why we are different:

 

KURV ARCHITECTURE D.P.C. is a New York City based architecture, urban planning, design and development firm. We are a unique multidisciplinary team that combines award winning DESIGN methodology and state of the art ARCHITECTURAL design technology in order to improve upon the products of BUILDINGS, SITES, STRUCTURES and SPACE. Whether erected ground up as new buildings, rehabilitated, renovated, retrofitted, re-made sustainable, PASSIVHAUS, or otherwise re-imagined or re-developed by the ART of adding value by DESIGN to the end RESULT of a building project.

We are foremost an ARCHITECTURE firm, specializing in knowing where to add tangible, intrinsic VALUE to a project through the implementation of unique award winning DESIGN. The word DESIGN is used in the broadest sense to describe the full scope of a project’s development process. Therefore, we work at all scales and stages of the process to ensure that increased value is always returned as a direct result of our involvement. 

Our architectural SERVICES include feasibility studies, zoning and land use analysis, bulk envelope massing calculations and visualizations, landmarks + preservation committee applications, board of standards and appeals (bsa) variance proposals, planning and zoning board presentations, ULURP applications, parametric modeling of building pro forma, energy modeling and design, computational design, advanced architecture and interior design, full project design development, construction documents, construction administration and project coordination. We also provide general consulting services, owner’s side project management representation, and technical consulting as well as nyc dob special project progress inspections.

Whether we have skin in the game as partners or are acting solely as consultants, or just creating and building for ourselves, we work hard to make sure that added VALUE of our CREATIVE design experience shows through to the end result in every detail of a project.

Our company's role and mission is to apply our collective knowledge and experience of the worlds of real property, buildings, ARCHITECTURE, structures, interiors, building systems, and construction in addition to the world of industrial DESIGN, industrial manufacturing, production, and digital technology onto NEW ideas and experiences for better buildings, better development projects and ultimately a better built world. Simply put, we provide a smarter built world by leveraging our unique DESIGN knowledge, our industry contacts and accumulated first hand experience. 

We are unique in our multidisciplinary approach because we design, model and oversee the production of the entirety of a building's integrated components, from the foundations and superstructure to the art that hangs on the wall, integrating everything else in-between; kitchens, lighting, plumbing, flooring, textiles, ceramics, electronics, millwork, materials and HVAC. No other design - development studio in the world can bring this broad spectrum of approach to detail into the world of buildings in such an wholistic way. 

We've all heard that a good BUILDING or SPACE is more than a sum of its individual parts. WE are what happens when everything from the development process itself down to the door handles you touch are individually well designed parts collectively working together for bigger picture results. KURV Architecture’s built projects have established a reputation for increased intrinsic value with better SPACES, BUILDINGS and PROJECT RESULTS that positively affect everyone involved, from the clients, developers and partners who initiate the projects, the tradesmen, contractors and vendors who build and construct, to the new owners, tenants, end users and the surrounding communities who DWELL within and where these projects are BUILT.

We add value by applying better DESIGN for the benefit of everyone involved in a building’s lifecycle.

Karim Rashid, Founding PartnerChief Design DirectorKarim Rashid is one of the most prolific designers of his generation. Over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design.His award w…

Karim Rashid, Founding Partner

Chief Design Director

Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific designers of his generation. Over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design.

His award winning designs include luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot, and Alessi, democratic products for Umbra, Bobble, and 3M, furniture for Bonaldo and Vondom, lighting for Artemide and Fabbian, high tech products for Asus and Samsung, surface design for Marburg and Abet Laminati, brand identity for Citibank and Sony Ericsson and packaging for Method, Paris Baguette, Kenzo and Hugo Boss.

Karim’s touch expands beyond product to interiors such as the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia; Semiramis hotel, Athens; nhow hotel, Berlin; Universita Metro Station, Naples as well as exhibition design for Deutsche Bank and Audi.

Karim’s work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries world wide. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I. D. Magazine Annual Design Review, IDSA Industrial Design Excellence award.


Karim is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences globally disseminating the importance of design in everyday life. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the OCAD, Toronto and Corcoran College of Art & Design, Washington. Karim has been featured in magazines and books including Time, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper, and countless more.

Karim’s latest monograph, XX (Design Media Publishing, 2015), features 400 pages of work selected from the last 20 years. Other books include From The Beginning, an oral history of Karim’s life and inspiration (Forma, 2014); Sketch, featuring 300 hand drawings (Frame Publishing, 2011); KarimSpace, featuring 36 of Karim’s interior designs (Rizzoli, 2009); Design Your Self, Karim’s guide to living (Harper Collins, 2006); Digipop, a digital exploration of computer graphics (Taschen, 2005); Compact Design Portfolio (Chronicle Books 2004); as well as two monographs, titled Evolution (Universe, 2004) and I Want to Change the World (Rizzoli, 2001).

In his spare time Karim’s pluralism flirts with art, fashion, and music and is determined to creatively touch every aspect of our physical and virtual landscape.

Alex Loyer Hughes AIA, Founding PartnerPrincipalAlex Loyer Hughes AIA is a Co-Founder of Kurv Architecture. He is licensed and registered in the states of New York, Connecticut, Florida and Washington D.C. and is an NCARB Nationally Certified Professional.His role includes leading client/investor relationships while overseeing overall project development and execution. Alex has broad experience guiding projects successfully through complex city and municipal approval processes; including the NYC ULURP , NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Landmarks and Preservation Commission, Various Community Board Approvals including Planing and Zoning Boards hearings, and the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals.Over the course of Alex’s 20-year career he has designed and completed a 9 story building in Manhattan, won design awards and competitions for international hospitality and retail projects, successfully completing building use conversions and renovations, and has designed and overseen over thirty high-end residential and commercial projects in New York City. He is equally skilled at conceiving design solutions for urban scale projects as he is developing intricate, customized interior and industrial design fabrication details.His broad and multifarious background has helped him form a unique approach to design and a deep understanding of what is required in order to see a project of any scale through to it’s successful completion.Alex has previously taught at Columbia University, the Pratt Institute and has served as a visiting critic at numerous schools including the University of Pennsylvania and the Parsons New School for Design. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad Finis Terra in Santiago, Chile, a Diploma in Digital Design from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in the City of New York.Prior to founding Kurv Architecture with business partner Karim Rashid, Alex was Director and Vice President of Interior Design for Karim's design studio from 2012 to 2016, worked as retail Architect for renowned Fashion Designer Ralph Lauren, and worked in the studios of Donald Billinkoff and Peter Marino Architect in New York City.Alex is currently teaching an architecture studio at the Architectural Technology School at the New York Polytechnic Institute and is a student mentor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

Alex Loyer Hughes AIA, Founding Partner

Principal

Alex Loyer Hughes AIA is a Co-Founder of Kurv Architecture. He is licensed and registered in the states of New York, Connecticut, Florida and Washington D.C. and is an NCARB Nationally Certified Professional.

His role includes leading client/investor relationships while overseeing overall project development and execution. Alex has broad experience guiding projects successfully through complex city and municipal approval processes; including the NYC ULURP , NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Landmarks and Preservation Commission, Various Community Board Approvals including Planing and Zoning Boards hearings, and the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals.

Over the course of Alex’s 20-year career he has designed and completed a 9 story building in Manhattan, won design awards and competitions for international hospitality and retail projects, successfully completing building use conversions and renovations, and has designed and overseen over thirty high-end residential and commercial projects in New York City. He is equally skilled at conceiving design solutions for urban scale projects as he is developing intricate, customized interior and industrial design fabrication details.

His broad and multifarious background has helped him form a unique approach to design and a deep understanding of what is required in order to see a project of any scale through to it’s successful completion.

Alex has previously taught at Columbia University, the Pratt Institute and has served as a visiting critic at numerous schools including the University of Pennsylvania and the Parsons New School for Design. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad Finis Terra in Santiago, Chile, a Diploma in Digital Design from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in the City of New York.

Prior to founding Kurv Architecture with business partner Karim Rashid, Alex was Director and Vice President of Interior Design for Karim's design studio from 2012 to 2016, worked as retail Architect for renowned Fashion Designer Ralph Lauren, and worked in the studios of Donald Billinkoff and Peter Marino Architect in New York City.

Alex is currently teaching an architecture studio at the Architectural Technology School at the New York Polytechnic Institute and is a student mentor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.