Top 50 Architects In USA – Rank – 34/50

Kohn Pedersen Fox
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
United States
T +1 212 977 6500
F +1 212 956 2526

Founded – New York City, New York, United States (1976)
Founder – A. Eugene Kohn, William Pedersen, Sheldon Fox (dec.)
Headquarters – 11 West 42nd Street, New York City, New York, U.S.
(Additional offices in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Abu Dhabi)
Services – Architecture, Interior Design, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Planning
Website – www.kpf.com

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an architecture firm which provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in the world and is currently one of the largest in New York City, where it is located.

Beginnings in the United States (1976–1980s)

Shortly after its founding in 1976, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) chose KPF to redevelop a former armory building on Manhattan’s West Side to house TV studios and offices. This experience led to 14 more projects for ABC over the next 11 years, as well as commissions from major corporations across the country, including the AT&T and Hercules Incorporated. By the mid-1980s, KPF had nearly 250 architects working on projects in cities throughout the United States. By 1985, even John Burgee (of rival architecture firm John Burgee Architects) called KPF, “The best commercial firm now practicing in the U.S.” KPF’s design for 333 Wacker Drive in Chicago (1983), which was awarded the AIA National Honor Award in 1984, made the firm nationally famous. It remains a Chicago landmark, and was voted “Favorite Building” by the readers of the Chicago Tribune in both 1995 and 1997. In 1986, KPF’s Procter & Gamble Headquarters in Cincinnati, which included an open plan interior design by Patricia Conway, was recognized for its innovative design with the AIA National Honor Award.  After its success with these projects, KPF was selected to design buildings including the IBM World Headquarters in Armonk, NY (1997), the Chicago Title and Trust Building in Chicago (1992) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (1993).

In the 1990s, KPF also took on a larger number of government and civic projects, including the Foley Square U.S. Courthouse in New York (1995), the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, OR (1996), the U.S. Courthouse of Minneapolis (1996), the Buffalo Niagara International Airport (1993) and the multiple award-winning redevelopment of The World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (1996).

KPF’s winning entry in the international competition for the World Bank Headquarters, which drew 76 entrants from 26 countries, was the only entry that included the retention of existing structures. KPF’s sensitive design solution for the World Bank, its first D.C. project, set the tone for KPF’s future high-profile international work.

Expansion to Europe (1980s–1990s)

In the 1980s and 1990s, KPF transformed from an American firm known for its corporate designs into an international firm with institutional, government, and transportation commissions in addition to corporate work.

KPF completed the design for two blocks of the large-scale Canary Wharf redevelopment (1987) and the Goldman Sachs Headquarters on Fleet Street (1987–1991). KPF has been selected for projects in the Canary Wharf area through the present day, including the Clifford Chance Tower (2002) to the KPMG’s European Headquarters (2009). KPF’s subsequent work in the U.K. includes Thames Court in London (1998), the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University (2001) and the master plan for the London School of Economics(2002). KPF’s design for the award-winning Westendstraße 1 in Frankfurt (1992), an early example of mixed-use design, further increased the firm’s international prominence and solidified the firm’s reputation as a progressive global practice. KPF was chosen for subsequent projects throughout Europe, including Provinciehuis in The Hague (1998), Danube House in River City, Prague (2003), the expansion and renovation of the World Trade Center in Amsterdam (2004) and the Endesa Headquarters in Madrid (2003).

Work in Asia and internationally (1990s–2009)

KPF’s introduction to the Asian market began with the 4,500,000-square-foot (420,000 m²) Japan Railways Central Towers project in Nagoya (1999). Within 10 years, KPF had projects in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. Completed KPF projects in Asia include Plaza 66 on Shanghai’s Nanjing Xi Lu (2001), Roppongi Hills in Tokyo (2003), the Rodin Pavilion in Seoul (2003), the Merrill Lynch Japan Head Office in Tokyo (2004) and the Shanghai World Financial Center (2008), which was named the “Best Tall Building Overall” by the Council on Tall Buildings and the Urban Habitat in 2008. KPF worked with renowned structural engineers, Leslie E. Robertson Associates, to maximize the Shanghai tower’s floor plate and material efficiency by perfecting its tapered form. In addition to this work in Asia, KPF has completed projects in: the Middle East, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Headquarters (2007) and the Marina Towers (2008); South America including Ventura Corporate Towers in Rio de Janeiro (2008) and Infinity Tower in São Paulo (2012); Australia, including Chifley Tower in Sydney (1992); and has also worked on several projects in Africa.