KPF, Hong Kong: Collaboration, Diversification, Globalisation.

“An architectural practice is not a static establishment; it is a dynamic organisation within which architects produce their best,” says Bernard Chang, KPF’s Director of Hong Kong. The firm provides a platform that embraces collaboration by encouraging architects at all levels to bring new ideas to the table, challenging each other to invent new techniques and search for new expressions. Each project is expected to advance the larger practice, while answering to a very particular set of individual parameters. 

KPF’s Hong Kong office opened in 2007 with four employees. Today the practice has grown to 30+ architects from its location in Jardine House, an iconic building from the 70s. As a ‘gateway’ to the global enterprise, the Hong Kong office is the first point of contact for many Chinese and Asian projects. 

The KPF office works in an open studio format, with 36 workstations positioned away from the exterior walls, leaving a walkway with an array of round windows providing excellent quality of light. The conference rooms are formed by full height glass partitions, open to the studio. 

The physical layout and organisational culture creates a sociable and interactive environment, which reflects and reinforces the collaborative nature of the firm. Outside the office, KPF has a strong basketball team, competing in an architectural league. 

Exchange of staff between offices is a regular practice. Quite often a single project will avail itself of expertise residing in multiple offices – working together as a single team – in order to derive maximum benefit from the firm’s broad base of knowledge. 

Chang’s chief mission is to motivate and support everyone in the office to do his or her best. “It’s like being a coach,” says Chang. “We may not win every game, but we know it’s a good game when we play hard and enjoy it.”