Darrell L. Kratzer, AIA, LEED AP
BKP clients trust Darrell Kratzer as a colleague and friend. His solid entrepreneurial and technical background combines with genuine care for the impact of his architecture. He is known for buildings that are responsive to the people they serve, foster a sense of community, enhance pedagogy, and support institutional objectives. Darrell appreciates timeless aesthetics, respects costs, and remains aware and sensitive to ecology.
People and places have inspired Darrell’s architectural career. Mentored by some of the design leaders of the 20th century – Ed Bacon, John Bower, and Gerry Cope among them – Darrell spent his early career designing large-scale public spaces including work on PPG Place in Pittsburgh with Phillip Johnson. Informed by an urban planning sensibility and talent for thinking strategically about the design process, Darrell joined a national construction management firm in the 1990s. Here, he approached projects not from the designer’s viewpoint but from the owner’s. His dual perspective shaped the philosophy of Buell-Kratzer Architects, which he founded with Duncan Buell in 1995 and continued with partner Joseph Powell in the 1996 establishment of BKP Architects.
Darrell enjoys hiking, travel, and outdoor activities. He’s equally comfortable glissading down a mountain or discussing fine wine. Painting courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts refined Darrell’s understanding of color and emphasis on proportion and human comfort. His buildings are at once purposeful and innovative, striking a balance between meeting goals and exceeding expectations.
Darrell holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Green Building United, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and Philadelphia Athenaeum. He is a registered professional architect in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.
