Following anniversary events in New York City and London, the global architecture firm reflects on five decades of city-building with a focus on the future.
New York, NY, USA – July 28, 2026 – KPF, a leader in architecture, urban design, and planning, celebrated its milestone 50th year this month, gathering clients, collaborators, staff, and friends for marquee events at The New York Public Library, Edge at Hudson Yards, and in London. Attendees at the library gala included: Gary Barnett, Extell Development; Bruce Beal, Related Companies; Sam Charney, Charney Companies; John Durschinger, Brookfield Properties; Sarah Hawkins, Hines; Hiroaki Hoshino, Tokyu Land; Hiroo Mori, Mori Building Company; Mickey Rabina, Rabina Properties; Todd Rechler, RXR; Rob Schiffer, SL Green Realty Corp.; Yuichiro Takenaka, Takenaka; Owen Thomas, BXP; and Xin Zhang, Co-Founder and former CEO of SOHO China. This fall, future events will be hosted in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Download images of the event and video here.
Driven by its mission to transform cities through context, craft, and performance, KPF has grown into a practice of over 650 people across eight offices on three continents, with a portfolio that includes some of the world’s tallest towers, campuses for prestigious global institutions, airports that accommodate millions of passengers daily, and entire districts where generations of people come together.
“At this birthday gathering, we stand at a hinge point — celebrating the amazing projects we’ve accomplished since 1976, but more importantly, looking forward to what we’re going to create,” said James von Klemperer FAIA RIBA, KPF President. “We’re exploring new territories around the globe, experimenting with new technologies while still holding to the simple, basic principle Bill Pedersen taught us: crafting beautiful buildings that last.”
The anniversary comes at an active moment for KPF, with the recent completion of TP-LINK LXD in Shenzhen, 520 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and the TCC DAKA Renewable Resource Recycling Center in Taipei. The firm continues to work on major projects around the world including Changi Airport Terminal 5 in Singapore; 570 Fifth Avenue and the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, both in New York City; 8 Canada Square and One North Quay, both in London; and North Bund Lot 91 in Shanghai. The firm recently expanded its Environmental Performance practice globally and is pushing further into computational design and data-driven planning tools across its global studios.
“The history and future of KPF is one massive relay race,” said Forth Bagley AIA, KPF Principal. “Each of us think of ourselves as stewards of this firm, of our values and our culture, and, most importantly, of the designs we do day in and day out. We’re a global studio of over 650 people today, but over 6,000 architects have worked at KPF since our founding. We’ve designed and delivered well over 500 buildings in 150 cities around the world — so many that none of us could ever hope to see them all in a lifetime.”
KPF was founded by A. Eugene “Gene” Kohn, William “Bill” Pedersen, and Sheldon “Shelley” Fox on July 4, 1976. The firm’s first commission was modest: converting a former Manhattan armory into a television studio for ABC. Within a decade, projects such as 333 Wacker Drive in Chicago (winner of KPF’s first AIA National Award, 1984) and the Procter & Gamble World Headquarters in Cincinnati had established the firm’s reputation for architecture that was both commercially astute and formally daring. By 1990, KPF was the youngest firm ever named AIA Firm of the Year.
“Fifty years ago, Gene Kohn, Shelley Fox, and I decided to form a firm,” said William Pedersen FAIA FAAR, KPF Co-Founder. “We decided on a path that became the future design strategy of the firm: we would internally develop and grow all of our design leaders within our own organization — none would be imported. Our design culture implements the best ideas regardless of their authorship.”
The 1990s took the firm abroad — first to Europe, with the opening of a London office, then across Asia — establishing a global practice built not on exporting a house style, but on responding to context, client, and user. Offices in Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong followed in the 2000s, the same decade KPF’s Shanghai World Financial Center and International Commerce Centre, in Hong Kong, cemented its expertise in supertall design. Today the firm’s reach extends from Hudson Yards and One Vanderbilt in New York City to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) in China and Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi — projects that have reshaped skylines and daily life in dozens of cities worldwide.
Following remarks at The New York Public Library event from Bill Pedersen, James von Klemperer, and Forth Bagley, three long-term clients toasted KPF’s anniversary: Ronnie Chan, Melissa Burch, and Ian Hawksworth.
“Why do we pick KPF,” said Ronnie Chan, Honorary Chair of Hang Lung Group, whose company’s Hong Kong project marked one of KPF’s first commissions in Asia. “I want to make sure we contribute to society by building something beautiful, usually in the center of town. I want to be kind to the citizens where we work, and make sure they have a sense of beauty, aesthetics, and satisfaction. So, we balance commercial reality with aesthetics.”
“The city is humanity’s greatest invention,” said Melissa Burch, Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “I’ve had the incredible honor of working with KPF from every side of the table over the span of my career — as a developer, public servant, co-professor, and fellow board member. I’ve seen their grit and their magic up close. For 50 years, KPF hasn’t simply kept pace with the evolution of cities — they’ve redefined the mainstream of urbanism itself. The body of work is immense, impressive, and globally impacting.”
“Whenever I go into a meeting with anybody at KPF over the last 35 years, I come out feeling completely inspired,” said Ian Hawksworth, Chief Executive Officer of Shaftesbury Capital. “You see people smiling in the places KPF has designed around the world — you see energy, and a contribution not just to the fabric and economic dynamism of a city, but at a human level, to the people themselves.”
The festivities mark the midpoint of KPF50, a year-long campaign honoring the firm’s legacy, celebrating its ongoing achievements, and introducing new initiatives for growth and innovation. KPF’s anniversary programming continues throughout the rest of 2026, with additional celebrations around the world, films highlighting the firm’s expertise, and a book on high-performance design, rounding out a trilogy on KPF’s mission. More information about the campaign is available at kpf.com/kpf50.
The current KPF Principals are James von Klemperer FAIA RIBA, Forth Bagley AIA, John Bushell ARB RIBA, Josh Chaiken AIA, Florence Chan AIA RIBA HKIA LEED AP, Mustafa Chehabeddine AL, Terri Cho AIA, Andrew Cleary AIA LEED AP, Claudia Cusumano AIA LEED AP, Shawn Duffy AIA, Bruce Fisher AIA, Elie Gamburg AIA LEED AP, Brian Girard AIA, Rebecca Gromet AIA LEED AP BD+C, Charles Ippolito AIA LEED AP BD+C, Philip Jacobs ARB RIBA, Hana Kassem FAIA NOMA WELL AP, Jeffrey A. Kenoff FAIA, Marianne Kwok AIA, Jill N. Lerner FAIA, Ko Makabe AIA, Richard Nemeth AIA, Lauren Schmidt AIA, Lloyd Sigal FAIA, Paul Simovic ARB RIBA, Trent Tesch AIA, Hugh Trumbull AIA, and Robert C. Whitlock FAIA.
