I am starting a small series of posts on architectural practices that are responsible for the wonderful design of the built environment around us in London and New York with the same format as all my other blog posts , simple, informative and bitesize, starting with New York based architects Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF).There are not many large scale projects around the world that have not had KPF at least run for the design commission, needless to say the New York headquartered firm are one the best known architects within the arena of large office projects and renovation. The firm was started in July 1976 and is a great example of a business which has grown from the seed of doing the first project well and receiving commissions of the back of that first 'good job done well'. Shortly after A Eugene Kohn, William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox founded the company, the American Broadcasting Corporation chose the partners to redevelop and old armoury building in Manhattan to house offices and a TV studio which led to 11 further commissions in the years following. The expansion to a global service offering was inevitable when New York based investment bank Goldman Sachs had a requirement for it's European headquarters in London which coincided with the time that London's Canary Wharf started to commission large scale office projects.
Nowadays, KPF's portfolio of properties spans the globe in more than 35 countries and London and New York form a very small part of the arena in which the firm operates. Perhaps the best known project in New York is the Museum of Modern Art and in London there are two projects which stand out that are currently under construction - the Bishopsgate Tower which is just appearing at street level and Heron Tower which is closer to completion.
London's Heron Tower courted controversy in 2009 when five project architects broke away from KPF to form their own outfit, PLP Architecture after the refusal of KPF to allow a buyout of their London operation. Despite clauses in contracts which would not normally allow employees of KPF to communicate with clients after their departure from the company, KPF and the new firm have hammered out a formal relationship. KPF are now faced with a seasoned competitor in London which has grown to more than 65 employees and has already been successful in bagging the second phase of Herons Development, Heron Plaza.
