Meet the ecoworkys: Norma Contreras
Norma Contreras – Architect, Systems Strategist, and "Design Optimist"
The construction and real estate industry faces a massive, global challenge: we must renovate faster, more efficiently, and in a radically climate-friendly way. But this transformation doesn't happen on its own. Serial renovation requires smart technology – and, above all, people who understand how to make complex planning and construction processes scalable.
One of these driving forces, laying the foundation for this change at ecoworks every single day, is Norma Contreras. As an architect and systems strategist, she brings a deeply international perspective to our team. Originally from Mexico, where she already shared her knowledge on BIM automation as a guest lecturer at the renowned UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), she looks back on over ten years of experience and more than 20 managed projects across Europe and Latin America. Today, she works from Amsterdam – a European hub for innovation and circular construction – bridging the gap between people, digital tools, and agile processes for ecoworks.
At ecoworks, Norma leads cross-functional teams, automates planning workflows, and codifies modular design standards. Her clear goal: to radically reduce delivery times in renovation and bring climate-positive innovations to the streets on a large scale.
We spoke with Norma about her past four years at ecoworks, her vision for the future of housing, and her most important learnings as a systems strategist.
Why ecoworks? Building systems for a better future
For Norma, architecture has long ceased to be just about designing single buildings. She aptly describes herself as a "design optimist." Her focus is on tackling the global housing and climate crises with systems that are repeatable, low-carbon, and built to last. It's about creating solutions that scale.
This deep, intrinsic motivation is the engine of her daily work. She sees the direct impact of inefficient construction processes on society and works passionately to break them down: "Every improvement in the system means housing arrives sooner". For Norma, this isn't an abstract concept, but something with real human value: "And when housing arrives sooner, families and cities have a better chance to thrive".
Breaking the Blueprint: A team that challenges the status quo
Achieving such ambitious, systemic goals requires more than just good software; it demands a radically different mindset across the entire team. If Norma had to describe the work and mission of her teams as a movie or series, she already has the perfect, programmatic title in mind: "Breaking the Blueprint."
The reasoning behind it perfectly captures the entire ecoworks philosophy: "Because the future of housing won't be solved by designing better buildings, but by redesigning how we deliver them".
In her leadership role, it's not just about raw numbers, data points, and Revit models. It's about the culture that makes innovation possible in the first place. When asked which values she particularly wants to foster in her role at ecoworks, she names three central pillars: "Purpose, openness and courage to challenge the system". For Norma, it is clear that change must come from within:
"Construction needs more clarity, more empathy and more people willing to question how things have always been done".
Innovation & Digitalisation: From a promise to a habit
Norma is now celebrating her four-year anniversary at ecoworks. Looking back on this intense period of change and iteration, she is especially proud of how she actively shaped digital workflows and connected data across different teams. She has now witnessed more than 10 large-scale projects successfully pass through the planning phase – many of which have already been built.
An absolute highlight on this journey was her appearance as a speaker at the Autodesk DevCon in her adopted home of Amsterdam. There, she presented the planning chain developed by ecoworks and our automated Revit workflows to an international audience of experts. It was a moment that showed her just how far she and the team have already come.
From over four years of system design at the intersection of architecture and tech, Norma has drawn a central learning that might surprise many: "Technology is rarely the real bottleneck. Alignment is". She explains the approach to solving this:
"When you map the process end-to-end, the friction become visible. And once you see it, real improvement can begin".
For her, the greatest success is therefore not a single software solution, but a cultural shift: "Turning digitalisation from a promise into a habit". This doesn't happen through quick fixes. Norma emphasizes that this happens "by understanding how work actually happens and building systems that make progress repeatable".
A glimpse into the future (and advice to her past self)
The construction industry is traditionally often slow-moving, but the climatic and societal challenges of our time brook no delay. Looking back at her first day at ecoworks today, with all her knowledge of scaling and change management, Norma would give herself a clear piece of advice: "Think bigger and act earlier".
She knows that true transformation requires a leap of faith: "The construction industry changes slowly, but the housing crisis won't wait. If we want to reshape how cities grow, we cannot wait for perfect conditions".
Exactly this urgency and hope are also reflected in her vision for the coming decade. When we walk past a fully renovated ecoworks building in the year 2030, Norma wishes to see the following message on the construction fence banner: "Neighborhoods that regenerate instead of consume. Housing that strengthens communities while reducing its carbon impact".
Do you want to be part of the construction revolution?
At ecoworks, we are always looking for motivated minds who, like Norma, want to sustainably change the construction and planning industry with systems, courage, and fresh ideas. No matter from where you support our mission: check out our careers page and find your place in the team!
