Karamuk Kuo Architects

What Karamuk Kuo Architects does

Karamuk Kuo Architects is a Zurich-based architecture practice founded in 2010 by Jeannette Kuo and Ünal Karamuk. The firm provides full-service architectural design across a range of scales, from spatial installations and exhibitions to complex institutional buildings. Its portfolio spans more than 30 completed and in-progress projects across Switzerland, Germany, the United States, and Belgium, encompassing housing, educational facilities, cultural institutions, administrative buildings, industrial spaces, and public infrastructure. The team comprises approximately 20 members including partners, associates, and staff.

The firm's design methodology foregrounds the relationship between space and program, treating structural systems as generators of spatial experience rather than concealed engineering infrastructure. Notable technical features include integrated structural-spatial systems such as diagonal bracing at the Winterthur Vocational School, flexible adaptive workplace design at the Swiss National Science Foundation headquarters, hybrid timber-concrete construction systems at the Rosental Mitte Innovation Labs that reduce concrete volume by more than 50% per floor, and disassembly-focused bolted steel structures at Rice University's Cannady Hall. Both founders bring academic backgrounds from UC Berkeley, Harvard GSD, and ETH Zurich, and maintain active teaching positions—including Jeannette Kuo's professorship at TU Munich since 2022—that channel contemporary design research into practice.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees structured as percentages of construction cost, fixed fees, or hourly rates, depending on project scope. Most projects are acquired through architectural competitions—both open and invited—with additional channels including direct commissions from returning or referred clients and collaborative joint ventures on large institutional projects (notably with SO-IL on the Bank for International Settlements New Development in Basel). The primary client segment is educational and research institutions, followed by public sector and civic clients, housing developers, and cultural and non-profit organizations.

Name

Karamuk Kuo Architects

Legal name

Karamuk Kuo

Website

https://karamukkuo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Karamuk Kuo Architects is a Zurich-based architecture firm founded in 2010 by Jeannette Kuo and Ünal Karamuk. The boutique practice delivers full-service architectural design across scales, serving educational, civic, cultural, and residential clients primarily through architectural competitions and collaborative partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious & Cultural Building Construction (Places of Worship, Museums, Libraries) (IMAFACAH), Sports & Recreation Facility Construction (Stadiums, Arenas, Community Centers) (IMAFACAI)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Institutional architecture
• Competition architecture
• Sustainable building design
• Adaptive reuse architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: The firm earns fees through architectural design services on a per-project basis. Revenue is generated from competitions (prizes, prize-adjacent recognition leading to commissions), direct commissions, and collaborative project fees. Project types span housing, educational, cultural, institutional, industrial, and civic buildings, with fees typically structured as a percentage of construction cost, fixed fees, or hourly rates depending on project scope and client.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Karamuk Kuo is a Zurich-based architecture firm providing full-service architectural design across a range of scales, from spatial installations and exhibitions to complex institutional buildings. Its portfolio covers housing, educational facilities, cultural institutions, civic and administrative buildings, sports halls, crematoria, laboratories, and commercial/industrial buildings, with project acquisition driven primarily by architectural competitions, direct commissions, and collaborative joint-venture commissions.

Product overview

Karamuk Kuo Architects is a Zurich-based architecture firm established in 2010 by Jeannette Kuo and Ünal Karamuk. The practice operates as a service-based architecture studio rather than a product company, providing architectural design services across a portfolio of project types. Their core offering encompasses architectural design services delivered through completed projects and ongoing commissions, spanning housing, educational facilities, cultural institutions, administrative buildings, industrial/commercial spaces, and public infrastructure. The firm also engages in design research and teaching activities, contributing to intellectual pursuits alongside their built work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50% reduction in concrete volume per floor achieved through hybrid timber-concrete slab system at Rosental Mitte Innovation Labs, compared to conventional construction.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SO-ILcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Karamuk Kuo collaborated with SO-IL (an internationally renowned architecture practice led by Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg) as joint lead architects on the Bank for International Settlements New Development project in Basel. Karamuk Kuo served as the lead Swiss partner while SO-IL brought international perspective to this prestigious institutional commission. The collaboration combined both firms' design approaches for the dynamic, curved architectural expression of the extension.
• Altstadt and NWLNDcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Karamuk Kuo partnered with Altstadt (Steven Bosmans, Jan de Moffarts, Michael Langeder) and NWLND (Bert Rogiers, Pieter Vandeputte, Billy Ileris, Hena Wang) for the Ghent University School of Art and Architecture conversion project. The three-team collaboration was selected from five international teams in a competitive invited competition process. The joint venture combined Karamuk Kuo's experience in adaptive reuse and institutional buildings with the local expertise of the Belgian partners.
• Kendall/Heaton AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerKendall/Heaton Associates served as the Architect of Record for the Rice University Cannady Hall project in Houston, Texas, USA. As the US-based firm with local knowledge of Texas regulatory requirements, building codes, and construction practices, they supported the implementation of Karamuk Kuo's design in the US context.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Olson Kundig: US boutique architecture firm of comparable size with a similar craft-driven, material-economy ethos and a strong international competition track record. Directly comparable as a designer-led firm competing for high-prestige commissions in a similar tier.
• EM2N Architekten: Zurich-based Swiss architecture firm of similar size and vintage, working on cultural, educational, and civic projects across Switzerland. Comparable in their focus on material-driven design and strong competition track record.
• Christ & Gantenbein: Basel-based Swiss architecture firm of comparable size and prestige, with a similarly academic-leaning profile and an analogous portfolio of cultural and institutional buildings. Both firms compete in the same Swiss open-competition pipeline and share the same talent pool around ETH Zurich.
• HHF Architects: Basel-based Swiss architecture firm of similar scale and academic orientation, with a portfolio spanning cultural, residential, and institutional typologies. Directly comparable in team size, project types, and competition-based project acquisition.
• Studio Gang: US-based architecture studio with similar academic integration (Jeanne Gang at Yale) and comparable portfolio of institutional, cultural, and ecologically driven projects. Both practices foreground structural expression and sustainability as design drivers.
• Diener & Diener Architekten: Basel-based Swiss architecture practice with an analogous reputation for institutional, cultural, and residential work, and a similar academic engagement model. Both firms compete in the same Swiss cantonal and federal procurement channels.

Broad incumbents

• Caruso St John: UK-Swiss architecture practice with similar engagement on adaptive reuse, cultural institutions, and competition-led institutional work. Comparable in their emphasis on material economy and typological clarity.
• Max Dudler: German-Swiss architecture firm of comparable size with a strong public-sector and cultural-institution portfolio. Overlaps directly with Karamuk Kuo in competition formats for civic and educational buildings across the DACH region.
• Snøhetta: Internationally operating architecture practice combining academic sensibility with a strong cultural and public-sector portfolio. Comparable in their integration of sustainability and structural expression, though at substantially larger scale.
• David Chipperfield Architects: Internationally renowned architecture firm with comparable engagement on cultural and institutional buildings (museums, civic headquarters). Larger and more established but operates in the same invited-competition arena for major commissions like the BIS extension.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/karamuk-kuo-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/karamukkuo
• Facebookfacebook.com/karamukkuo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Karamuk Kuo Architects