In days of yore, 21 was when we were given the key of the door and launched out into the world as fully-fledged adults. Things aren’t that cut and dried anymore, but as BKK Architects celebrates its 21st birthday, its maturation as a practice is undeniable. Recent high-profile projects include a collaboration with Kerstin Thompson Architects on a cultural centrepiece for the City of Whitehorse, another with Kyriacou Architects on part of the Victorian Level Crossing Removal Projects and, of course, the award-winning ACMI Renewal.
The practice has also just been announced as part of the preferred team on a $15 billion, city-shaping infrastructure project – the NE Link – partnering with TLC (Taylor Cullity Lethlean) and Warren and Mahoney as the urban design/landscape team. The most surprising thing perhaps is just how much the practice has managed to accomplish, considering its non-hierarchical structure and determination to ensure everyone gets their say. The interview for this profile with partners Simon Knott, Tim Black and George Huon ran way over time and could easily have lasted for hours longer.
Along with co-founder Julian Kosloff, Knott and Black oficially incorporated the studio in 2000. Kosloff was at the practice for 17 years before he and fellow principal Stephanie Bullock moved on to form Kosloff Architecture. It was an amicable parting of the ways, says the trio now. “It was just a decision to go in different directions,” says Knott.
The team initially came together through their shared experience at RMIT. “It was and still is a fantastic learning hub and breeding ground for architecture,” says Knott, adding how it instilled a “collegiate sense around Melbourne
