Ep #4 | Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes, CEO of AKKA Architects, on Human Interactions and Future Planning with the different Qualities of Sustainability

Episode Summary

Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes, CEO of AKKA Architects, Speaker, Author, and Career Coach explains why she wants more people to embrace uncertainty and how crucial good facilitation is when it comes to aligning motivations to plan for the future. With 'Architecting Interactions' she walks the talk with her team at AKKA and highlights the usage of spaces to foster human interaction and asking the right questions when developing architecture for future generations. She is guided by the three qualities of Sustainability (physical, assimilative, anticipatory), which she elaborates in this episode and gives beautiful examples of their application.


What we talk about

• In our episode Stephanie tells me about her upbringing in Beirut, having lived through the last years of the Civil War, and what shaped her idea of good architecture.
• How her vision of Architecting Interactions shapes her work at AKKA and why taking into consideration the three qualities of Sustainability is so crucial.
• Applying Systems Thinking, asking the right questions, and guiding teams with the right kind of leadership and facilitation through creative workshops to envision a sustainable future.

About Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes

As founder of AKKA Architects and Workspace Consultant, Stephanie focuses her work on fostering interactions and sustained innovation in public and private workspaces.

Born in Lebanon, Stephanie studied at the American University of Beirut, where she graduated with high honors in Architecture. Soon after, she accepted the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)'s offer to join them in Rotterdam. During her five years at OMA, worked closely with Rem Koolhaas and built extensive experience in large-scale architectural and urban projects. 

After 5 years at OMA, she founded AKKA Architects, an architecture firm specialising in creating spaces that foster human interactions. AKKA is driven by the vision of Architecting Interaction©, which explores how space can be designed as a strategic tool to drive meaningful interactions between people, foster employee engagement, well-being and meaning at work.

Stephanie is regularly invited to speak and lead workshops at universities, conferences, summits and events around the world. 

Resources mentioned

• Agents of Innovation Program by AKKA Architects
• Smart Workspace Design Summit in Amsterdam by Fleming Events
• Impact Hub Amsterdam
• Stephanie's book «Architecting Interaction – How to Innovate through Interactions»
• TEDx Speech of Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes

Connect with Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes

• Website of AKKA Architects 
• Instagram of AKKA Architects

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