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Kevin
Burke, AIA, LEED AP
Director of Practice
Named design partner in 2000,
Kevin Burke works closely with William McDonough to give form
to the firm’s eco-effective design principles in a broad
array of project types and scales; he served as co-designer
on several projects that have become milestones in American
sustainable design. His approach is driven by his keen interest
in place-making through integrated design solutions.
In recent
years,
Kevin now
leads the
management
of the 50-person practice, which opened a second studio in
San Francisco in 2006. This move built on many strong
Bay Area
relationships that Kevin has nurtured for the past decade.
He cultivated an experienced and passionate team to bring
the studio to life. The warm reception and rapid success attest
to the
fact that the time and place were right for this natural growth
beyond the thriving Charlottesville studio.
While directing the practice, Kevin has retained his role
as a key
design leader, heading teams on Fuller
Theological
Seminary’s Worship Center and
Library,
the American University
School of International Service, VMware
Corporate
Headquarters, and other projects. Previously, he
led teams on 901 Cherry, Offices for Gap Inc., the Adam
Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College;
the Aspect
Communications
Headquarters; and the Bernheim
Arboretum Visitor Center.
“I see architectural design as a process of discovery
centered on the fundamental nature of place and space,” Kevin
says of his approach. “I look for opportunities to create
memorable places by drawing on the strongest, most significant
qualities of a site and its context. In this sense, architecture
is a type of focusing—a means of bringing forth essential
qualities. This can have potent results. Buildings designed
this way can feel rooted to their places in a deeply satisfying
way.”
For Kevin, the firm’s leadership role in
the design community highlights the ethical aspect of the
profession. “With design and construction come responsibilities,” he
says. “As architects, we are concerned with our designs
impacts on site, community, ecosystem, and social realm over
the course of time. Environmental design is rightly concerned
with these fundamental responsibilities. Eco-effective design
asks how designs can contribute positively—not just
be less bad.”
Kevin spoke at the 2006 and 2007 AIA conventions.
His latest
lectures focus on Cradle to Cradle thinking as the backdrop
for the firm’s architecture and its work
on guidelines, master plans, and other frameworks. In November
2008 Kevin spoke at the Sustainable
Architecture Forum in Rotterdam. See his presentation slides here. In January 2008,
Burke gave a keynote talk at PropertyNL in the Netherlands.
In September 2007, Burke gave the Keynote address at San Diego
Green. He has also presented before the Association of Academic
Healthcare Centers conference, the International Making Cities
Livable Conference, the Society for College and University
Planning Regional Conference, the San Francisco Academy of
Art, and several EnvironDesign conferences.
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