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Categories
Architects
Services & Specialties
Modern-with-soul to traditional-with-attitude residential and commercial architecture
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RECOMMENDATION
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WORK QUALITY
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COST EVALUATION
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VALUE ANALYSIS
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ADD YOUR REVIEW
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FR Review:
BKSK is adept at creating engaging, livable spaces and effectively incorporating its clients' interests. This established firm is not committed to a particular style, instead taking pride in its versatility: from calming, warm, clean, earthy modern spaces to traditional paneled walls with transparent glass interspersed. For projects that have a historic component, BKSK infuses the classic with a "fresh approach." And the modern is intelligent, with movable partitions offering a flexible utilitarian arrangement. Sources remark that all BKSK designs are "beautiful and coherent." The firm generally takes on substantially-sized projects that can range up to $45 million for multi-family projects.
Principals of the firm are Stephen F. Byrns, Harry Kendall, George Schieferdecker, and Joan Krevlin. The firm was launched in 1985 as BKS, but added another "K" when the firm combined forces with Krevlin in 1992. Of the firm's annual commissions, about 50% are residential projects. There are about 40 in the firm, and we understand that junior architects may sometimes take on more of the workload than anticipated. Roughly half of the company's projects occur in Manhattan, but BKSK will take on projects in the Hamptons, Westchester, New Jersey, and sometimes even the midwest.
Notable projects include a penthouse in TriBeCa, a fifteen-story loft-style apartment building (also in TriBeCa), a new 15,000-square-foot visitor's center for the Queens Botanical Garden, a high-profile interim visitors' center adjacent to the WTC site, and a new town center for the Village of Plainsboro, NJ. BKSK charges an hourly fee with a maximum not to exceed a standard percentage of total construction costs. Given its excellent commercial track record, the firm has a reputation for coming in on time and on budget.
Representative Client Comments:
"They started from the ground up--asking us tons of questions about our lifestyle." "Highly innovative. By switching the layout of the rooms, our Central Park view filled the apartment with light." "Their follow-up was excellent and they really knew the coding issues well." "They get the highest rating in regard to articulating our ideas into the plan." "Very complete drawings. In fact, they were recommended by the builder." "Always available to meet, and really went the extra mile." "They are of great integrity--doing everything they said they'd do." "Slightly understaffed on the support side." "You name it--they figured it out. Even selected most of the furniture." "We now think of our architect as a friend--how often does that happen after a multi-million dollar project?"
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