Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Chairman A. Eugene "Gene" Kohn, whose firm has designed landmark properties across the globe, has become the first architect to be elected an Urban Land Institute Life Trustee.
ULI Global Governing Trustees, the group of high-level Urban Land leadership members, selects life trustees "whose service to the organization has been meaningful, distinctive, and extraordinary," ULI said. When electing new life trustees, a nominee's standing and reputation in the real estate and land use industry are considered, along with their contributions to ULI and the ULI Foundation.
Kohn, who founded Kohn Pedersen Fox, or KPF, in 1976 with William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox, helped lead the firm's global expansion.
ULI said KPF is contributing $1 million to endow the annual A. Eugene Kohn/KPF Fellowship. The money will fund research on low-carbon design and other initiatives at the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, the group said.
Kohn's firm has designed iconic properties and projects including 333 W. Wacker Drive with its green-glass facade along the Chicago River, the World Bank Headquarters in Washington D.C., Hudson Yards in New York, Roppongi Hills in Tokyo and Covent Garden in London. Kohn said his four decades as a ULI member have helped him succeed as an architect.
“Throughout my professional career, ULI’s values have served as a guiding principle,” Kohn said in a statement. “ULI has tremendous reach throughout the architectural community and has catalyzed positive change across the globe."