

00:29:38:09 – 00:30:05:10
Yasmine
Well, the next step is to have my own climate positive, which for children. So I’ve been working on this for quite some time now on the side. Wow. And then again, when the pandemic hit, I’ve been taking more time. So practically, I developed a concept. It’s a kind of a climate positive, sustainable retreat outside city centers, but it’s a combination of motel rooms and cottages that one would, sell and respect to the hotel.

00:30:05:10 – 00:30:28:22
Yasmine
But they’re all small. They’re like 60 to 120 square meter. It’s about sharing economy. It’s about a community. It’s about like minded people and across the world. And it’s really about, I mean, beyond the normal hotel experience, when, you know, when we were talking in the last decades, people were always talking about the experience society of, you know, you have to go to a hotel to experience something.

00:30:29:00 – 00:30:51:09
Yasmine
And I’m talking about transformation. I mean, it’s it’s one step higher than experience, but it’s to transform you into a better human being. And this is coming back to what I said, mind, body, soul. So if you can imagine, you know, these places around the world, where you meet, like minded people who all have similar interests can be from very different backgrounds.

00:30:51:11 – 00:31:16:20
Yasmine
And then it also has to have, you know, the offerings that you will have will be like having weeks of poetry or writers or tech entrepreneurs, also longevity expert. sure. It’s you know, startups. So it’s, I call it sometimes a mom meets house, only to give a bit of an apology, saying a month is more luxury than Soho’s.

00:31:16:20 – 00:31:33:12
Yasmine
But it’s also it can also be very boring and very if you’re very alone, it’s like you’re not talking to people. It’s too heavy. It’s like too much, you know? And then the Soho House is for very young, you know, young. And it’s started to be very selective with musicians and producers and actors and, you know, architects, creatives.

00:31:33:12 – 00:31:52:10
Yasmine
But that’s it. So I’m thinking there’s something in the middle that is, you know, for people that’s really understand that a hotel can be an amazing experience to meet. And, you know, we’re talking about these meetings like the World Economic Forum in Davos, where everybody is totally hyped to go. And why does this have to be an event once a year?

00:31:52:15 – 00:32:22:05
Yasmine
Why not having places around the world which have the same energy and bring the same people together with a mission. So I’m also in a moment looking for mission driven investors, you know, but it’s what they key to understand. You know, that is this is very important that you have to purpose in it. And with an organic farm and having local culture integrated local people and not taking the shops from Thailand because you want to have shrimps in a you know, in a place where you don’t have it.

00:32:22:07 – 00:32:42:06
Yasmine
But having, you know, this is an austere luxury which is more, close to nature and, where there’s a lot of creativity and, you know, arts and crafts and things happening, I think there’s a need for it. There’s a need for something which has more meaning and is more purposeful, and not just another, you know, at the moment, we see all these big brands.

00:32:42:06 – 00:33:02:00
Yasmine
It’s about numbers, all we open every day, which are all around the world. So what does it mean? Nothing. I think this project brings my whole life experience together. It’s kind of and as I’ve been, as you know, teaching and being on the board of accountants, I have also the contacts to get people to manage it to the operations.

00:33:02:00 – 00:33:16:05
Yasmine
So I can set up double team. It’s beyond architecture. It’s, you know, it’s being a bit like a developer like myself, and I’m looking for the best trusted understand and would like to use the kind of, you know, presence that I want to create.

00:33:16:10 – 00:33:23:17
Claudia
Fabulous. I mean, I guess I don’t I won’t be an investor, but I will be a guest for sure. I can bring my salons.

00:33:23:23 – 00:33:42:20
Yasmine
Yes, exactly. Yeah, that’s exactly what the idea is, that it will be. And, you know, the idea is also that it’s not I mean, it’s just going to be an upscale, but it’s not like the over the limit because like I said, that the cottages will be 6220. I know a lot of friends who said, oh, when you have this, I’m going to want to buy one of them.

00:33:43:00 – 00:34:03:10
Yasmine
And then it’s sharing economy. You give it back into the pool. So if you’re not there, it’s not too empty. Other people can take advantage of it, which is then next, the next generation. We’re talking about self-driving cars. Everything is changing in the world. And, you know, I’m always somebody looking into the future. Before the future is that I’m really excited.

00:34:03:12 – 00:34:33:11
Claudia
yes. I mean, that was, really like a whirlwind of thoughts into the future. This is so really fascinating. We could go on forever, I think. But for now, I really thank you a lot for also this push to just be more mindful and also not only in the present moment, mindful, but also take it into the future in each of our own futures, sustainability and how we all, you know, need to take care of our planet.

00:34:33:13 – 00:34:36:04
Yasmine
Yeah, we have a collective responsibility. We do. So we.

00:34:36:04 – 00:34:36:12
Claudia
Do.

00:34:36:12 – 00:34:42:10
Yasmine
Well, it was my pleasure. Very nice. sharing this with you. And I hope to see you soon in person again.

00:34:42:10 – 00:34:46:02
Claudia
Yes. That would be fantastic. Okay. Bye bye.

00:34:46:06 – 00:34:57:21
Yasmine
Thank you. Bye bye.

00:34:57:23 – 00:35:40:02
Claudia
This is what a whirlwind. This has been a complex insight into a creative, vivid female inventor’s mind. Fascinating. And a great push to rethink one’s own standards, behaviors, and mindfulness towards a sustainable future. My takeaway is this library on sustainable materials. How very clever to have a comprehensive source for alternatives for the building and design industry. I must say that I’ve learned a lot today, and I’m grateful for this push to more mindfulness and embracing our future.

00:35:40:04 – 00:35:50:14
Claudia
As always, please rate and review my podcast wherever you listen.

00:35:50:16 – 00:36:15:08
Claudia
Shift happens has been created and is hosted by me. Claudia Mahler editing. Andy Boroson, social media Magdalena Reckendrees. I hope you felt connected and heard by listening to Shift Happens and please leverage review and a rating wherever you listen to podcasts.