KPF
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a privately held global architecture firm founded in 1976, specializing in supertall towers, large-scale mixed-use developments, airports, and urban master planning for enterprise developers, sovereign clients, and institutions across six international offices.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What KPF does
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a privately held global architecture and design firm founded in 1976 in New York. The firm provides full-service architectural and interior design across commercial, residential, hospitality, transportation, civic, and mixed-use sectors, with a category-defining specialization in supertall towers — having designed 30+ towers over 300 meters, including 6 of the 15 tallest buildings in the world (e.g., Shanghai World Financial Center, Lotte World Tower, One Vanderbilt). It operates from six offices across the US, UK, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the UAE, serving institutional clients through direct commissions, design competitions, and RFPs.
The firm operates the KPF Urban Interface (KPFui) division, a wholly owned research and technology unit that developed the Scout platform — a web-based tool for rapid iteration of urban master plans across variables like density, transit, and street width. Scout was used to evaluate 2,240 design permutations for the Cupertino project. Additional proprietary tools include XIM (Pedestrian View Analysis) and the Skyline Design Tool. These capabilities support an environmental modeling service line focused on carbon reduction and building performance, deployed alongside the firm's design work.
KPF generates revenue through project-based professional services fees, typically calculated as a percentage of construction costs or as fixed fees for defined design phases. Pricing is non-public and negotiated per project. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting large-scale commercial, residential, hospitality, and infrastructure developers, government entities, and sovereign clients. Recent mandates include the Adani Airport City urban development program in India (~INR 20,000 crore, six airports), Jeddah Central's Mandarin Oriental hotel and residences in Saudi Arabia, and Changi Airport Terminal 5 in Singapore (with Heatherwick Studio). The firm has no public listing, no external investors, and no disclosure of revenue.
KPF firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- KPF
- Legal name
- KPF
- Website
- https://kpf.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a privately held global architecture firm founded in 1976, specializing in supertall towers, large-scale mixed-use developments, airports, and urban master planning for enterprise developers, sovereign clients, and institutions across six international offices.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
KPF industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Transportation & Infrastructure Planning (BPAHAKAF)
Keywords
Where KPF is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
KPF business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architectural Design Services: KPF generates revenue through fees for architectural design services on commercial, residential, hospitality, transportation, and urban planning projects. Revenue is project-based, typically calculated as a percentage of construction costs or fixed fees for specific design phases.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
KPF product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a global architecture firm providing full-service architectural and interior design for buildings and urban environments across residential, commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, civic, transportation, and supertall tower projects. The firm supplements its design practice with the KPF Urban Interface (KPFui) division, which develops proprietary urban data analytics and computational design tools, including the Scout platform and Plan Your Neighborhood tool, to optimize massing, views, thermal comfort, and parking across thousands of design permutations.
Product overview
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a global architecture and design firm offering full-service architectural design services for buildings and urban environments. The firm's portfolio spans residential, retail, commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, civic/cultural, transportation, and supertall tower projects worldwide. The company operates KPF Urban Interface (KPFui), a specialized division developing data analytics tools including the Scout platform for urban planning optimization and Plan Your Neighborhood for interactive housing development analysis. Additional specialized offerings include environmental modeling services and computational analysis capabilities that leverage rapid design iteration tools to evaluate massing, views, thermal comfort, and parking efficiency across thousands of permutations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- KPF Urban Interface (KPFui): Urban data analytics platform for informed decision making in the design of buildings and cities
Products and services
- Architectural Design Services Full-service architectural and interior design for buildings and urban environments across residential, commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, civic/cultural, transportation, and supertall tower typologies worldwide, delivered to enterprise developers, corporations, governments, and institutional clients.
- KPF Urban Interface (KPFui) Research & Technology Division Urban data analytics research and tooling division of KPF that combines urban data collection, scenario analysis, and 3D visualization to support data-driven decision making in the design of buildings and cities.
- Scout Urban Planning Analysis Platform Web-based analysis tool for testing iterations of urban master plans by toggling neighborhood elements such as density, transit, and street width to measure impact on urban comfort and efficiency; used by KPF to analyze thousands of design permutations rapidly.
- Plan Your Neighborhood Interactive quantitative tool that allows users to explore the future potential of housing developments by toggling neighborhood parameters such as density, transit, and street width to measure impact on urban comfort and efficiency, built on the Scout platform.
- XIM Pedestrian View Analysis Quantitative analysis system that exposes how urban morphology affects pedestrian experience, beginning with pedestrian field-of-view measurements.
- Skyline Design Tool Tool for designing skylines from any point in the city, applied to projects in cities that regulate the profile of new development.
- Environmental Modeling Services Environmental analysis and modeling services that use advanced tools to minimize carbon and maximize resilience in building and urban design.
- Computational Analysis Services Advanced computational analysis services leveraging Scout to generate and evaluate design permutations rapidly, including massing optimization, urban analytics, and scenario analysis for complex district plans.
Quantifiable outcome
- 6 of the 15 tallest buildings in the world designed by KPF
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use KPF
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
KPF technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
KPF partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, execution partner, key partner, co-designer and core.
- Adani Airport City LimitedmajorKPF serves as the architect for Adani Airports' ambitious INR 20,000 crore first-phase urban development program spanning 655 acres across six airports in five Indian states (Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati). The project will deliver approximately 22 million sq. ft. of mixed-use real estate with nearly 70% of investment concentrated in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
- Larsen & Toubroexecution partnerLarsen & Toubro is engaged as one of the execution partners for the Adani Airport City development project alongside KPF.
- Tata Projectsexecution partnerTata Projects is engaged as one of the execution partners for the Adani Airport City development project alongside KPF.
- CBREexecution partnerCBRE is engaged as one of the execution partners for the Adani Airport City development project alongside KPF.
- JLLexecution partnerJLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) is engaged as one of the execution partners for the Adani Airport City development project alongside KPF.
- IHG Hotels & Resortskey partnerIHG Hotels & Resorts has signed hotel management agreements with Adani Airport City Limited for the debut of Kimpton luxury hotels in India as part of the airport city development program. KPF is the architect on this broader project.
- Jeddah Central Development CompanymajorKPF is the architecture firm partnered with Jeddah Central Development Company for a new Mandarin Oriental luxury hotel and branded residences in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The project features 140 hotel rooms, 115 apartments, and 187 branded residences as a sustainable, low-density waterfront property with expected opening in 2030.
- Heatherwick Studioco-designerHeatherwick Studio collaborated with KPF on the design of Changi Airport Terminal 5 in Singapore, reimagining the airport experience as a social extension of the city.
- KPF Urban Interface (KPFui)coreKPF Urban Interface is the internal research and technology division of KPF focused on urban data analytics, computational design, and smart city solutions. Collaborates with universities and government agencies on research.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
KPF competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): SOM is KPF's most direct competitor in supertall tower design and global architecture, with a similarly large portfolio of iconic skyscrapers and a comparable 50+ year operating history. Both firms compete for the same high-profile commercial, institutional, and supertall commissions worldwide.
- Foster + Partners: Foster + Partners is a global architecture firm of comparable size and prestige, competing directly with KPF in supertall towers (e.g., 30 St Mary Axe), transportation hubs, and master planning. Both firms serve similar enterprise developer clients on trophy commissions.
- Gensler: Gensler is the world's largest architecture firm and a direct competitor in commercial office towers, mixed-use developments, and large-scale global projects. While Gensler has a broader interior design focus, it competes with KPF for major enterprise commercial commissions.
- Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG): AS+GG is a direct supertall specialist competitor, founded by ex-SOM principals with deep expertise in towers over 300 meters. They compete with KPF for the same supertall commissions globally, including projects in the Middle East and China.
- HOK: HOK is a global architecture, engineering, and planning firm with comparable international presence and similar sector diversification across commercial, healthcare, aviation, and education—directly competing with KPF for institutional and large-scale enterprise projects.
- Zaha Hadid Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects is a globally recognized architecture firm competing for the same iconic, high-design commissions as KPF. Both firms serve enterprise clients seeking landmark buildings and have similar award-winning international profiles.
- BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): BIG is a contemporary global architecture firm competing with KPF for high-profile mixed-use, residential, and commercial commissions, with similar international project distribution and a comparable focus on innovative, design-forward buildings.
- Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture firm of similar scale and sector breadth, competing with KPF in healthcare, education, commercial, and urban planning. Both firms serve enterprise and institutional clients on mid-to-large scale projects.
- SHoP Architects: SHoP Architects is a New York-based architecture firm with comparable sector focus on supertall residential, mixed-use, and large-scale commercial projects. They compete with KPF for similar Manhattan and global real estate developer clients.
Emerging players
- Heatherwick Studio: Heatherwick Studio is a London-based design studio that has directly partnered with KPF on the Changi Airport Terminal 5 project, indicating overlapping capabilities and client base in transportation and iconic architecture commissions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
KPF social profiles
Digital presenceKPF financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
KPF leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
KPF subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
KPF funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
KPF M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about KPF
What does KPF do?
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) is a global architecture firm providing full-service architectural and interior design for buildings and urban environments across residential, commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, civic, transportation, and supertall tower projects. The firm supplements its design practice with the KPF Urban Interface (KPFui) division, which develops proprietary urban data analytics and computational design tools, including the Scout platform and Plan Your Neighborhood tool, to optimize massing, views, thermal comfort, and parking across thousands of design permutations.
Is KPF a public or private company?
KPF is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was KPF founded?
KPF was founded in 1976. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is KPF based?
KPF is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does KPF make money?
One revenue line is on record: architectural Design Services.
Who are KPF's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Foster + Partners, Gensler, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), HOK, Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Perkins&Will and SHoP Architects. Heatherwick Studio is listed as an emerging player.
Does KPF have an API?
No public API is recorded for KPF.
What industry is KPF in?
KPF's product category is Architectural Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAF, Transportation & Infrastructure Planning. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 8711.