Speakers

Chris Krager is an award-winning architect and developer based in Austin, Texas, whose work sits at the intersection of design, affordability, and sustainability. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Business Administration from Michigan State University.

In 2001, Krager founded KRDB, a vertically integrated design/development/build firm with a mission to create modern, financially accessible architecture that supports sustainable urbangrowth. Under his leadership, KRDB has delivered over two decades of influential work — including single-family homes, small-lot infill, multifamily and mixed-use developments, creative offices, boutique hotels, and innovative prototypes for active adult living. KRDB’s work has received widespread acclaim, including the AIA Austin Firm Achievement Award in its founding year, and has been featured in The New York Times, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect Magazine, and multiple books on contemporary and prefab housing.

Krager is also the founder of ma modular, launched in 2008 to expand the reach of sustainable modern design through factory-built housing. ma modular has since evolved from a single-family offering into a scalable platform with projects ranging from four-unit infill to 135-unit modular communities in Austin, Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York.

A pioneer in net-zero and modular housing, Krager’s SOL Austin community was among the first net-zero capable residential developments in the U.S., earning multiple local and national design awards and front-page coverage in The New York Times. His recent work includes Kindred Uncommon, a 76-unit prototype community redefining active adult living, and Ventura Mixed Use, a 150,000-square-foot all-modular development in California.

Beyond practice, Krager has served as a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and has presented at conferences and institutions nationwide, including HIVE, AIA, and the Rural Studio. He also co-founded the DBA (Design/Build Alliance), a nonprofit that connected architecture students with real-world experience developing affordable housing for underserved communities.