Erik Herrmann is an architectural designer based in Columbus, OH. He is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the Knowlton School at Ohio State University and co-director of Outpost Office.
Outpost Office seeks new public audiences through experimental creative production ranging from the serious to the absurd, often simultaneously. Inventive applications of off-the-shelf tools and industrial-grade materials characterize the practice's work. Their designs propose that architecture can be projective and impactful while simultaneously inexpensive, temporal, and open-ended. More recently, the office has been experimenting with large-scale temporary landscape paintings, employing a semi-autonomous robot typically used to mark sports fields.
At MacDowell in 2019, Herrmann developed color studies and digital design experiments for an upcoming show at the Wedge Gallery in Los Angeles. This new work expands on previous digital design experiments he produced as the 2016-2017 Walter B. Sanders Fellow at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and as a 2014/2015 Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
During his 2025 residency, he developed a housing proposal for the "Small Lots, Big Impact" competition. This work focused on the "missing middle" in housing, defined as multi-family housing that is larger than single-family homes, but smaller than large apartment complexes. The proposal was selected as a winner in the competition, read more about it here.
