The Kamra tal-Periti is hosting international architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) for the first in a series of five debates for Architecture Nights 2008. The debate is to be held at the Aula Magna, St Paul Street, Valletta, on Saturday at 7.30 p.m. Architecture Nights are sponsored by HSBC and Steel Structures.
These debates, now in their third edition, have gained strong momentum and popularity following the participation of world renowned international architects and practices, including Mario Botta, Manfredi Nicoletti, Richard England, Peter Lorenz, Building Design Partnership, Llewelyn Davies Yeang and Bennetts Associates, among others.
KPF is an international practice with studios in New York and London and a growing presence in Shanghai. The practice, led by 18 principles and directors and employing over 400 staff members representing 43 countries, provides full architectural design, programming, urban design, master planning, graphic and product design services for clients in both the public and private sectors.
The firm's extensive portfolio, developed over 30 years, includes designs ranging from a small jewel-like glass pavilion for Rodin sculptures to an entirely new city in Incheon, Korea. The breadth of experience allows the firm to bring an international perspective to a local project.
The central concern of the practice is design excellence, in a commitment to provide designs that create uplifting spaces for people. Its architecture responds to community, context and environment, demonstrating the important contribution architecture can make to sustainable patterns of living.
The firm, established in 1976 by Eugene Kohn, William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox (1930-2006), is probably best known for its high-profile commercial skyscrapers, such as the Shanghai World Financial Centre. In 1990, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded KPF with its Architectural Firm Award, the youngest firm ever to receive such high recognition.
After several designs, the firm's first widely acclaimed building was 333 Wacker Drive (Chicago, 1983), a 36-storey green glass office tower. The American Institute of Architects rewarded this design with their National Honors Award in 1984, validating KPF's coming of age as a major player in skyscraper design.
To date KPF has built in over 30 countries. KPF has also had a large number of commissions on the Pacific Rim, particularly in China's provincial city of Shanghai. The Shanghai World Financial Centre, scheduled for completion shortly, will be one of the tallest buildings in the world.
KPF designs buildings and spaces that provide an uplifting backdrop for daily life. The practice has focused on building in the city, recognising the fact that each of the buildings it designs has a civic responsibility above and beyond its specific function.
KPF will be represented in Malta by the director of its London office, Architect John Bushell. John Bushell has over 15 years' experience working in the UK, US and Northern Europe on commercial, residential and public buildings.
His Thames Court project has been recognised by the City of London as a benchmark for design excellence and a model for future development.
Mr Bushell is currently working on the refurbishment of the landmark Unilever House and the office areas for Unilever's transferred global headquarters, and on several mixed-use schemes in central London.
He has also worked on the master plan and subsequent delivery of a mixed-use development and park in Brussels at Zaventem Airport Gardens, a project based on innovative ecological strategies. Mr Bushell holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Diploma in Architecture both from the University of Cambridge, England, and was an exchange student at Harvard Graduate School of Design. He also has had paintings hung at the Royal Academy.