Lecture date: 2010-11-17
This lecture on global practice will focus on the role and responsibility of the architect. Vignettes from KPF’s history—from its founding in the midst of a recession to its continuing growth as a global leader—will illustrate the interdependence of teamwork and leadership, the importance of client relationships, the impact of the economy on architecture, the value of optimism, and the meaning of social responsibility as it relates to design and business.
Eugene Kohn will share his experience of starting an architecture practice in a challenging economic climate and will examine how economic cycles affect the types of architecture and buildings that are produced.
As a cofounder and principal of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, A. Eugene Kohn has led the firm to become one of the world’s most respected and innovative architectural design practices. Under his direction, KPF has earned more than 300 design awards, including seven AIA National Honor Awards. In 1990 KPF became the youngest firm ever to receive the AIA Architectural Firm Award – the institute’s most prestigious honour.Most recently, Kohn received The Soane Foundation Honors and the 2010 Alumni Award of Merit by the University of Pennsylvania, the highest university-wide award presented to alumni by Penn. Since 2006 Eugene Kohn has been teaching Harvard Business School’s course in Real Estate Development, Design and Construction.
