INTERVIEW VIEW Creating Opportunities for INTER Growth and Leadership

An Interview with A. Eugene Kohn FAIA RIBA JIA, Chairman, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

COMPANY BRIEF Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates produce excellent career opportunities for our (www.kpf.com) is an international practice architects. headquartered in , with offi ces in What are the most famous buildings , , , , and Abu that you’ve done? Dhabi. Its 500 staff members represent 43 coun- Our fi rst client was the American Broadcasting tries and speak 30 languages. The fi rm provides Company in New York. In the ’70s, ABC was just architectural design, programming, urban de- becoming one of the three major networks along sign, master planning, interior design, and with CBS and NBC. Our early work for them graphic design services for clients in both the provided excellent studios and work spaces to public and private sectors. Their extensive port- enhance their performance and led to 16 proj- folio, developed over more than 33 years, in- ects for ABC, as well as other signifi cant projects cludes a wide range of projects, from civic and around the country. The role of isn’t cultural spaces, to corporate headquarters and just to create a great icon but, more importantly, investment offi ces, hotel and residential towers, to do an excellent job for the people who have to educational and laboratory facilities as well as work, live, study, or get well in these structures. hospitals, airports, and museums. The fi rm’s Buildings also need to be good neighbors within work has been widely exhibited, is the subject of the already built and natural environments. 13 monographs, and has won over 300 awards. One of our earliest buildings that probably got the most reaction and publicity is 333 Wacker Drive A. Eugene Kohn You’ve become one of the largest and in Chicago, on the bend of the Chicago River, in most respected architectural fi rms in the the Loop. At one million square feet, its shape and EDITORS’ NOTE On July 4th, 1976, along with world. Are you still running the fi rm with green glass refl ects the bend and the color of the William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox, Eugene Kohn a tight grip, and to what do you attribute its water, and the sky and surrounding environment. founded Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), a success? It is a dramatic building, and today it is loved and fi rm committed to providing design excellence for My grip never needed to be tight – only even more popular than when it was completed in its clients and individual growth and leadership inspirational, focused on building teamwork. the early ’80s. That put KPF on the map: it got na- opportunities for its staff. Kohn served as President We now have so many excellent partners (prin- tional publicity and won many awards. 333 Wacker until becoming Chairman in 2003. He has lec- cipals) that share leadership of the fi rm. But I’m Drive launched us from doing low- to mid-rise tured at numerous universities, organizations, still the Chairman, and recently took over our buildings to tall buildings and urban buildings of and institutions around the world. In recogni- London offi ce where we had a change in lead- importance. We also beat out some of the very best tion of his accomplishments, he has been hon- ership after a handful of partners left following architects for projects like the Proctor & Gamble ored with many awards including the Lifetime an unsuccessful buyout attempt. We currently world headquarters in Cincinnati, Goldman Sachs Achievement Award given by the Wharton Real have 18 partners (principals) globally. in London, the DG Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Estate Center (1997). He was recognized in 1998 The key to the fi rm’s success is teamwork – The World Bank in Washington D.C., the Federal with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; in May it’s not about an individual. Bill Pedersen, Shelly Reserve Bank in Dallas, Morgan Stanley in New of 2005, he was bestowed the Salvadori Award Fox, and I, right from the beginning, decided for Excellence in Design; and in May 2008, the to create a fi rm that would grow over the years Dean’s Medal from PennDesign (a seldom be- and be able to exist after we moved on. The stowed honor). He is an Executive Fellow of the best thing we did was attract and train talented, Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, bright, young architects and develop their pro- the fi rst architect to be awarded the title, and fessional and leadership skills. We wanted to he teaches at the Harvard Business School. He establish a great fi rm that was an outstand- earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University ing institution. Some of the partners that have of Pennsylvania. Kohn served in the U.S. Navy risen to the top in leadership positions, while on Active Duty for three years between degrees, achieving excellent and professional results, are for fi ve years on Reserve Duty, and retired as a William Louie, Paul Katz (President), James Von Lieutenant Commander. He helped establish the Klemperer, and Jill Lerner, to name a few. Both Harvard International Real Estate Center and Bill Pedersen and I are still very active, work- has also served as a Trustee for the University ing full time. Bill continues to design some of of Pennsylvania, is currently an Overseer for his best buildings to date. The diversity of our PennDesign, and is a founding member of the staff, our work on different building types, and Wharton Real Estate Center Advisory Board. He working across the globe has allowed our prac- is also a board member of the National Building tice to improve due to the cultural diversity and Museum and Urban Land Institute. talent of our staff. The fi rm’s exciting projects 34 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2010 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 33, NUMBER 3 York, and the Ross School of Business in Michigan. In , we’re doing the new airport, Costs are key. A lot of clients are naïve about These projects were key to giving the fi rm a great which will be built next to the existing airport. construction costs, material costs, and escalation; breadth of accomplished work, but also to moving We’re just fi nishing the drawings but they’ve al- they may fail to understand that world conditions, us into areas we hadn’t been before. ready started foundations – really a terrifi c proj- including interest rates, affect the costs of construc- These projects have opened the door ect – a wonderful gateway to Abu Dhabi. In tion. It is about being clear and as accountable as for you to work in places like China, where addition, we are doing the new media center possible with clients about costs, because no one you represent private and public sector for Abu Dhabi – also a gateway of sorts – and can guarantee the costs with changing conditions. buildings. Is working in an environment previously designed the headquarters for ADIA. Cost overruns can be due to client’s wishes like China diffi cult? For corporations or governmental en- that exceed the budget or to the architect’s ex- Before we started working there, I thought it tities that want to build a building, what uberance or to contractor’s underestimate. In was going to be very diffi cult. It was a new experi- should they do to make the process a addition, no one can predict world conditions ence. Working in China has been one of the most smooth one? Would you still do a smaller, and the future of the economy, which can affect rewarding and exciting experiences. We’ve done million-dollar job? each phase of the project. It’s been my philosophy that the size of You have paintings hanging in your of- the project is not what is important – the cli- fi ce that you’ve created yourself. Did you ents are number one. So if there is a client charge your company a lot for them? we really respect and enjoy working with, it I should have – just kidding – but I haven’t. doesn’t matter whether they want to do their The Belgravia Gallery in London represents me home or a $100-million project or a $2-billion and I’ve sold some paintings. But I don’t paint to project. The point is that you want to work sell; I just really enjoy it – it relaxes me. I keep with people who are good to work with, who many and give others to family and friends, as care about what they are developing, and who well as to charities. My mother was a great art- are honorable and have great taste. So size ist – she actually had a show at the Guggenheim doesn’t matter. at age 100. As an architect, we get buildings done In addition to the quality of the client, the relatively quickly in China, but it still can be fi ve kind of project it is and the goals of the proj- to nine years – I can do a watercolor in an hour ect are really most important. If, as a client, or two. So I get total satisfaction in completing you’ve never done a building, like a house something in a short period of time, and when for example, an architect needs to know a lot others enjoy them, it is very rewarding. about you, because he or she wants to design What is it that you really like to do the it specifi cally for you. You have to be willing most? to reveal your personality, your likes, your I love being with my family – my wife, dislikes, your habits, and your quirks. But if Barbara and children are my biggest support- it’s an offi ce for you, it’s also about how you ers – and painting, sports, and teaching. I most work. Architects should sit down with a client enjoy being active with people in a leadership before they start and explain the whole pro- and teaching role, inspiring and helping people the tallest building in China, the Shanghai World cess: what is going to take place each step of Financial Center for Mori Building of Japan. It is the way. A client has to be prepared emotion- truly one of the most handsome towers in the ally and fi nancially. world and received more press than any building Because of the emphasis on celebrities in we’ve done. The commission for SWFC came as a our society, the press only wants to talk about result of our design for , a mixed use de- individuals, but with architecture, it is not ac- velopment in Shanghai for Hong Kong developers complished by one person. There are great ar- called Hang Lung. These two projects led to KPF chitects, you read their names, and the press being commissioned for exciting projects in more give them all the credit, but the reality is, they than 16 Chinese cities of 3 to 5 to even 10 mil- may be the initial visionary, but without the lion square feet – staggering in size. We recently rest of the architectural team, structural and won the new airport for Nanning, China. Working mechanical engineers, other specialty consul- in China is good for architects when it comes to tants, contractors, tradesmen, and suppliers, completing projects in a relatively short period of and most of all, the client, these buildings can- time because of the ability of the government and not be realized. the clients to determine what is best for their city How do you work to assure the clients’ and make it happen. We start a project and are confi dence in the projects? confi dent it will be completed with the design be- Creating a building that never existed be- ing minimally compromised, if at all. fore from scratch, starting from a blank piece Our clients really care about quality. To of paper, with no two buildings being exactly work in an environment where you know if it is alike, is a signifi cant challenge. started, it’s going to get built, and that the client The process is normally a long one: two cares about the quality of its architecture, is good to ten or more years with, at times, bumps to be successful. Almost as much as seeing a for architects, architecture, the city, and China. in the road. Issues range from the approval building fi nished, I enjoy seeing young architects Is the Middle East still a strong area for process with its potential delays, to the pro- maturing, growing, developing, becoming lead- you? gram and the function, to the solutions, to cost ers, and accomplishing great things. To witness Abu Dhabi and Qatar are still very good. problems, construction delays, or just the fact that is exciting for me. Dubai has had its problems and it has been the client does not fully see, or possibly under- To see the fi rm as strong and excellent as diffi cult for architects to currently work there stand, what the drawings and models attempt it is, with terrifi c spirit, with confi dence for con- because all the projects have stopped and the to communicate. tinued success in the future, with or without architects may or may not have been paid. Having a team that is experienced and confi - Bill Pedersen or myself, gives me a great sense In Qatar, we’re doing a very tall building dent, and that communicates frequently, will give of satisfaction – we have done our job well.• for the Finance Minister and a project called the client confi dence, which will lead to success. Aerospace, which is a mixed-use project. We’re Is there anything else that clients First page: USA Today headquarters (top); Shanghai World Financial also doing the headquarters for IBQ, which is should know or be prepared for when they Center(bottom); Second page: 333 Wacker Drive, Chicago (top left); the third largest bank in Qatar. work with you? Barclays 745 Seventh Avenue, New York (above) VOLUME 33, NUMBER 3 POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2010 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. LEADERS 35