For Immediate Release
KAA DESIGN GROUP IS NOW
KIRKPATRICK ARCHITECTS AND EVENS ARCHITECTS
The renowned Los Angeles design firm develops a groundbreaking new structure, with complementary studios exclusively focused on two philosophies of residential architecture.
KAA Design Group, a leader in high-end residential architecture for 25 years, has undergone a bold restructuring calculated to leverage their strengths and deliver maximum value to clients. KAA now comprises two distinct studios working under the direction of the firm’s principals. Grant Kirkpatrick takes the lead at Kirkpatrick Architects, a studio devoted to warm contemporary design solutions for modern living. Erik Evens directs the team at Evens Architects, which specializes in traditional residential design anchored in history but attuned to the spirit and needs of the modern world. Both studios remain committed to the shared values of integrity, authenticity, innovation, and a steadfast belief that beauty is essential to the human experience.
“The theory of our evolution is simple. Most clients are fundamentally committed to one design sensibility or another - either contemporary or traditional,” says KAA founder Grant Kirkpatrick. “By allowing Erik and I to focus exclusively on our particular passions and unique approaches, our specialized studios guarantee our clients the highest levels of expertise and imagination.”
Kirkpatrick Architects and Evens Architects will continue to work out of the KAA Design Group offices in west Los Angeles, and both studios will utilize the extensive research and support systems developed by KAA over the past quarter century. The innovative dual-studio structure unites the dexterity and imagination of a boutique firm with the reliability and service of a well-established practice with longstanding ties to the Southern California design community.
“Grant and I recognized the value of committing ourselves to the specific design philosophies that have inspired our best work,” says Erik Evens. “Collaboration is still essential to what we do—both within our individual studios and across the aisle—but developing specialized staffs immersed in one particular design culture can only help us add substance and depth to the one-of-a-kind homes we create.”
Newly designed websites for Kirkpatrick Architects and Evens Architects (kirkpatrickarc.com and evensarc.com) survey the history of both principals and the unique sensibilities and approaches that distinguish their studios.
Grant Kirkpatrick founded KAA Design Group in 1988, when he left a well-known architectural firm in Los Angeles to strike out on his own. He steadily built the practice into an award-winning, multidisciplinary firm with a particular expertise in domestic architecture. From its inception, KAA built a reputation for meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail, and as the firm grew, it attracted a community of like-minded artisans, builders and master fabricators.
Partner Erik Evens joined KAA Design Group in 1998, adding his own considerable experience and expertise to the firm’s formidable design team, with a particular emphasis on traditional residential architecture that demonstrates the vitality and relevance of classical idioms in the modern world. He has been an indispensable leader and collaborator in all of KAA’s operations for the past fifteen years.
During the past twenty-five years, KAA’s clients have included the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Christie’s auction house, Hugo Boss, Nicole Miller, the Jonathan Club and the Santa Monica Beach Club. Select projects from the firm’s portfolio of extraordinary custom residences have been published in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.
“We feel fortunate to have been entrusted with virtually all types of projects through the years, but we have always been at our best with high-end, high-expectation, custom homes,” says Kirkpatrick. “Now we are ready to further our focus by concentrating our individual capabilities on what Erik and I, and our longstanding architecture team, are truly passionate about. It’s a very exciting time.”
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