KKE Architects is an architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 firm that serves in the fields of architecture, interior design

Interior design

Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...

 and architectural planning. KKE is ranked one of the top 50 architectural firms in the country by Building Design

Building design

Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect or structural engineer...

 & Construction and a Top 500

TOP500

The TOP500 project ranks and details the 500 most powerful known computer systems in the world. The project was started in 1993 and publishes an updated list of the supercomputers twice a year...

 Design Firm

Design firm

A design firm is an organization that designs any of a variety of things, in one or more of the design fields, such as graphic design, web design, architecture, engineering, interior design, or industrial design....

 by Engineering News-Record. They have offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

, Irvine, California

Irvine, California

Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

, Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 and Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. KKE maintains licensure in every state of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Staff architects are members of the American Institute of Architects

American Institute of Architects

The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...

 and several hold National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards is a nonprofit corporation comprising the legally constituted architectural registration boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as its members...

 (NCARB) certification and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

 (LEED) accreditation.

In July 2010, KKE Architects announced is was joining national design firm DLR Group

DLR Group

DLR Group is an architectural design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design to clients throughout the United States...

. KKE offices in Minneapolis; Las Vegas; Tucson; and Pasadena and Irvine, California were merged into DLR Group and operate as DLR Group KKE.

History

Jerry Korsunsky and Ron Krank met at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in 1956. Korsunsky was a registered architect with the physical plant department, and Krank was a student worker. The two men met a second time at Ellerbe Architects in 1959. In 1960, Krank started working for Victor Gruen Associates, the creators of the regional mall concept, and acquired his shopping mall experience. In 1968, Korsunsky and Krank decided to form a partnership.

While working on the Point of France Condominiums in 1973, Ron Erickson answered an ad for a key project manager. Korsunsky and Krank liked that Erickson was artistic (he showed them his water colors) and had great energy and enthusiasm, so they hired him. Erickson became a partner in the firm in 1977, and the company became known as Korsunsky Krank Erickson Architects. Korsunsky retired in 1991, and Krank retired in 2001. The firm officially became KKE Architects in 2001. Korsunsky died at the age of 83 on March 30, 2009.