Today: Florian von Gradowski.
Our modulbox is a real all-rounder. But the real talent lies behind the boxes – sometimes on top of them or right in the middle. They plan, design, build, screw, drill, make phone calls, calculate, think big and make it all happen. In this series, we’d like to introduce you to the people at mo systeme who ensure that mobile architecture not only works, but also inspires.
Metalworker, modulbox veteran and aspiring master craftsman: Meet Florian von Gradowski, who has been ensuring for almost ten years that steel sections, drawings and ideas are transformed into finished modulboxes.
Florian’s journey to mo systeme didn’t begin with a traditional job application. Before joining the team permanently in 2017, he was already working at the site in Berlin-Weißensee for a partner company that was involved, amongst other things, in the manufacture of the modulbox.
When mo systeme took production back in-house, the partner firm moved out of the shared workshop. Florian was faced with the question of whether to go with them – or stay. He didn’t have to think twice.
“My former employer moved out – I stayed,” he recalls.
Today, Florian is one of the most experienced members of staff at mo systeme. Anyone who wants to know how a modulbox is made will sooner or later end up talking to him.
“I just love working with metal.”
Florian, how did it all begin?
“I was born in Berlin and completed an apprenticeship as a design mechanic from 2004 to 2007. After that, I worked in various sectors – including shipbuilding in Spandau and later at a metal fabrication company. It was through that job that I eventually came into contact with mo systeme.”
You’ve now been with mo systeme for almost ten years. What do you particularly appreciate about working here?
“Above all, the way we work here. It’s like a family; everyone treats each other as equals. Something I noticed early on was that, after successful projects, someone would sometimes pop round and simply say ‘thank you’. I wasn’t used to that in traditional metal fabrication.
What’s more, a lot of things are more predictable. I used to spend a lot of time on building sites, come rain or shine. Nowadays, most of the work is done here in the workshop. I like that.”
“It takes about two months from the initial handshake to the finished modulbox.”
You play a key role in the production of our modulboxes. What does your work involve?
“It all actually starts with a six-metre-long steel section. Step by step, this is transformed into a modulbox. We cut the material to size, prepare the components, weld the frames, finish the surfaces and then send the finished structures off for powder coating. After that, the parts come back and are assembled into the finished box. It takes about two months from the initial handshake to the finished modulbox.”
To outsiders, the modulbox often seems surprisingly simple. It’s only at second glance that you realise there’s a highly complex manufacturing process behind it.
“That’s probably what many people underestimate,” says Florian. “The end result is a clean, minimalist design. But you rarely see from the outside just how much work and how many individual steps go into it.”
What do you enjoy most about your work?
“Definitely new production. That’s my trade. Welding, designing, working with metal – I still enjoy doing that just as much today as I did at the start of my apprenticeship. But I also find further development exciting. The modulbox may have looked the same for years, but behind the scenes it’s constantly being optimised. Together, we keep asking ourselves: How can we improve components? How can we simplify processes? How can we achieve the same quality with less effort?”
A rocket stove and the creation of moven.club
As well as the modulbox, Florian played a key role in setting up moven.club. The idea didn’t come about in a strategy workshop, but in the workshop.
“A former colleague had the idea for a rocket stove. We built a prototype from offcuts of our steel sections. Then a second one. At some point, the boss was standing there and said: ‘You could actually do something with that.’ ”
Step by step, what started as an after-work project developed into a whole range of products centred on cooking and outdoor living. “It was something completely different from the modulbox. We’d often stand together working on the prototype after work, thinking about how we could develop the idea further. That was a lovely time.”
And Florian is still involved in the project today – from production right through to dispatch. Naturally, he tests new ideas himself. His favourite? “Definitely the pizza oven. In spring and summer, we have a pizza night at my house almost every Friday. It’s become a tradition.”
The next step: becoming a master craftsman
After almost ten years at mo systeme, a new chapter is just beginning for Florian. He has resumed his master craftsman training.
“A few years ago, I’d already completed the first two parts of the master craftsman’s examination. Then life got in the way: family, work, everyday life. Now I’ve seized the opportunity and am carrying on.”
Since May, he’s been back at school every weekend – on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. “If all goes well, I’ll be finished by the end of 2027.”
For Florian, the master craftsman’s qualification is more than just personal development. It would enable him to train young people in the future and pass on his knowledge.
“Good craftsmanship means quality you can rely on – and that’s based on a good education. But it’s also about thinking for yourself. Not just working through drawings, but finding the best solution together with the customer. For me, that’s just as much a part of it.”
A dream of steel and water
If Florian were given free rein, his modulbox wouldn’t be standing on an exhibition site. It would be floating.
“I’d love to build a modulbox that can travel on water. A floating event space, perhaps even a small modulbox town on a lake. That would be something really special.”
Until then, he prefers to stay where it all begins: in the workshop. Where the next modulbox takes shape from steel sections, welded joints and a wealth of experience. And perhaps, soon, the next generation of metalworkers will emerge there too.
