KKA was honored to have recently been one of a select group of local architects invited by Yale University Properties to provide concept designs for a "shading structure" for Broadway Island in heart of Yale's commercial district in New Haven.

The proposal is a floating "Brise Soleil" canopy of sustainably grown red cedar louvers composed in a manageable 7' module within an undulating steel grid structure supported on tree-like "branches" and columns. The columns are spaced strategically within the site boundaries so as not to interfere with existing lampposts and will allow a for a 30' x 60' tent to be periodically erected below, one of the few requirements in the project brief.

The sustainable cedar canopy will provide visual warmth and gently filtered light/shade without restricting air movement or activities below. Together with the proposed steel colors, the canopy is intended to age gracefully over time and blend compatibly with the surrounding Broadway Island neighborhood.

Renderings by Guillermo Brandi

This uniquely eclectic home in the pastoral community of Weston, Connecticut began as a Civil War era horse barn that was gradually transformed into a house. A multitude of additions over the years have engulfed the original barn rendering it virtually unrecognizable save for the post and beam structure that remains prominently on display throughout the main interior spaces. Project DHR underwent a renovation to the existing interior spaces, and the addition of a new entry pavilion that strives to strengthen the relationship between interior and exterior habitable space. The new entrance replaces a dark, nondescript front porch and door, adds a small bath to the ground floor and helps better connect the media room to remainder of the home. Fresh open planning for the kitchen, living and dining spaces features updated interiors while maintaining a solid historical connection to the original barn through the exposure of key post and beam components.

The project scope grew unexpectedly when the previous garage burned down during the renovation design phase. A replacement garage was quickly designed and constructed on the original building footprint and features a home gym and storage loft in addition to vehicle containment.

(A collaboration with Andrei Harwell Architect)

Welcome to QAWA, a captivating coffee haven where Yemeni charm and contemporary design converge. Inspired by the rich coffee culture of Yemen, the interior fit-out of this new coffee shop in downtown New Haven promises a sensory journey through the world of Qawa, the Yemeni word for coffee.

QAWA's interior is a modern ode to Yemen's deep-rooted coffee traditions. The design concept seamlessly blends rustic authenticity with a contemporary aesthetic, creating a space that feels both inviting and sophisticated. Warm earthy tones, reminiscent of Yemen's landscapes, are paired with vibrant accents to evoke the lively spirit of Yemeni markets.

At the heart of QAWA stands a visually striking coffee bar adorned with traditional Yemeni motifs, where skilled baristas craft exquisite brews. The bar serves as the central focal point, encouraging interaction and engagement between baristas and customers, reinforcing the communal nature of enjoying coffee.

QAWA offers a variety of seating options to accommodate diverse preferences. Cozy corners with plush cushions invite patrons to savor their coffee in comfort, while communal tables encourage social interactions. The millwork, crafted from locally sourced materials, combines modern design elements with traditional craftsmanship.

Yemeni cultural elements are thoughtfully integrated into the interior. Hand-painted tiles, inspired by Yemeni patterns, adorn the walls, and traditional Yemeni coffee pots serve as unique decor pieces. The aroma of freshly ground Yemeni coffee beans fills the air, immersing customers in the authentic experience of QAWA.

(A collaboration with Andrei Harwell Architect)

Uni Life is a fresh new retail interior fit-out and façade design for an Asian home goods boutique on the ground floor of the historic Warner Building in New Haven, Connecticut.

Nestled in the charming town of Coldspring, New York, the Hudson Way Residence represents a unique architectural endeavor that seamlessly integrates a historic stone Romanesque-like chapel with modern living spaces. This project aims to preserve the chapel's historic significance while introducing contemporary elements through carefully designed additions that cater to the homeowners' needs.

The centerpiece of Hudson Way is a meticulously preserved stone chapel that exudes timeless charm and historic character. Originally constructed in the Romanesque style, the chapel's architectural details, including arched windows, stone masonry, and intricate ornamentation, serve as the inspiration and foundation for the entire project.

The design concept revolves around respecting the chapel's historical significance while enhancing its functionality for modern living. The project comprises three distinct components: the restoration and repurposing of the chapel's interior into a kitchen and family space, the addition of a bedroom wing, a living wing, and a new main entrance surrounding the chapel.

The interior of the chapel is transformed into a warm and inviting kitchen and family space. Original stained glass windows are carefully restored to allow natural light to illuminate the space, creating a unique atmosphere that blends historical charm with contemporary comfort. High ceilings and exposed stone walls pay homage to the chapel's architectural heritage.

Bedroom Wing: A thoughtfully designed bedroom wing extends from one side of the chapel, offering private retreats with panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The new wing complements the chapel's stone facade with modern elements, creating a harmonious blend of old and new.

Living Wing: On the opposite side, a spacious living wing provides ample room for entertaining and relaxation. Large windows and open spaces connect the interior with the natural beauty outside, fostering a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living.

Main Entrance: The new main entrance is strategically placed to enhance the flow of the residence and create a welcoming focal point. Modern landscaping and a carefully designed pathway guide residents and guests to the heart of the home—the historic chapel.

Materials selected for the additions echo the original stone and wood elements of the chapel, ensuring a cohesive aesthetic throughout the residence. Contemporary finishes and fixtures are chosen to complement the historical features while meeting the functional requirements of a modern home.

Hudson Way stands as a testament to the successful integration of historical preservation and contemporary living. This architectural masterpiece not only honors the past but also provides a unique and comfortable living space that reflects the evolving needs of its residents.

This unique early modernist home in New Haven, Connecticut, built in 1936, underwent a renovation to the existing interior spaces, and a addition that strengthens the relationship between interior and exterior habitable space within its urban context. Highlighted against the strong forms of the main portion of the house, the new addition maintains a sense of continuity with the existing structure while establishing an identity of its own. Clad in metallic zinc-coated panels, the diffused glow of the pavilion complements the original white painted brick. The double-height interior provides a new space for dining and entertaining.  Glass and aluminum doors and a stone floor that runs seamlessly from interior to exterior allow gatherings to spill out on to the adjacent patio. The design includes a new pool house containing a small sauna, shower and dressing room at the rear of the site .

Also clad in zinc panels, the new out building establishes a visual dialogue with the pavilion and provides much needed space for poolside activities and equipment storage. A sculptural steel and frosted glass canopy provides shading and dimension to the pool house.

This Private Residence at Marc Lane replaces a 1950s era split level ranch on a generous wooded lot in Westport, Connecticut. The clients requested a modern home that would be environmentally responsible and sufficiently flexible to allow for future expansion.

The 3,800 square feet of living space is composed along an east-west axis, allowing for maximum southern exposure and pleasant cross breezes. Large windows create a strong connection between the interior and exterior, while carefully placed screening walls maintain privacy. An accessible green roof insulates the interior spaces below and greatly reduces water run-off and heat absorption. Integrally-colored exposed aggregate concrete block compose a most of the exterior walls, with alternating surfaces of vertically placed wood siding and zinc coated copper making up the remainder. To manage building costs, the house was mostly prefabricated by the modular home manufacturer Empyrean International.

This private residence at Desert Mountain was designed as a retirement home within a natural preserve of the Sonoran desert in Northern Scottsdale. The house’s geometric forms complement the site’s geography while adhering to the community’s restrictive design regulations.

The two rectangular masses, angled gently toward each other, are set into a natural ridge that crests the site. The living area, an office, and master bedroom suite are located in the main volume; the smaller rectangular form houses a second bedroom and service areas. The interior spaces of these volumes project into the landscape, providing spectacular views to the desert beyond.

An internal garden and sun screening devices take an environmentally sensitive approach to climate control and evaporative cooling.

For this kitchen renovation in Redding, Connecticut, the clients wished to reconfigure and expand their kitchen into a highly functional space for cooking and casual entertaining. The exterior form of the kitchen needed to harmonize with their colonial revival home, while the interior was imagined as a more contemporary, light-hearted space. 

To open up the interior, a portion of the kitchen was converted into a double height space. The resulting increase in the room’s volume reduced the need to expand the footprint significantly – only 54 square feet were added – allowing the kitchen to maintain its traditional street presence. The exterior wall of the kitchen was conceived as an abstract, three-dimensional composition of clear and opaque glass panels with integrated cabinetry. Internal lighting with sequential controls illuminates the cabinet glass panels at night, creating a constantly shifting arrangement of colored panes.

The Bong Mu Residential Complex is a high-end housing development located in the Fashion Valley section of Daegu, the third largest city in South Korea. To achieve a diverse architectural vision for the complex, the client divided the site into ten parcels and invited a group of international architects, including Shigeru Ban, David Chipperfield, Ricardo Legorreta, Jean Wilmotte and Studio ABK (Keith Krolak - Design Principal), to design a series of unique residential condominiums and single family homes.

The apartment structures are arranged in a radial configuration, allowing for views to both the mountains and the city. In plan, each structure is composed of two or four overlapped rectangular shapes, a form inspired by the region’s traditional folded screens. Residents will have direct access to underground parking and ground level amenities. A community center is planned as a center focus for the development.

Hamilton Park is a historic neighborhood in downtown Jersey City, surrounded on three sides by 19th century row houses and on the fourth by a modern hospital complex. Studio ABK (Keith Krolak - Design Principal) was commissioned to explore options for the adaptive reuse of the hospital, converting an existing tower and adding new structures to accommodate 275 residential units with retail and commercial space at ground level.

The design proposal updates the existing tower with a lighter, more transparent skin that minimizes the building’s visual bulk. A second, complementary tower provides additional residential space; the area between the two towers will be developed into a new pedestrian street. Low rise apartments occupy the remainder of site and bring the scale of the development into harmony with the surrounding architecture. The buildings are clad in a combination of local brick and cast stone, with window openings that quote the surrounding architecture in their scale and spacing

Studio ABK (Keith Krolak - Co-Design Principal) was invited to submit a competition entry for the Mill Center for the Arts, a new cultural and performing arts center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Located on the former site of the Grey Hosiery Mill, the center will include a 1200-seat performance hall, a 500-seat black box theater, an art gallery, a children’s museum, and a series of classrooms for the teaching of art.

The proposal seeks to create a dynamic arts campus within the urban grid, organized around a series of interconnected interiors and accessible exterior spaces. Each corner of the site is invigorated with program, ensuring that there is no back to the Center and giving each function a street address. Green roofscapes of carefully selected, native plantings naturally cool the interior spaces and reduce the runoff normally associated with large structures. This rooftop landscape will constantly transform with the seasons, responding to the surrounding landscape of western North Carolina.

This proposal for the design of a new performing arts center in Oyster Bay, New York endeavors to adaptively re-use an existing Knights of Columbus hall, originally built in the 1970s. . The program called for a 500-seat theater with accompanying stage, lobby and back of house facilities, with two cafés at street level.  

The proposal expands the physical enclosure of the existing facility outward to accommodate the new theater. Rather than abandoning the distinctive style of the existing architecture, the design embraces its vocabulary. The main facade is conceived as an abstract collage of planes and surfaces. The materials quote the original building; transparent panels of glass appear to float over the solid areas of brick and masonry. The resulting composition transforms an existing, underused resource into a beautiful, dynamic new arts center for the community.

When Yale Properties commissioned a redesign of a storefront at 13 Broadway in New Haven, Connecticut, the directive was to create a fresh, modern look for a new women’s clothing boutique, without altering the existing building envelope.

The solution was an applied system that would maximize the impact of the storefront. A black, anodized aluminum frame fits into the existing building opening and forms a dynamic, three-dimensional composition that floats on the building’s facade. The three-foot deep frame projects both inward and outward, creating shelves to hold merchandise on the interior and canopies on the exterior. Lights recessed below the frame provide visual emphasis to the storefront and making it appear to hover slightly above the sidewalk. A glass and metal sign balances the awnings of adjacent stores and creates a strong identity for the boutique. Its size and placement complete the asymmetric composition of the storefront.

Studio ABK (Keith Krolak - Partner in Charge) led the design for an office headquarters for a hedge fund company in Fairfield County. The building program consists of office floors with cascading exterior terraces above four floors of parking and ground floor retail

Sustainability was of critical importance to the project. Every effort was made to integrate environmental moderation and control into the fabric of the building, with the ultimate goal of achieving LEED Platinum certification. To make the building do more with less, we are employing basic principles and rigorous analysis to develop appropriate and innovative solutions. Green measures include thoughtful massing and orientation to maximize daylight and control heat gain, a high performance building enclosure and planted roofs to manage storm water and mitigate urban heat island effect. The project endeavored to meet 75% of its energy requirements through renewable sources, such as geothermal wells, solar hot water and photovoltaics.

The design for a multi-use tower re-purposes a prominent corner site in downtown Stamford, bounded on two sides by the historic SNET building. The program includes two floors of offices and thirteen floors of residences above three levels of parking. Residential floors consist of three, four or five generous units with panoramic views to all directions; the top floor houses a single, penthouse unit. A floor between the office and residential components contains building amenities, including a health club and screening room. The ground floor houses a lobby and 2,000 square feet of retail.

The Luxe is designed to complement the surrounding structures, while creating a strong, modern identity. The massing of the base responds to the SNET building, with horizontal projections that relate to similar details on the existing building. The enclosure utilizes an articulated glass and aluminum curtain wall system with integrated limestone spandrel panels.

Originally on the outskirts of Osaka, the National Museum of Art relocated its collection of contemporary art to a gateway site in a major cultural district of the city. Keith Krolak co-led the design team of this uniquely sculptural project during his tenure at Cesar Pelli and Associates. (now Pelli Clarke Partners).

The NMA building program is distributed on three levels below grade. The first level is a publice zone with a cafe and museum shop. The next two descending levels require a ticket for entry and house the galleries. A large plaza allows space for public gatherings.

While an agreement with the City of Osaka dictated that the entire building program be built underground, the architect was asked to create a distinctive image for the entry pavilion that would define the institution as well as the cultural district itself. The resulting forms of titanium stainless steel are evocative of reeds or bamboo sprouting from the ground and soaring to the sky.

The Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower is located on an entire city block in Muromachi, one of the most historically significant areas of Tokyo. Keith Krolak led the design team for this project while a Senior Associate in the office of Cesar Pelli & Associates. 

Cesar Pelli & Associates was selected by Mitsui Fudosan, one of Japan’s largest real estate firms, to design the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower. The 41-story mixed-use tower includes the corporate headquarters for the Mitsui Group as well as trading floors, a luxury hotel and retail components. The building connects to the adjacent landmark Mitsui Main Building. The top ten stories of the building contain a 180-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Positioning itself as Tokyo’s leading luxury hotel, it features an exclusive spa and health club, a ballroom, a wedding chapel, extensive restaurants and bars, boutique cellars, a cake shop and significant business, meeting and banquet facilities.

Keith Krolak collaborated on the Y2 Project, an invited competition for a major new development in Tokyo designed by Pickard Chilton. The proposed tower features a gently curved facade on the main faces of the office tower and on the retail podium which will incorporate retail and cultural components. Curved planes soften the impact of the large office floor plates on the tower’s massing and provide a subtle contrast to the surrounding tall buildings. When viewed from Tokyo Station, Y2 will prominently stand as a handsome and elegant gateway to the metropolis while still being a harmonious addition to the skyline.

The building massing is subtly mitigated through the use of carefully articulated facade systems. A palette of two distinct curtain wall designs combines horizontal and vertical façade strategies with a massing step back at the hotel levels to distinguish the design of the Y2 Project.

Studio ABK (Keith Krolak - Design Principal) was commissioned to design a patterned, tile façade for a high-end residential tower within a new mixed-use development in the Gotanda district of Tokyo. With the dimensions, structure and materials for the building already determined, the client requested that the façade provide an elegant and recognizable identity for the building.

Drawing influence from 20th century painters such as Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy,  multi-colored patterns of overlapping rectilinear forms were devleoped in the tradition of Japanese wood block prints to  wrap the four elevations of the building. Stainless steel members float over the colored tile, providing depth and shadow; projections at the top of the simple, boxy structure imply a building crown. Employing a similar palette of tile colors, the tower harmonizes with the surrounding development while its unusual composition lends it distinction.