Since the beginning of Studio KO’s creation twenty years ago, architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty have marked their influence through projects across Europe, the Americas and Africa. The creative duo embodies an eclectic spirit, approaching each project with a fresh perspective. The team has developed an array of styles out of a penchant for storytelling – a narrative framework in which light, space and texture become the protagonists. Whether private residences, public spaces, or contemporary homes in natural settings, each project is a grounds for play, an opportunity to bring imagination to life.

Rather than imagining a blank slate, Studio KO’s method seeks to enliven a space by considering its context. The architects draw their cues from the natural or preexisting infrastructure of a site and then follow those threads. Context, therefore, becomes the starting point for any design whether a Parisian bistro or monolithic architecture in a desert landscape. The inevitable constraints of setting, topography and archeology are essential considerations for the architectural alchemy that Studio KO strives to create. Each custom project generates poetry out of a delicate balance between necessary structural guidelines and the joy of creating a story, giving spirit to interior spaces, and sharing input with a visionary client.

Studio KO works with materials as one might play with words, reinterpreting their traditional roles. Like rhymes, melodic oppositions, anagrams or rebus, Studio KO rephrases the literal senses of line, texture and form to create a unique experience. Matt surfaces provide as much depth and richness as varnished ones. Mixes of color may appear subtly monochrome. Blacks shine brightly; burnished surfaces play with light and shadow; fabrics become beautiful on their reverse side. Such simple yet stunning effects are the fruits of traditional craftsmanship, always luxurious and understated.

The true meaning of modernity – according to the cross-cultural architects – is to at once recover the past and divert from it. Studio KO embodies this very essence, for recognizing the importance of being contemporary while respecting history.