Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another SLD meetup, your host, Alvar Nune. It's been quite a bit. I hope everybody's enjoying your summer. I know it, I'm doing myself that.
And all the way from Madrid, we're going to be talking to Kailen Costello, to another series of interesting individuals in the luxury space. He's the principal architecture, an architect for the company called the Ranch Mine. He's also the co-founder, along with his wife. And they've been designing and growing this amazing firm, which is considered a three times national award winning husband and wife led architecture firm based in Phoenix, Arizona.
I love their tie-cline because they specialize in designing homes for people with the pioneer spirit. So we're going to go over the amazing technology and things that they've been doing when it comes to designing these beautiful homes and everything that it entails. All right, there he is. Hey.
What's going on, Kevin? How are you doing? Good seeing you. So we have the co-founder and principal architect of the Ranch Mine.
Thank you for being here today. Yeah, my pleasure. Now you are currently in Phoenix, correct? Yes, that's right.
So staying away from the heat, I guess. Yeah, trying to, trying to. Oh my God. Phoenix is beautiful.
Well, when it comes to the summer, sometimes it's brutal. Yeah. Yeah, once it gets up into the, you know, 100, 500, 10, it starts to get pretty cool. Oh, sure.
I used to play tennis that I love and golf as well. So being outdoors is not fun. But Phoenix in general is beautiful. And especially what you guys are doing.
I mean, congratulations. Three-time national award winning architecture firm with, you know, redesigning the way that homes are built and designed. So tell us a little bit about, especially the name and the history behind the company. Sure.
Yeah. So I grew up actually in the northeastern part of the United States in Connecticut and went to school in Boston and was a very sort of much different climate, different kinds of cities up there, much more European. And then when I was graduating with my master's degree, I did a trip out to the western United States and I went to places like Denver and Los Angeles. Got it.
And then the Grand Canyon. And I was just really inspired by both the sort of newer components of these cities that they weren't really built yet. And then also the natural beauty of the American Southwest, which is just gorgeous. So I decided after I graduated with my master's degree to just move out to Phoenix, I had never been here before and just decided to just pick up and leave.
And then when I got here, I met my wife, now wife, Clayton. There you go. So I stuck around, but it was, you know, 2009 and we were both unemployed out of college. And that's when sort of that sort of global sort of economic meltdown happens and there's really no jobs.
And so we, we spend a lot of time just trying to figure out what we wanted to do, but also traveling around the state of Arizona because I had never been here other than the Grand Canyon and wanted to sort of understand more of the history and culture of the state my wife grew up here. And so we basically went around to all these different small towns and villages throughout Arizona and were really inspired by sort of the people that came out here and made this a sort of habitable place, obviously the native people before that, but then also the, what we said were the ranchers and the miners that came out here and sort of created an economy and all that sort of stuff. And so that's sort of where we got the name. And then also in Phoenix, there's a ton of ranch houses, ranch style houses.
So we looked at when we were first working, we did a lot of remodels that we were sort of mining these ranches. I got to ask you, Kevin, because obviously your wife is not here with us today and you guys have been the amazing duo because it's not easy to work with your partner. How has been that relationship between you two to take the ranch mine to where it is today? Sure.
Well, the great thing about our working relationship is that we both do two very different things. So I am the architect and sort of focus on sort of the design and that sort of aspect of the business. And she runs the business. So she's more of the business mind.
She's the boss. Yeah, she is. She's the two decade if she runs the company. So because we have different skill sets and different tasks, I think it limits the amount of, you know, I know some couples that are too architects and they can kind of, you know, butt heads on.
Yeah. Similar skill set, right? So because we do different things, I think it helps the relationship. So Kevin, tell us a little bit about the type of properties that you guys are designing because I was looking at one of the articles that you guys got featured on, which was in the Wall Street Journal.
And it was about this beautiful house called the OACs. And it was all about technology and really fascinating. Tell us a little bit about that concept and what you guys really focus on. Sure.
So that project in particular, the homeowner is a product designer and really into sort of technology and that element of things. But most of our clients come to us because we're really inspired by how do we sort of homes or sort of this way and buildings in general, this way for us as a species to sort of protect ourselves from nature. And we sort of done that pretty well, but it's sort of taken us away from our roots. And you know, we spend 90% of our time indoors and if this is our mental and physical health.
And so our whole goal is how do we sort of break that boundary back down and connect back more with nature. And so the OACs is house was we're trying to blend this sort of super high-tech home where literally almost everything in the house is controlled on the phone from the air conditioning to the cooking appliances to the all the locks to the lighting and the music. I love it. Everything in the home is connected on the phone, but it also allows them to connect seamlessly with nature.
We have huge parking glass stores that connect out to the desert. We have a courtyard in the center of the home that brings in fresh air and natural light and that sort of stuff. So sort of how can we take the technology and stuff that we have today that's in use of our good but still get back to our roots with being a connected feature. So would you say that because it's very fascinating and I think that's the direction that technology and homes are blending towards, and I think that we're leveraging the way that we're living by implementing technology into our homes to make things easier.
Obviously for the older demographics, it might seem like too advanced. So this will be more for the upcoming generations and mid-age generation that still can adapt to it. But what have been some of the trends that you've been experiencing as an architect that people are asking you for? The biggest one is that indoor outdoor living.
I think a bit boxed in by the housing stock that's out there and wants to have more of a connection with the outdoors. So that's the biggest trend overall. Obviously technology is something that people are interested in. We get a certain type of homeowner.
We call it people with a pioneer spirit that attracted to us because they want to do things differently. And so the people that come to us are already sort of wanting to experiment. That forces us to sort of be up with what's happening right now. But we also want to make sure that we're not doing stuff that's just trending that's more timeless.
And that's where the nature component of it is such a big thing for us because nature never goes out of style. It's the same sunset. I mean, you could be 50 years old and see the sunset and take a photo of it and you probably taking 2000 photos of the sunset, even though it's a thing. But if you have a certain tile in your shower after about a year, you're probably tired of it.
So we really try to focus on how do we connect with things that are timeless and everlasting. Wow. I really love that. I've had a lot of interviews with architects and I mean, two years designers and people in that industry.
And it's the first time that I hear about that blend between nature and the homes. It's a great analogy with your sense. So it's very inspiring. And I believe that also when I go through your website and your projects, it really transmits.
It communicates that uniqueness. And I guess that your tagline was very, really, really important. We specialize in designing homes for people with the pioneer spirit. I love it.
So, Calvin, tell us what's ahead for the ranch mine. What do you guys have in mind for projects? So it's really what's fun about our business and what gets us sort of excited every day is that it really depends on the clients that are coming in. There are what we're looking for is just people that are, you know, have that spirit who are looking to push the boundaries of the way that they live.
And we sort of mold ourselves to go with that. So we don't really necessarily have like, oh, we'd love to do this and we'd love to do this. Things sort of just come in. And if those people, we sort of give them this questionnaire and see, you know, do they have this spirit?
Do they have this adventurous in them? And then we kind of go with this. So for example, right now we're doing a house in Phoenix that has caves as part of the home. Wow.
I want to see that one. Yeah, there's caves. It's in design right now. But there's caves in the homes.
How do we work the caves to be, you know, they're just these big holes in the rock and how we're integrating it into a modern home and we're doing a house that has that's in a vineyard. You know, there's there's there's windries and there's on vineyards. And so we're doing that. We're doing that.
Next week, we're starting one, a house in Belize that's right on the beach. And so there's there's all these different challenges for us. And that's what keeps it really exciting is what's the new challenge that we just try to go in with open eyes and take both the site that sort of dictates a lot of things. But also, okay, I bring your challenge, Kevin.
I bring you one. You have to do one of your projects in Miami. How about that? Okay.
Down for that. We'll talk about it. I have a couple ideas in mind. Sure.
But I will definitely love to see your creativeness. Also, I want to meet your wife and see how, you know, you two can work together in a project in Miami because I believe that sometimes when there's too much luxury around, we forget about, you know, the actual luxury of nature, which I think that through homes and which what you're doing is so fantastic that it's necessary. So I wanted to ask you a question, because I always ask it to every guest that we bring on board, which is, what is the real definition of luxury to you? It's a great question.
I think it's funny because growing up, it was sort of ingrained that it was size and glamour and sort of materiality. And I think over time, for me personally, it's turned into opportunities and time. So what can I do and how much time do I have to do it? Because to me, everything else is sort of a little bit superfluous that if I have time and I have ability to do things, that to me is luxury.
Like if I can wake up in the morning and open up my doors and go out to a pool and enjoy the sun and the nature around me, to me, that's luxury. And that's not a specific material or thing that you necessarily have to buy. But it's just to have that opportunity to do things to me that it is luxury. No, great, great answer.
And I really love it. It goes really aligned with your values and what you do. So really important. And I love everything that you've been sharing with us today.
And there's obviously different ways that people can reach out to you. But I guess the easiest way for people to learn more about the ranch mine, about yourself and what you guys are doing is put your Instagram page, the ranch mine official and your website is there. All the projects that you guys are working on. Right?
Anybody that is watching this and listening to it later, check out what they're doing because I was really amazed with the quality of the product that you guys are doing. It's fantastic. And it's very inspiring because you get to see so many similar things over time. It's kind of tired when you said, but you do something very unique, which is the landing with nature, making it so timeless and so efficient that it's very inspiring.
So thank you again for being here today. I don't know if there's anything else that you would like to share before. We wrap this up. No, I think that's it.
I think a lot of the reason that it looks different or is different is because of the people. I think the biggest thing is if you're a future person who wants to design your own home or do something, understand who you are and bring it to the table because everyone is different and therefore in my opinion, every place should be different to fit them. So don't try to be like someone else. Be like yourself.
And ultimately, if you get the right architect, that will turn into something really interesting, beautiful in my opinion. So that's the only thing I would say is just sort of be yourself and tell people and show who you are and let them come through the buildings that we live in. And then I think our entire environment will be a much more unique and beautiful place. I love that habit.
Well, thank you again for your time and for your wise words and sharing with us everything that you guys do in Phoenix, Arizona. I look forward to seeing you, whether in Miami, if you are up for the challenge. And if not, I will definitely go see you in Phoenix as it brings me great memories. Of course.
Well, it's a pleasure. Thanks, Elbro. Congratulations on everything. Thank you.
Bye. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it. And remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life.
My name is Elbro and I'll see you next time.