Meet Brendan O'Molony, CEO and Founder of Tenthouse Structures, the Future of Glamping Structure Design and Engineering
Camp Sarika - Utah
Brendan has 26 years of experience designing and building luxury tented lodges and architectural fabric structures.
It all started when he returned to South Africa in 1994, wanting to be part of the opportunity and connection to his fellow countrymen that the end of Apartheid promised.
In 1996 he built Kilobush, a specialized tent rental outfit servicing the fledgling South African film industry. During this period, he would venture into the hinterland for remote film work, and it was out in the wilds of Africa that the outdoor experience gripped him. He eventually sold the rental business in 2006 and pivoted into luxury tented safari events and expeditions servicing the MICE industry.
Brendan has developed some exciting new technologies over his formative professional years, including flexible membrane 'stretch tents.'
Between 2007 and 2017, he leveraged this technology to establish an SA manufacturing alliance and several international tent distributor operators.
From 2006-2009 he designed and delivered a 60-suite tent hotel in the Congo, Kampi-ya-Boma. Through this experience, it became clear to him that combining design with technology and craftsmanship could introduce an iconic and durable solution for Africa's glamping industry, especially in the luxury market.
In 2010 he formally established Tenthouse Structures and teamed up with an architect and engineering team to professionalize the operation.
Over the past 15 years, the Tenthouse Structures brand has steadily become recognized as one of the market's most innovative, full-service tent architecture and technical design firms.
From visionary design to sustainable luxury, Tenthouse Structures is now a dedicated team of highly skilled tent-tensile architects, engineers, technicians, and lightweight building specialists.
As specialists in the design, engineering, supply, and on-site assembly of iconic tented camps and lodges in Africa, the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and beyond, Brendan and his team have developed a deep understanding of how to meet the challenges of wilderness environments while creating lasting quality for their clients.
Their no-nonsense, inclusive and collaborative approach means prioritizing the needs of every stakeholder, including Mother Nature herself.
Tenthouse Structures also has a full range of high-performance, pre-designed modular product solutions. From Expedition Camps to T2 Modular and the soon-to-be-launched Discovery range, they pride themselves in offering a complete and distinctive range of quality products for any wilderness environment, from custom retreats to premium, tailored-to-brand resorts and rustic nature camps.
Read on for our complete interview with Brendan!
T2 Modular
Q: Tell us a bit more about why you started a company in the glamping industry.
A: It was, in my bones, a profoundly creative pursuit tied to a primal need for adventure and the tapestry of ancient stories that connect us. I was equally obsessed with innovation in tent design and technologies for a sustainable future. I saw the opportunity to develop a ‘new tent architecture,’ a compelling product experience that combines the advantages of durability and comfort in conventional dwellings with those of a soft aesthetic and low impact of fabric structures.
Q: Tell us a bit about where your glamping business is today? Where do you see your business in the future?
A: Our mission is to engineer superior, high-performance fabric structures optimized to site, ensuring a safe, comfortable, and lasting product and guest experience. We call this Made for the Wild.
We continue to innovate with engineered modular systems and holistic configurator intelligence in our new pre-designed product lines by building upon our technical design expertise, flexible partnership philosophy, and site-based design approach.
By 2024 we will offer our clients an interactive configurator platform (THS Config). THS Config will have the flexibility and speed to adapt pre-designed Tenthouse structures for more personalized and site-appropriate developments and within budgets.
THS Config will function as a parametric simulator and solutions developer across three design-to-site drivers for glamping: nature-interactive architecture, structural loading factors, and passive-low energy comfort design. It will be a game changer that cuts out the ground-up time and cost required for typical custom projects.
Q: What are you most excited about within the glamping industry moving forward?
A: Introducing non-conventional lightweight building into standards will allow our industry to flourish. Through the hard work and dedication of organizations such as AGA, Tenthouse standards are in development, and opportunities are expanding for high-performance, thin envelopes as a compelling design strategy for mainstream outdoor hospitality.
In terms of sustainability, the ongoing development of low impact tented experiences contributes to the conservation of wild habitats, which help sustain ecosystems, build water security, and uplift marginal communities all over the world. These things connect us all and speak to eco-innovators as leaders in the rise of the circular economy. Our future is definitely lightweight.
Khwai Leadwood - Okavango Delta, Botswana
A big thank you to Brendan, Michele, and the team at Tenthouse Structures for being a part of the AGA community- we look forward to working closely with them and seeing their Expedition Camps at next year’s Glamping Show Americas!
