Kristopher Takacs believes our urban future depends on forward-leaning architecture that connects, heals, empowers, and inspires us. This mission guides his work delivering landmark buildings, highly integrated transportation systems, innovative urban districts, and regional plans that transform people and place.
Creating intelligent and compelling infrastructure to serve the next generation is not easy work. For the sum to be larger than its parts, architects must bring people together in the collective act of upcycling our urban land, expanding public benefit, and innovating commercially—while accelerating climate action and designing the future we choose.
Kristopher leads SOM’s Washington, D.C. studio, where he supports a broad cross section of public and private clients, including federal, state, county, and municipal governments, commercial real estate developers and REITs, urban redevelopment authorities, and public-private partnerships. He steers the firm’s work in large-scale mixed-use development, workplace, cultural, education, and transportation practices. He has led projects in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, China, and India. In 2021, Kristopher served as the President of the AIA DC Chapter. He is a founding co-chair of the AIA Forum for the National Mall and founding vice chair of the ULI Placemaking Council.
Kristopher directs SOM’s work in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and advocacy for multimodal, pedestrian-prioritized city design. As a transportation specialist, he has shaped dozens of passenger facilities and intermodal hubs served by high-speed rail, commuter rail, metro mass transit, light rail transit, and intercity bus to anchor communities and catalyze the development of new, enduring destinations.
