Arney Fender Katsalidis

What Arney Fender Katsalidis does

Arney Fender Katsalidis (trading as AFK Studios) is a privately held boutique architectural, interior design, and masterplanning practice founded in 2013 by Earle Arney, Karl Fender OAM, and Nonda Katsalidis AM, headquartered at 40-42 Scrutton Street in Shoreditch, London, with an operating footprint across at least five regions including the UK, Italy, and Canada. The firm operates in the professional services segment, generating revenue through design and advisory fees on commercial office, workplace interior, residential, hospitality, and large-scale masterplanning commissions, delivered via direct enterprise engagement and competition wins. Its technical capabilities span sustainable and parametric design (Rhino/Grasshopper), modern methods of construction, and bespoke engineering solutions such as the Closed Cavity Façade system co-developed with Permasteelisa/Scheldebouw and a panelised handmade-brick installation system.

AFK's client base is concentrated among institutional and enterprise counterparties — including Deloitte (multi-city workplace programme), Brookfield Properties (Calgary), Lendlease (Turing Building), Derwent London (80 Charlotte Street), Hilton and Mandarin Oriental (luxury hospitality), Canary Wharf Group, Berkeley Group, JP Morgan, the City of London, and multiple London boroughs — with sustainability credentials (BREEAM Outstanding at Turing Building; BREEAM Excellent and LEED Gold at Brookfield Place Calgary) serving as a key differentiator. The practice has won C40 Cities Reinventing Cities Rome Tuscolana and continues to enter international competitions, signalling intent to extend beyond its London-centric delivery base. No external institutional capital, parent company, or subsidiaries are disclosed; ownership and control sit with the founder group.

Name

Arney Fender Katsalidis

Legal name

Arney Fender Katsalidis

Website

https://afkstudios.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Arney Fender Katsalidis (AFK Studios) is a London-headquartered boutique architectural, interior design, and masterplanning practice serving enterprise, developer, hospitality, and public-sector clients across the UK, Europe, and North America with sustainability-led, parametric design capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (541410), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

akta.pro primary industry

Design-Build / EPC General Contracting (IMAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Interior design services
• Masterplanning services
• Sustainable building design
• Workplace design consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: AFK Studios provides comprehensive architectural design services for commercial, residential, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for design, planning, and project delivery across masterplanning, workplace, and residential sectors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Arney Fender Katsalidis (AFK Studios) is a London-based global design firm providing architectural design, interior design, and masterplanning services for commercial, residential, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. The practice delivers strategic design thinking, sustainability consulting (including carbon reduction and Net Zero by 2050 commitment), and project delivery from concept through to completion across five regions globally.

Product overview

AFK Studios is a boutique global design firm offering architecture, interiors, and masterplanning services. The studio provides strategic design thinking, architecture and interior design delivery, and sustainability consulting. Projects span commercial office buildings, residential developments, hospitality (hotels), workplace interiors, and large-scale masterplanning schemes across multiple regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• BREEAM Outstanding certification achieved for Turing Building with +30% reduction in embodied carbon and 57% reduction in water demand
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• LEMAYMICHAUDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitectural collaborator on Deloitte Montreal project, working in close partnership with Deloitte to select and modify the 24-storey tower and design seven floors of workplace interiors.
• DialogcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and design collaborator on Brookfield Place Calgary project, a landmark 2.4 million sq ft commercial development in Calgary.
• Ben Rubin and Jer ThorpcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtists commissioned to create Herald/Harbinger, an immersive data and soundscape piece for Brookfield Place Calgary, responding to the evolution of Calgary's natural landscape.
• Micah LexiercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian artist commissioned to create 'The Forest and The Trees' artwork for Brookfield Place Calgary, exploring connections between nature and urbanisation.
• Permasteelisa Europe (Scheldebouw)coreTechnology or IntegrationFacade specialist collaborated with AFK to develop an innovative and bespoke Closed Cavity Façade (CCF) system for the Turing Building, critical for achieving carbon reduction targets.
• Make ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead Architect on 80 Charlotte Street project, with AFK serving as Delivery Architect. The project showcased handmade materials and expert craftsmanship.
• Bill Amberg StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialist artisan leather crafts workshop that created bespoke leather upholstery and seating for 80 Charlotte Street, including recessed booths and leather horseshoe seating.
• DinesencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish timber flooring experts who supplied Douglas Fir and Oak flooring for the central atrium and reception of 80 Charlotte Street.
• Petersen TeglcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish brickworks (founded 1791) that supplied handmade Kolumba bricks for 80 Charlotte Street's facade, featuring unique colouring from coal-firing process.
• LazenbycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLondon-based master craftsmen who created blackened concrete floors for 80 Charlotte Street, featuring hand-burnished finish with visible trowel marks.
• C40 CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFK were finalists in C40 Cities' Roma competition to regenerate a strategically important railway site at Roma Tuscolana. C40 Cities is an initiative by Bloomberg connecting 97 world cities in driving climate action.
• Reinventing Cities ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFK won the competition to transform Rome Tuscolana railway site as part of the Reinventing Cities programme, which encourages cities to achieve net-zero urban developments.
• Alan RanklecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManchester-born artist commissioned to create six bespoke pieces of art for The Lowry Riverside Suites, which formed the inspiration for AFK's interior design.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allies and Morrison: London architecture practice with comparable size and mixed-use, residential, and commercial portfolio. Both serve UK borough planning and developer clients and have been long-listed in similar RIBA and NLA competitions.
• Heatherwick Studio: London-based boutique design studio working at a similar headcount across architecture, interiors, and masterplanning. Both compete in the creative-boutique segment for landmark hospitality and public-realm commissions.
• Make Architects: UK-based architecture practice of comparable scale. Make Architects served as lead architect on 80 Charlotte Street with AFK as delivery architect — a direct example of how the two firms compete and collaborate on London commercial schemes.
• Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF): Global architecture firm recognized for supertall commercial towers and urban masterplanning. AFK's Brookfield Place Calgary and 100 Bishopsgate sit in the same market segment as KPF's developer-led tower work.
• WilkinsonEyre: UK architecture firm of comparable size and standing, with shared clients in commercial property developers and public-sector bodies. Both participate in CTBUH and RIBA award ecosystems.
• Zaha Hadid Architects: London-headquartered global architecture practice working across commercial towers, masterplanning, and interiors. Both firms compete for CTBUH, RIBA, and international design awards in the high-end commercial built environment.
• Foster + Partners: London-headquartered global architecture practice with overlapping clientele (commercial towers, mixed-use, hospitality) and similar award profile (CTBUH, RIBA). Both practices compete for prestigious commercial and public-sector commissions worldwide.

Regional players

• Dialog Design: Canadian architecture and engineering firm that partnered with AFK on Brookfield Place Calgary. Both firms overlap in Calgary's commercial development market and could compete as design partners on Canadian flagship projects.

Broad incumbents

• SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill): Global architecture and engineering incumbent with broad commercial, hospitality, and masterplanning capability. SOM competes with AFK for major developer commissions (Brookfield, Lendlease-adjacent) but at substantially larger firm scale.
• Gensler: The largest global design and architecture firm with a dominant workplace and commercial interiors practice. Gensler competes with AFK for corporate occupier (e.g., Deloitte-style) mandates but operates at vastly greater scale across many adjacent services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AFK_studios
• Facebookfacebook.com/746468668785604
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arney-fender-katsalidis

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arney Fender Katsalidis