Blake Austin Walter, AIA
London-based archtect and Associate Principal at KPF with 9+ years of experience across architecture, computational design, BIM/digital delivery, generative AI, film and visual storytelling.
Selected film experiments from my Bartlett MArch thesis, exploring reflexive fictional worlds through architecture, animation and moving image.
Croydon, North End
A massive regeneration project in the heart of Croydon; this is KPF’s proposal to turn the Whitgift and Centrale shopping malls into mixed-use urban developments with character-led urban spaces and density.
On this project, I led aspects of the urban design, creating building facades and urban spaces while directing visualization production and verifying massing compatibility through view analysis. The rendering to the left is by ATchain with modeling work and direction by me.
We took care to reuse existing site elements to reduce overall carbon footprint and retain some of the character of the existing neighborhood.
Museum of Museums
Developed as a proposal for a disused site in Deptford, the project takes inspiration from the recursive ornament of Bavarian Rococo churches. The building forms here curve back on themselves to absorb aspects of other buildings, specifically of other museums.
A method of 3D collage using 2D and 3D printed elements created building forms developed from other material.
One North Quay
Tipped to be the largest life sciences building in Europe upon completion, this project with KPF is currently under construction. I developed aspects of the building form, facade design, and led design of the public realm and landscape.
Ongoing work to select materials and construct facade panels has involved collaboration with glazing artists to develop the building gradient.
The image to the left is by Kiasm with modeling and photoshop work by me.
EPCOT
An experimental community built to support the imagination in the production of fictions. This “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” transmits the idyllic dreams of its users to those living below.
Platform 16
Now under construction, KPF, TMG, and Devcon have developed three buildings at 440 West Julian Street, San Jose. Two challenges influenced the design for this 1,000,000 sq ft office complex: heeding the height restrictions from nearby Mineta Airport and breaking down the scale of the extremely long facades.
I worked closely with lead designer Richard Kim on this project from feasibility through design development. All images shown are my own modeling and visualization work.
A Network of Lines That Intersect
Inspired by storytellers Charlie Kaufman and Jorge Luis Borges, this project amplifies diagetic disruptions and artificiality in film to develop subversive narratives.
This led to an exploration of intimate moments of design which permit connection to the real world and real materials through specifically designed objects which bring one in touch with other worlds.
Education
The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London, UK
MArch, Architecture, RIBA Pt 2, Merit, June 2020
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Dean’s List, University Honors
Bachelor of Arts in English, December 2015
Bachelor of Architecture, May 2015
L’école Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville, Paris, France
Experience
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Associate Principal - 2025 to Present, London, UK
Architectural Designer — 2020 to 2025, London, UK
Architectural Designer - 2015 to 2018, New York, NY
Design Intern - 2014 to 2014, London, UK
Texas Architectural Registration — 2025
AIA Member
Mentor - The Bartlett School of Architecture - September 2019 to June 2020 - UCL, London, UK
Photographer/Realty Marketer - GR Gill LLC - January 2012 to January 2013 -Austin, TX
Tools
Design + Computational
Rhino · Grasshopper · Revit · Rhino.Inside · Dynamo · pyRevit
BIM + Delivery
Revizto · Navisworks · ACC · Bluebeam · Ideate
Film + Visual
Unreal Engine · Houdini · 3ds Max · Runway · xfigura · Premiere Pro · After Effects · Photoshop · Illustrator · InDesign
AI-assisted workflows
Generative image/video · prompt development · LLM-assisted Python · evaluation and validation of generated outputs
Organization
5 years’ experience working on large, global teams, coordinating efforts across different consultant groups and disciplines from visualization to engineering. Proficient in using Excel and Outlook to organize meetings and track schedules and project deadlines.
Collaboration
Long exposure to team organization and hierarchies and the importance of cohesion in mixed-skill teams. Strong desire to work as part of a larger team towards a common goal.
Communication
Many years’ experience writing in professional and academic contexts. Earned a second degree in English and highest marks in research papers - exprienced in researching, synthesizing written ideas, and describing abstract concepts in English. Some written/spoken knowledge of French.
Contact
I can be reached via email at blake@baw.haus.
Based in London, UK. Able to work in both the UK and US.