In 2001, longtime friends Greg Bradshaw, Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Kristina O’Neal founded New York design firm AvroKO.
Since then, the quartet has sprouted offices in San Francisco, London, Bangkok, and Miami, tackling projects for the likes of 1 Hotels, Auberge Resorts, Four Seasons, and many chefs and restaurateurs.
With spinoff concepts like creative studio Brand Bureau, bespoke fabrication resource Goodshop, and the HOST on Howard gallery, AvroKO continues to evolve. On May 6th, the partners will come together in a rare appearance as one of the keynotes during HD Expo + Conference.
Here, they share a glimpse into their unique partnership and journey.
AvroKO is celebrating 25 years next year. Looking back, is there something you wish you knew then that you know now, or is ignorance bliss?
Kristina O’Neal: I am going to stick to ignorance is bliss. The adventures we have had are like nothing I could have imagined when we kicked off AvroKO. We’ve played in multiple creative and business quadrants, some with lasting impact to this day, and others were follies for a year. If we had known more about the adventure, it wouldn’t have been as much fun to navigate over a lifetime together.
Tell us the 90-second elevator pitch of how you started AvroKO.
Adam Farmerie: Greg and I had started an architecture firm called Avro Design and Kristina and William joined forces in an agency called KO Media Studios. By 2000, we knew we wanted to grow several companies under a unified banner. After a failed merger-naming process, we settled on the simplified AvroKO, and the business cards were printed the next week.
HOST on Howard, AvroKO’s gallery and gathering space in New York
Did you ever think you would have five offices and some 200 team members?
William Harris: In our earliest days, AvroKO was very much an experiment. To be honest, we weren’t entirely sure what was possible or whether a partnership between four creatives would even endure, let alone having multiple offices. From the beginning, however, we did dream of having a global reach, and as time went by, it became more of a possibility, and then a reality. We all agreed to keep each office under 50 people to preserve a strong sense of social connection. I think this approach has served both our individual offices and our company culture well, allowing for intimate, collaborative environments even as we’ve expanded internationally.
What is your secret to success?
KO: From a partnership perspective, we have created an interesting trust and delight model that is odd but stronger than many traditional business or relational bonds. Most of our meetings together look like a high form of play mixed with serious creative, emotional, and technical negotiation. Having been friends for a decade and then business partners for two more, I can say I haven’t seen a model quite like it. There is a lot of accommodation for each of our personality quirks and creative desires so we can each stretch in our own ways.
What are your favorite and most challenging parts of the job?
Greg Bradshaw: Designing amazing projects with innovative clients. If I look back over the history of the firm, we have had the chance to work with nearly every innovative mind, flag, and development group in the business. On the flip side, the most challenging trials seem to reveal themselves when the markets struggle and all these brilliant creators are challenged too by budget constraints, timeline interruptions, and value engineering processes.
Which recently opened project are you especially proud of?
AF: Twin Tails in New York, designed for Michael Stillman. It was a true collaboration with him and his team. The ’80s shiny-chic concept gave us endless creative avenues, allowing us to incorporate some cheeky, playful design moments like the mirror-faceted enclosed bar, designed to make guests feel as if they’re inside an oversized perfume bottle.
GB: Another standout is Nuri, a luxurious and elevated steakhouse in Dallas. The commitment and passion of owner Wan Kim set the stage for a strong collaboration in creating a project merging Korean philosophies of cooking and culture with Western design and tradition. It’s a lavish, fantastical space that speaks to our love of rich layering, high craft, and unexpected twists, like the use of cyberpunk culture to infuse an edginess and nod to the popularity of digital gaming in Asia.
Asian influences fuse with Art Deco elements at Nuri steakhouse in Dallas
Why do you think you work well together?
WH: Everyone is contributing to the company using their own set of innate master skills. Where one of us is weak, another is strong. Besides all being designers at large, Adam instinctively knows how to move our projects and agendas forward with an effortless combination of efficiency, creativity, structure, and light-hearted play. Kristina has some out-of-this-world oracle abilities, for both the company and new initiatives that keep the firm evolving and breaking into new territory. Greg is a classic architect all the way up and all the way down. His crafting of details and hand-sketching prowess is some of the best I have ever seen.
KO: William is our resident aesthetician-magician. He understands and possibly even feels design and beauty in ways the rest of us are catching up to.
How has diversifying enhanced your business?
AF: When we founded the firm, we were already conjoining two different businesses so we could complete projects with a singularly animated concept. We have developed our own method of deciding which new businesses to take on from our annual ‘Magic Papers.’ These are maps we create based on what each of us wants to do next, or in this lifetime, so the projects and companies can be varied. Once we choose something to launch, the other partners get behind the idea to scaffold it into existence as a group. It hasn’t always been the most pragmatic path, but it’s definitely the most fun, and it keeps us pushing design and the business in unexpected and wonderful ways.
What is one of your greatest lessons learned?
KO: Building both trust and deep friendship over the decades has been key. There have been myriad chapters in these last few decades where different choices could have been made in critical moments, but somehow, we kept ourselves aligned and in sync. It’s been a great lesson in how to intertwine a personal life, a collaborative business, and a collective creative impulse into one mission, alongside old friends.
Hear more from AvroKO at HD Expo + Conference:
The Icons and Innovators
Tuesday, May 6th, noon to 1:00 p.m.
Location: HD Park
