Ken studied at the City of Leicester School of Architecture, receiving his Diploma with distinction in 1977. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from De Montfort University in 1994. He was appointed a Visiting Professor at Nottingham University School of Architecture in 2005, and awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland in same year.

As a student, Ken’s talent and for sketching earned him the nickname ‘Ken the Pen’, and sketchbook and pen are still essential tools in his practice as an architect to this day. He uses sketching to explore, communicate, and continually refine ideas, translating flights of architectural fantasy on the page into buildings that innovate and inspire.

But design is not a self-indulgent exercise; central to Ken’s design philosophy is the conviction that a client’s expectations must not merely be met but superseded. This, he believes, is best achieved in a studio environment where creativity is never stifled by hierarchy, where preconceptions never limit innovation, and where achievement is recognised so that individuals have direct ownership of their work. These values are the foundation of the make studio.

Ken founded make in 2004, and in the year since its inception the practice has won a remarkable range of projects. It has developed retail schemes for, amongst others, the Alexanderplatz development in Berlin, a department store in London’s Knightsbridge, a souk in Abu Dhabi, Selfridges in London, and the interior of the Erco London showroom. Residential schemes include Wandsworth Tower, the London Wide Housing Initiative, Chambers Wharf in Southwark, Grosvenor Waterside and the Kite Tower in Leeds. Current commercial projects include the Vortex – a 72-storey twisting tower, the Hampstead Road development in Euston, and Kings Reach on London’s South Bank. Education projects include schemes for Oxford and Cambridge Universities, while current transport projects include Birmingham City Coach Station. make has designed masterplans for Granton in Edinburgh, Elephant and Castle in London, and the Khabary Future City in Kuwait.

Prior to setting up make, Ken was a Partner at Foster and Partners. He joined the practice in 1977. In 1979 he started working on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, moving to Hong Kong in the same year to oversee all aspects of the Bank’s design and completion. Returning to the UK in 1986, he proceeded to build up a remarkable portfolio of experience over the next two decades, ranging in scale from small shops to high rise offices, from airports to urban masterplans.

The landmark buildings he worked on during this time include the IBM Headquarters at Greenford, a shop for Katharine Hamnett in London, Stockley Park offices, the Sanei office development,
the Carré d’Art in Nîmes, the ITN building in London, the King’s Cross masterplan, Riverside offices and apartments at Chelsea Reach, a telecommunications tower in Barcelona, Cranfield University Library, Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport, a new terminal for Luton Airport, the Tower Place offices in London,  the Al Faisaliah development in Riyadh, Sainsbury’s head office at Holborn Circus, the Valencia Congress Hall, Citibank headquarters in Canary Wharf, the Millennium Bridge in London, the Swiss Re tower in the City of London, the More London development at Tower Bridge, London’s City Hall, and the Albion Riverside development in Battersea.

Ken maintains a firm committment to education, regularly visiting and lecturing at architecture schools in the UK and abroad. He has written a column for New Builder magazine, served on the editorial board of Building magazine, and judged the British Council of Offices awards scheme. In 2002 he was appointed a CABE Commissioner, and in 2004 he was made a Chair of the CABE Design Review panel.