Vagabond Vans: transforming vanlife into a luxury architectural project
How Andreas Stricker and Vagabond Vans are turning repurposed vans into a design conversation, one bespoke project at a time.
Vagabond Vans was founded in 2021 in Bad Tölz, a small Bavarian market town at the foot of the Alps, in Germany. The company has 10 people on the team and has, to date, built more than fifty bespoke vehicles, each based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. In a market crowded with grey laminate and foldout compromise, Vagabond Vans works with Louis Poulsen lighting, Neolith stone surfaces, Rohi wool fabrics, Bolon textile flooring. Partners are chosen for more than comfort; effectively working like an architectural practice, the team looks for quality and values.
In 2023, Vagabond Vans was named Van Builder of the Year, an award confirming the company’s quality and disruption to the field. Each year, the company builds a concept van inspired by a specific city, for example, the VABO Vision Copenhagen drew inspiration from Scandinavian spatial clarity. This year, they produced the VABO Vision Milano, a special project unveiled for Milan Design Week in collaboration with DesignWanted, constructed as a homage to Italian daily rituals: espresso in the kitchen, aperitivo in the lounge, clothing drawn from a fitted wardrobe. We interviewed Andreas Stricker, co-founder and creative mind of VABO, to learn more about his vision and what he is creating for the future of Vagabond Vans.
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Where did your passion for vans come from, and how did you get this idea?
Andreas Stricker:
“It didn’t start with vans. It started with spaces. I’ve always been fascinated by how environments influence the way we feel, think, and move. Over time, this evolved into the idea of translating architectural and design principles into a mobile living space.
For my own creations — like the VABO Vision Vehicles — I draw inspiration from design, architecture, and art. Travelling, visiting museums, and immersing myself in global design culture continuously shape my perspective. The Salone del Mobile and the Milan Design Week are a creative reservoir I return to mentally throughout the year.
For client projects, the approach shifts completely. It’s about listening deeply — understanding how people want to live, travel, and experience space. Every bespoke van conversion starts with a dialogue and evolves through an iterative design process. The VABO Vision Milano, for example, was inspired by the rhythm of Milan itself — capturing a lifestyle of urban weekends, where design, mobility, and culture merge seamlessly.”
What does your design team look like? How would you describe your creative process?
Andreas Stricker:
“I’m not only the founder of Vagabond Vans, but also the creative mind behind VABO’s design language. VABO is driven by passion — and defined by a clear ambition: to rethink campervan design as a form of mobile architecture. We stand for designing, pioneering, individuality, and authenticity. Our process is highly collaborative, but also deeply personal. We work closely with our clients under one guiding idea: Your Journey, Your Van. The goal is not just functionality, but the creation of a meaningful, high-quality space.
Everything begins analog — sketches, materials, mood boards. It’s important to start with something tactile, because the final result must be experienced physically. From there, ideas are refined digitally and translated into production. We focus on simplicity, material quality, and spatial clarity — using light, form, and texture to create a luxury van interior that feels intuitive and calm.”
What inspires your interior design choices?
Andreas Stricker:
“Every project starts with a story. For the Vision Vehicles, these stories are often rooted in cultural and design contexts — cities like Copenhagen or Milan. Each concept acts as a narrative framework for the entire van interior design.
For client vehicles, inspiration becomes more personal. It can come from travel habits, passions, or even existing homes. In many cases, we translate elements of a client’s architecture or interior into a custom van interior — creating a seamless extension of their lifestyle. In the end, it’s about turning identity into space.”
VABO’s designs purposefully reject the usually plain and utilitarian style that characterises vanlife. How and why did you make that decision?
Andreas Stricker:
“We never set out to be part of traditional vanlife culture — we wanted to redefine it. The slash in our logo represents a cut. An escape from the everyday. A conscious step into a different state of mind. A VABO is not about living in a van. It’s about experiencing with the van.
Our clients don’t want compromise — they want continuity. The same level of design, atmosphere, and quality they are used to in their homes, translated into a high-end van. That’s why we reject purely utilitarian design. Instead, we create spaces that feel intentional, calm, and elevated — sometimes minimal, sometimes bold, but always refined.“
Could you describe your favourite projects from the past years of VABO?
Andreas Stricker:
“The first VABO in 2021 — a VABO Sport — was a defining moment. It introduced a new aesthetic to campervan design. What makes it special to me is its journey. After being resold, it ended up with a Swiss architect, who is now part of the VABO Circle. That’s exactly what VABO is about — objects that carry meaning and evolve over time.
Since then, we’ve created more than 55 bespoke vehicles. Each one tells its own story. And many of these stories have turned into lasting relationships. Since 2023, owners gather annually at the VABO Home in Bad Tölz for the VABO Circle. It’s where design, people, and shared values come together — beyond the product itself.”
You came to Milan Design Week this year, and many of your aesthetic choices are tied to the roots of Italian design. Where does that fascination come from, and how do you translate it into an international market?
Andreas Stricker:
“Italy — especially Milan — is a symbol of design and dolce vita. There is a natural elegance and ritual in Italian culture that I find incredibly inspiring. The VABO Vision Milano plays with these conventions while integrating innovation. It creates a space that allows for rituals: preparing an espresso in the kitchen, starting the day in a lounge-like atmosphere, selecting clothing from a wardrobe, or opening the bar with its wing doors to enjoy an aperitivo in a public setting.
It’s a homage to the Italian lifestyle — sensual, intentional, and social. It’s not about translating it for an international market, but about creating a strong, authentic concept that inspires universally.”
What’s a design idea you haven’t had the chance to create yet?
Andreas Stricker:
“All my design ideas will eventually find their way into future VABO Vision Vehicles. Each of them follows a very clear and focused concept. The real challenge is not to overload these vehicles with ideas, but to use them precisely — for positioning and storytelling. In client projects, we have the opportunity to continuously integrate new ideas and technical innovations. That allows us to surprise both owners and the wider community again and again.
That said, one idea I would still love to realize is a purely monochrome vehicle — defined only through materiality and form, without relying on color contrasts.”
And finally, what does your dream van look like?
Andreas Stricker:
“In many ways, the VABO Vision concepts are already my dream vans. They are uncompromising in their design and execution, and they reflect the evolution of our brand. Because of their clarity and consistency, they attract a lot of attention and strongly influence what our clients aspire to.
But the moment one Vision Vehicle is completed, I already feel the urge to create the next one. That’s why I like to pass them on to people who truly understand and appreciate the concepts. It creates a cycle — new creations, passionate owners, and a growing, unique brand story. I’m already looking forward to seeing all these vehicles come together at VABO’s ten-year anniversary in 2031.”
Whether the campervan industry at large catches up to what Stricker is doing remains to be seen. The market grew dramatically during the pandemic years and has since cooled, but Vagabond Vans was never competing in that market. Its buyers are not escaping to a simpler life; they are extending a complex one, bringing their standards with them, expecting the same quality of light, surface, and spatial experience that their homes and hotels provide.
What Vagabond Vans has understood is that the constraint of the vehicle is not a problem to be managed, but a condition that makes the design interesting. When space is lacking, every design choice becomes more important, there is nowhere to hide, nowhere to be lazy. Being able to apply luxury interior design principles to such a space produces something that does not look like a campervan at all, allowing clients to travel the world in the comfort of a home.
