Coliving Awards
2024

Tjeerd (1978) carried out his architectural training both at TU-Delft, and SCI-Arc, Los Angeles, co-founding Space & Matter two years later. He is passionate about a process orientated approach to architecture and urban design. He has an experimental ethos, applying online and offline tools to bring together and empower communities to take leadership in designing their neighbourhoods. In this context, he pursues new financial models, business models and ventures which prioritise social-good and inclusivity in the built environment. Tjeerd is interested in bringing this participatory process into all scales of the urban domain, from individual household design to the plans for entire neighbourhoods. He has carried out lectures and workshops in Europe and beyond, and worked with numerous institutions and expert groups to broaden the architectural discipline.

Martina is an Italian interior designer based in London, she has 10 years of professional experience, a Bachelor Degree in Building Engineering and a Master in Interior Design from the Politecnico university in Milan. She founded her agency A Designer at Heart in 2018, bringing her expertise in luxury residential and hospitality design. With a focus on the Purpose Built Shared Living sector, Martina's international portfolio reflects a seamless fusion of creativity and technical expertise, delivering innovative and wellbeing-oriented interior design solutions.

Luke Bujarski is a brand and marketing leader at LUFT, a strategic marketing consultancy specialising in the real estate and hospitality industries. He is also a founding member and head of strategic growth at Extenteam, an international workforce solutions company helping vacation home and short-term rental management brands create exceptional guest experiences. Luke also organises the Branded Real Estate Forum, an information hub and in-person event for branding and marketing professionals in real estate. He is also a contributing author with Thesis Driven, a publication dedicated to analysing the future of real estate. Previously, Luke was the research director at Skift Research, where he led the publication agenda for a leading travel industry information hub. He holds a master's degree in urban planning and design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lodewijk is the co-founder of GROWE the coliving partner for real estate investors. With a passion for innovation in the real estate sector he has developed a deep expertise in coliving advising investors and developers at an early stage of their development projects. Lodewijk's guidance is instrumental in optimizing business cases and structuring the operational organization. With GROWE, he oversees the entire pre-opening process which often results in taking the property under management after opening. His vision for modern property management sets him apart from traditional operators aiming to make coliving the norm for all generations by creating communities that promote sustainability comfort and a sense of belonging. Through GROWE Lodewijk offers real estate investors a unique opportunity to elevate their projects to the next level.

‍

Fanyu Lin is an artist and entrepreneur working at the intersection of fine art, technology, architecture, and design. She founded the World Home Foundation to harness philanthropic power for tackling the global housing crisis—one of the biggest social, economic, and moral challenges facing humanity today. The foundation worked on creating a universal ESG standard for the urban affordable housing sector to unlock global housing as a critical long-term impact investment asset. Fanyu is a Contributing Writer for the Financial Times (Chinese), where she interviews business and cultural leaders and produces articles with audio on global leadership, art, business, and ESG. An active voice in global dialogues, Fanyu serves on the Bloomberg New Economy Cities Council, collaborating on a methodical, citizen-centric approach to urbanization, among others. She graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Lars Sommerer is the managing director of SwissPropTech. In his role, he represents the association to members and partners. He supports its members in achieving their goals, grows the association and informs about its continuing development. His ambition for SwissPropTech is to grow the network continuously and to expand the network offering to its members and partners. He holds a master's degree in business administration with a specialization in marketing.

Joanna has 20 years of international experience in structural engineering, business development, and management roles across the building industry. In her current role at Implenia, she is actively involved in industrialisation initiatives and strategic partnerships.

She co-developed SwissPropTech, the largest tech innovation community in real estate & construction in Switzerland. Joanna's expertise extends to advisory board membership at SwissPropTech, serving as a jury member for startup competitions, and sharing her knowledge through guest lectures at esteemed universities. With a Master's degree in Structural Engineering and certifications in Design Thinking and Building Digital Partnerships, Joanna combines innovation and practicality to shape a brighter future for the building industry and cities.

Richard is Head of European Living Research & Consultancy. His focus is on creating bespoke reports for a broad range of public and private sector clients on topics including residential investment, government policy, and development. He also regularly undertakes research and consultancy on alternative sectors, including Student Housing, Coliving, Healthcare and Retirement Living.

With a background as project manager and facilitator in the cultural field, Irene is passionate about creating multi-faceted, transnational environments of various shapes and forms where meaningful conversations can take place, with special attention to nurturing partnerships and collaborations.

Haz Memon is a visionary in the coliving industry, and serves as the founder of Coliving Hub, an association of coliving operators. Through this platform, he not only raises awareness about the challenges faced by the industry but also actively shapes its future trajectory. As the cofounder of ESCAPE, one of Europe's first coliving brands, Haz has successfully established a network of coliving properties spanning across Greece and Switzerland. With 8 years of experience in Coliving, Haz wears multiple hats. Not only does he operate coliving spaces, but he also serves as a consultant for new operators, sharing his wealth of knowledge and insights. His passion for the industry is seen on international stages, inspiring others with his vision and expertise. Haz is committed to fostering communities, nurturing connections, and redefining the very concept of home in the digital age.

Julianne Becker is a storyteller artist activist entrepreneur and explorer. She transforms her curiosity about the world into something tangible for the betterment of humanity. Her journey has touched 5 continents. She was part of a prize-winning artist and filmmaker collective in San Francisco in the early 00s, and worked as a filmmaker in SE Asia working with WWF and traveling into the rainforest to tell its stories and those of the people who lived in it. In 2010, she moved to Berlin where she dove into the tech scene, creating a conference for 4 years with nearly 100 events in a week (50/50 female representation,) and has spent the last 7 years living in rural Germany building and running a creative rural development project with workation, coliving, and coworking at the core. At Coconat, Julianne is responsible for communications, international cooperation, and more.

‍

Ron has devoted his life to researching and teaching topics like senior housing and healthcare real estate finance, impact investing, business cases and asset management. His various accomplishments in the industry include fulfilling his roles as a Founder / Chief Executive Officer of MI, a Co-founder and Chair of the Senior Housing & Healthcare Association, a lecturer at Sociëteit Vastgoed Netwerk® (SVN) and Managing Editor of Real Asset Media Journal.

Anastasia Osipov is a seasoned professional in extended stay and hybrid hospitality, specialising in hotel and real estate development, innovation and strategic growth. With a decade of experience, Anastasia has led significant projects for operators and developers in Germany and Switzerland.She has driven market entries, secured lease contracts in the DACH region for upscale apartments, and created a recently-launched hybrid hospitality brand. A hotelier at heart, Anastasia holds an MBA in Real Estate. Her strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping successful business initiatives, fostering strong relationships and achieving organisational goals. Passionate about lifelong learning and innovation, she continuously contributes to network initiatives and embraces new challenges to create lasting impact.

Jay founded OpenDoor Coliving in 2013- the longest-running co-living company in the US. He grew the company to 19 properties across 3 markets with 406 units and over $70M in real estate assets under management. Jay is a three-time founder with 28 years of combined operating history across the companies he has started.

Recently, Jay co-authored the book “Assets in Common” which explores case studies of steward ownership, shared services, SMB holding companies and other collaborative business models.

Jay consults with coliving enterprises, real estate principals and small businesses on product, marketing, finance and growth. Jay has an MBA in Sustainable Systems and is a painter, surfer, outdoorsman and meditator.

Riccardo grew up in the North of Italy and at the age of 19 he moved to London to start a degree in financial management from Regents Business School. After graduating in 2012, Riccardo spent the following year working for a VC fund in Tel Aviv, where he fully experienced StartUp Nation and its entrepreneurial lessons. After a year in Israel, Riccardo moved to Bangkok for 1 year where he worked for a US private equity fund investing in frontier markets across the ASEAN region. Before setting up Gravity Co-Living, Riccardo worked between Hong Kong and London for 4 years for a real estate investment company focused on the UK PBSA and hotel sectors.

Galyna Permyakova is Director at Emerge Impact Real Estate, an investment and consultancy firm with a focus on European markets that present strong growth potential and living sectors. Prior to that, Galyna was Acquisitions and Real Estate Development Director at PATRIZIA. She joined PATRIZIA from Greystar, where she was Investment Associate and contributed to the establishment of the Dutch student housing and build-to-rent residential platform in The Netherlands. Prior to that she worked at one of the largest Dutch institutional investors PGGM. She started her career in Ukraine as legal advisor working in public and private sector.

Galyna is an Urban Land Institute Global Governing Trustee, member of ULI Europe Living Concepts Council.

James is a Co-Founder & Director of Noiascape and NoiaStudio. James leads on the development strategy for new sites, ensuring new spatial strategies create the values established in the Noiascape Manifesto. James has a particular interest in designing spatial organisations that create new types of social and cultural experience for members.

James also leads on the technology strategy, directing new opportunities for innovative technology to be integrated into new living organisations, allowing the concept of home to be extended through both digital and in-space experience.

Tom & James Teatum jointly direct the content and strategy of the Noiascape Brand and Shared space programming. Both founders actively inform how the brand connects with an expanding audience through its shared space programme. Shared spaces are organised around visual-arts, food, well-being and informal learning.

Laura is an interior architect and architectural technologist with over 15 years' experience working on international projects in the UK, Europe, and Asia, on commercial, high-end residential, cultural, and educational projects, from large-scale master planning to bespoke furniture solutions. She also developed specialised knowledge in Visual Merchandising leading her to work on commissions involving marketing strategy, retail design, and furniture design. Laura is interested in space planning and maximising its use. Her design studio, Bicbloc, focuses on reimagining living spaces through compact, efficient, and flexible design solutions that provide cost-effective spaces that cater to their residents’ well-being. Since 2016, she has lectured at several universities and design schools in the UK, Spain and Australia within Architecture and Interior Design degrees.

‍