Collaborative Pioneer: Inside Interview with Eric Ho of miLES

Eric Ho is the founder of miLES, opening underused storefronts to new possibilities, with classes, events, co-working, and short-term space rentals.

1. We see that your background is in architecture. What draws you to collaborative consumption?

It’s very much directly related to architecture. To me, there is so much creative potential for architects if they decide to listen to more people from different disciplines and observe what are the needs in a larger context outside of the design profession.

What draws me to collaborative consumption is two-fold:

• It begs for many people sharing a same product or idea together, which necessitate talking to a diverse number of people that are using or sharing the product and understanding their needs.
• It saves costs for everyone by participating in it.

Both of these are very attractive for an architect that is trying to create value—rather than just reacting to a singular client or developer, you can work with many people to figure out a need that brings massive value for everyone. Even though the profit margin for each transaction might be smaller, the collective value for many is what is attractive to me.

2. miLES recently completed a very successful Kickstarter campaign—congrats! What do you think excites people so much about your mission?

Thanks. I think it’s the inclusiveness and openness of our idea, and the possibility that people can see with where this idea can go. Essentially we are just saying that we can use a space for anything by anyone, and we help you in the process, I think that opens up people’s imagination of the possibilities.

3. What is the most impressive or unique space transformation that you’ve seen with miLES?

We held an intimate short film festival in our pilot storefront which was tiny! We showed a series of short films back to back for a whole night, and even had a 4th grade filmmaker talk about his expose on school lunches. The intimacy of the event, and the casual nature of “you can do anything you imagine” made the transformation most touching for me.

4. You’re also working on some fantastic social good projects as part of Architecture Commons. What is your dream challenge that you’d like to take on?

I think the dual role between miLES + Architecture Commons is really to experiment with how we use design to create social good and reach more people using our skills as architects. The dream challenge is to work out the sweet spot where we can create a sustainable business model with our vision and spread this thinking throughout the design profession and beyond, which is still a niche.

5. 10 years down the road—what does your life look like?

Wow. That’s a very difficult question, especially in such a fast-changing culture and society. I think the next 10 years will be about creating value with my vision and work, and at the same time build a life that is not just about work but a balance between professional and personal life. The transition from a designer to an entrepreneur definitely challenged me internally as a person in many levels, and I would like to continue to challenge myself in that regard.

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Eric Ho is a licensed architect finding himself at the intersection of design and social entrepreneurship. He sees architecture as a dialogue that facilitates engagement between people and their environment. Eric is the co-founder and director of Architecture Commons, a design practice advocating design for the masses. Eric founded Made in the Lower East Side (miLES) in early 2012 and has been passionately leading its development from an idea into an innovative practice. In his spare time, you can find Eric looking for inspiration in the LES.