Slow Clouds

JFAK- Kings House

Alice Kimm of JFAK (John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects) came up from Los Angeles this week to give a lecture at the White Stag building in Portland. I have been in the habit of going to a lecture at least once a week and it has been a fascinating thread to learn how each architect’s career has developed. Alice Kimm’s story demonstrates this eclectic range; she got her start in Korea, where she and her partner did a number of projects while developing connections and attempting to break into the Los Angelos scene. She talked about how her firm sees the spirit of LA and how their work embodies and is rooted in this unique locale. Other qualities of design that define their work are a focus on social space (even in private projects), research into materiality (performative and emotional), the fluid nature of space, the importance of site, and the need to create identity for clients. I would also add the way they are combining digital media with materials and fabrication techniques, because it makes their firm and a number of their projects standout.

One of the things I really liked about their work is the use of various levels of transparency with screens, semi-translucent plastics and even painted boards that are woven to ‘dematerialize mass’ (see above image). In their private residences they often break away corners to open up the residence to the social spaces, whether those be the neighborhood or outdoor gardens. Alice was able to connect the development of these design elements all the way back to their first project in LA, a nightclub called Club Sugar. I think it is interesting that despite the fact that architects don’t always have control over the clients and projects they receive, it is still possible to develop a language that is unique and work on developing that over the span of a career. I think it is just this quality that makes their work special and the reason they have been such a recognized firm.