HABITABLE studio
DESIGN / ARCHITECTURE / CITYinfo@habitable.studio
t. (+1) 530 507 8896


PHILOSOPHY

Economy · Ecology · Elegance

A habitable space is one that changes just as our lives change.

HABITABLE Studio designs transformable environments across scales — from a single piece of furniture to an urban block — for living, working, and playing. Every project is guided by precise proportions, meticulous materiality, and a deep attention to light.

Small things make a big impact.

DESIGN SERVICES

 Spatial Transformation
Joyful Spaces
Adaptable Furniture Design Consultation 
     ARCHITECTURE / ART / URBAN DESIGN
“Marta’s expertise of maximizing small spaces is without compare.” Jay Marroquin, client.
FOUNDER



“Small is not only beautiful, small implies experimentation, ecology, economy, efficiency, and intimacy. Small things make a big impact!”

MARTA RODRIGUEZ

Neuroarchitecture Researcher · Design Consultant
marta@habitable.studio

A chair and a city are not as different as they seem. Both are environments that can support human life.

I started my career at OMA / Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam, on the team that won the international competition for the New Court Rothschild Bank in London. Back in Madrid, I ran my own practice winning several public building competitions, while collaborating with Lahoz Lopez Architects on schools and hospitals.

In 2008 I began a research path that took me to Tokyo — funded by the Spanish Ministry of Innovation — then to UC Berkeley as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Japanese Studies, and to Sciences Po in Paris as a Visiting Fellow, where I co-led a seminar on Japanese urbanism with sociologist Adrian Favell. That research became my PhD, specializing in Japanese architecture and French design, reviewed by scholars from Japan and France. In 2017 I was Visiting Professor at TU Graz in Austria on an Erasmus+ grant.

In 2014 I joined the University of Houston as an Assistant Professor, tenured since 2020. In 2020 I founded HABITABLE Studio — a research-driven design practice. The work moves between scales: from the Ludens Prototype (an international competition in Japan exploring play and spatial freedom), to the Living Chair (an urban furniture landscape crafted from recycled materials), to the Pinocchio Children's Library in Italy (a world that unfolds like origami), to collective housing proposals for San Francisco, Oakland, and Amsterdam. The common thread is transformability — designing for how life actually changes.

I also founded Habitable City, a research and editorial platform with contributions from scholars at UC Berkeley, Rice, UT Austin, Harvard GSD, and others. In 2021 I published a book on Charlotte Perriand and Kazuyo Sejima.

My writing and design work have appeared in Metropolis, TAD, AV Proyectos, Pasajes Arquitectura y Crítica, and Cover, with a chapter published in Thames & Hudson's Architecture: The Whole Story. Presented at conferences across the US, Europe, Korea, and Japan. A piece invited by Harvard GSD is coming in 2026.

I am interested in design research, spatial innovation, and the future of how we design environments — from objects to cities — around the way people actually live.


HABITABLE TEAM

+  Marta Rodriguez, PhD
Founder & Principal - Professor, Author, and Urban Researcher.

+ Michael LindemannArchitectural Designer.

+ Collaborators since 2008:
 Lené Fourie, Alejandra Velazquez, Dijana Handanovic, Tuan Mai, Ghazal Saliman, Ingrid Selse, Emine Canak, Eirik Erstad, Marta de las Heras, Alejandro Sanz, Rafael Ureña, Natalia Varela.


HABITABLE studio
 DESIGN / ARCHITECTURE / CITYinfo@habitable.studio
t. (+1) 530 507 8896



PUBLICATIONS



MEDIA
Instagram
Linkedin

Habitable City
Promoting a more egalitarian, connected, safe, and LIVABLE city    
Subtle Revolution
 SMALL is not only beautiful but sustainable and has enabled architectural subtle revolution beyond borders and times.


LET’S TALK!
info@habitable.studio t. (+1) 530 507 8896

VIRTUAL Design Consulting Services / Health Design

“Weaving together my experience as an architect in Europe, a researcher in Japan, and a Professor in the US, I infuse my work with a culturally rich sensibility.”


DESIGN CONSULT for Homeowners: 


Increasing the feeling of flow and harmony in your home contributes to your wellbeing and health.

 Are you going through a life change, like the birth of a child, a marriage, divorce or pass away of a family member, kids moved to college, etc. and you want to make your home to have a new life?

 I know how to listen to your necessities and the necessities of your space.

 Do you want to buy a new property or renovate your own and need a vision of the possibilities of the to create new spaces, bringing more light, order, and harmony, etc

 Stayner Architects
 MALL


Consults Include:

+ My services go for the scale of the structure to the detail of the paint color and art choices and all in between. 

I have over 18 years of experience, from being an architect in Europe, a researcher in Japan to a architectural profeor in the US, I bring a fresh, culturally rich sensitivity to your workspace or your home. 


Design decisions for your new or old home

For decoration to construction possibilities,

How to improve the health and harmony of your space 



If you want to improve the creativity of your colleages, create more collaboration, or even have a more profitable, space can have a crucial role on that. How we relate, the color of our spaces the cofort of our furniture, the natural light…



Do you work on the health facility, from pleasant, relaxing waiting areas, to cousy welcoming rooms. As a volunteer myself of several institutions working with patients and older people, I have observe how space affects their life quality. I belive in holistic heath, I am currently running new programs on meditation, mindful movement, and breath work. The proportions of the space, the quaioity of the materials, the light qualification, all affect heath, and my own volutier practices as a healer. 





REMODELS & BUILDING PROJECTS


The Deep Dive. Starting a remodel? Building an ADU? You’re embarking on a big journey. It will be exciting, stressful, time-consuming, and in the end, amazing. We know. We can help you with the practical stuff: finishes, lighting, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, and all the other details. We will also help you navigate the technical, emotional, and psychological process of renovation. We’ll be a sounding board, a voice of reason, and your most loyal supporter. Think of us like a construction doula, guiding you through the intense but exciting birth of your new home.


FURNITURE & DECOR


The Splurge. Full design services including space planning and layout, selection of furniture and decor, sourcing, purchasing, and installation. Whether you are starting from scratch or just looking to refresh a room or two, we work with you each step of the way to create a space that makes your heart sing.


HOURLY DESIGN CONSULTING


The Brain Picker. You’re pretty certain you know what you want, but wouldn’t it be great to run it past a pro, just to be sure? Or do you have a few different ideas and need an outside opinion to help make the final decision? What if you have no idea what you want or where to begin and could use someone to walk you through some options? Hourly design consulting is here to save the day! We’ll give you our thoughts, ideas, tips, recommendations, and honest opinion so you can forge ahead to the next step with confidence.


PAINT & WALLPAPER CONSULTING


The Quick Fix. Paint and wallpaper are two of the best, fastest ways to elevate your space and give it new life. But let's be honest, it's a daunting task to find the perfect white paint, the ideal teal, or the moodiest blue. And while today's wallpapers are infinitely cooler than what adorned your grandmother's sitting room, choosing the right one can make your head spin. We love picking paint colors, and poring through wallpaper swatches makes us absolutely giddy. Leave it to us and you'll be sitting pretty in a fresh new room before you can say "Wedgewood Gray damask."


 For ORGANIZATIONS



The entire project utilizes modular systems and prefabrication, which makes it economically wise at the same time creates interactive boundaries. It is a flexible and adaptable system according to the dweller’s needs as well as urban conditions, that can be built in phases. 




Most of the apartments have more than one entrance. Different access-points allow for flexibility of the dwellings: renting rooms, living independent from the family nucleu, or adapting to changes in the familial environment.


Some units have a terrace with the ability to be open or enclosed, allowing the space to act as a dining room, playroom or relaxing area during the day and a guest bedroom at night.



Private orchards on the habitable roofs further contribute to the building’s integration with nature, through extending vegetation to multiple levels.



We develop Petite ADUs in the Bay Area: comfortable/creative micro-living structures that utilize healthy materials, minimize cost, and maximize garden space.