Studio MK27

In 2001 the office headed by Marcio Kogan took on the name StudioMK27. At that time a democratic and collaborative form of working was organized, in which each responsible architect is co-author of the projects, together with Marcio. In this manner of organization, the division of tasks is minimized. The architects accompany almost every phase of the project, beginning with the first client contact to the worksite. This results in extremely elaborated projects, developed to the slightest detail, by architects that work as craftsmen. Along this line of thought, the team of StudioMK27 is constituted by architects with a vast and multidisciplinary formation. Knowledge about art, music, cinema, economy and politics is just as much a part of architecture as is knowledge about design, visual programming and urbanism.

In addition to this select team of architects, that work in a small building in the proximity of Paulista Avenue, in São Paulo, StudioMK27 works with dozens of collaborators in Brazil and abroad. This structure makes it viable to develop new projects in the United States, Latin America, Europe and China.

Each new project is viewed as a challenge; in which the social, climactic and topographic conditions of the site, in addition to the needs and desires of the client, are the fundamental elements in defining the architectural start-point; each project is a new story to be told and this story will never be the same as the previous one.

In all of the projects, however, the major architectural inspiration of StudioMK27 is the generation of modern architects formed during the decades of the 50´s, 60´s and 70´s. The projects of StudioMK27 are in honor to the Brazilian modernism and, simultaneously, an attempt to revisit this architecture constructed by great masters such as, Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Lina Bo Bardi, Vilanova Artigas, Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa. During the mid-XX century, a country which was, then, quite isolated and distant from vanguard thinking, constructed its own vanguard and one of the most consistent national productions in the world.

The projects of StudioMK27 are an eternal citation of this Brazilian modernism, with its pure forms and clean details. Additionally, the projects of the office have a preference for horizontal proportions, as if exiting a cinematic wide-screen, and for the use of unprocessed materials.

Despite having produced many houses during the last years, StudioMK27 develops the most diverse programs: a cozy restaurant, a luxury hotel, an urban square at the seashore, a furniture store, a tea store, an office building, an apartment building, a museum.

Since 2001, StudioMK27 has won more than 50 Brazilian awards, with distinction for the Wallpaper Design Awards, Record House, D&AD “Yellow Pencil”, LEAF Awards, Dedalo Minosse and Barbara Cappochin; as well as three-time finalist in the World Architecture Festival.