James von Klemperer


James von Klemperer is a New York-based American architect. He is president of the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox. He is known for his contributions to the designs of new cities, urban mixed-use clusters, and supertall buildings, including the Lotte World Tower, currently the world's fifth tallest building, and One Vanderbilt, currently under construction next to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. He also played a primary role in establishing KPF's practice in Asia in the early 1990s.

Early life

von Klemperer was born in 1957 in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Klemens von Klemperer and Elizabeth von Klemperer. He attended Phillips Academy Andover and the Perse School in Cambridge, England. He received his Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, from Harvard University in 1979, majoring in History and Literature. His thesis focused on the novels of Louis Ferdinand Céline. Von Klemperer was awarded the Charles Henry Fiske Scholarship from Harvard, sending him to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where he began his architecture studies under Peter Carl. In 1983, he completed his Masters in Architecture, Cum Laude, from Princeton University, where he studied under Rafael Moneo, and was the recipient of the Butler Traveling Fellowship.

Architectural career

In his 35-year career, von Klemperer has designed buildings in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He trained at KPF under the firm's founders, Bill Pedersen and Gene Kohn, and senior Principal Bill Louie.
In the area of city planning, he led the design of New Songdo City in Korea, Meixi Lake in the Hunan province of China, and the Boston Seaport. Songdo is a 1,500 acre mixed-use community that received the first Green City award from the Urban Land Institute in 2004.
One of the building types on which von Klemperer as focused, and for which KPF is best known, is the mixed-use, high rise urban cluster. Examples include Jing An Kerry Centre, which was recognized by ULI in 2015 with its Global Award for Excellence, and Plaza 66 in Shanghai, KPF's first major China project, which he undertook in partnership with Princeton classmate and fellow KPF Principal Paul Katz.
von Klemperer has designed several of the world's tallest buildings, including the 555-meter Lotte World Tower, working with KPF Principal Trent Tesch, and the rising, 435-meter One Vanderbilt Tower, which will be the tallest office building in Midtown Manhattan. In contrast with such large projects, von Klemperer has also focused on the design of smaller scale institutional and educational architecture. Examples are the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., the Chadwick School in Incheon, Korea, the NYU Nursing and Dental building in New York, and the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen.

Academic and public service

In addition to his professional work, von Klemperer has taught at the Yale University School of Architecture as the Eero Saarinen Professor. He has also lectured at many universities including Harvard, Columbia, École Speciale d'Architecture, Tsing Hua, Tongji, Seoul National University, and Tokyo University. He is a frequent lecturer at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the NYAIA Center for Architecture, the Asia Society in New York and Hong Kong, and the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. Like his designs, much of his academic work explores the potential for incorporating inclusive public space in dense urban structures. This agenda translates to his pro-bono design for the redevelopment of the Gamashie neighborhood in Accra, Ghana.
He also serves on the boards of various educational and cultural institutions, including the Storefront for Art and Architecture and Bard College, and is the President of the Board for both the Skyscraper Museum and the Urban Design Forum.
James von Klemperer was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2006. He is also a member of the RIBA. In 2018, he was awarded the American Prize for Architecture, also known as the Louis H. Sullivan Award, from the Chicago Athenaeum.