Forward Design Office is a multidisciplinary design firm established in 2007 as a collaborative research and design studio. The work ranges from large urban scale developments to product design. As the firm's name implies, Forward Design Office strives to combine innovative ideas with professional results. FDO is a full service design firm that works collaboratively with its clients from the inception of an idea through the completion of construction. Both practical and speculative investigations are researched rigorously for each project, allowing us to work with a fresh informed approach. Our ambition is to create socially dynamic spaces that are a material expression of our contemporary culture. Forward Design Office is founded and directed by Jeffrey Kim.
Jeffrey Kim has worked and studied under the top design architects around the world including Frank Gehry , Steven Holl and Asymptote. He has been responsible for the designs of numerous award winning projects. In 2007, he established his own studio, Forward Design Office.
Jeffrey received his Bachelors in Architecture with honors at the University of Idaho. He has since worked in the industry for over a decade, serving as Senior Project Designer for several prestigious award winning firms in Hawaii, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As Design Principal for a large firm in Los Angeles, he was responsible for the work that won the prestigious AIA NextLA award.
While attending Columbia University GSAPP, he earned a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design, Here, his projects were published in the international publication 'Abstract'. At Columbia University, he studied under Steven Holl and Lise Anne Couture (Asymptote), where he experienced a rigorous program of design, critical thinking and an exploration of new technologies in architecture.
After completing his Masters, he worked for the Pritzker prize winning architect Frank O. Gehry in Los Angeles, California. During his tenure at Gehry Partners he worked on a unique building type located in Brooklyn, New York consisting of an Arena, 6 residential towers, hotel and retail interlocking the various typologies. He was also involved in the design of the proposed Grand Avenue mixed use development condo towers across from the iconic Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. After his tenure at Gehry Partners, Jeffrey worked with the multidisciplinary design firm GRAFT, where as a lead designer and project captain he was responsible for the design of the new W Hotel and Residences in the financial district in New York.
Currently Jeffrey teaches at USC as a Design Studio Instructor. He has taught at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and Woodbury University. He has been an invited juror at USC, UCLA, SCI-ARC, Woodbury, and University of Idaho.
Janghee Yoo is a design director in charge of a large number projects at Forward design office. After working for the Pritzker prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas, he was asked by Forward design office in 2009 to direct the practice gearing toward international level of engagement.
While working at OMA, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, he worked on the development strategy of Netherlands Architecture Institute and a prototype building for a mixed use project of a school, library and a residence in Gent, Belgium. Prior to OMA, he worked at BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Amongst the numerous projects he was involved at BIG, he is largely responsible for the winning competition entry for the Headquarter building of Landsbankinn, the national bank of Iceland. He also worked for the multidisciplinary design firm GRAFT and participated in the design of the W hotel and residence in New York.
His work has won several international competitions including Icelandic national bank and After hurricanes: High density for the high ground by Architectural record.
Janghee received his undergraduate degree in social science at the Seoul National University. After graduation, he studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate school of Design and earned a Master of Architecture.