Arion

Arion Kocani

Arion Kocani is an Albanian-American architect and designer working across architecture, objects, and art. He is the founder of AKDW, a practice shaped by clarity, care, and a belief in the emotional depth of built form. His work explores how spaces can be both rational and felt—intellectually grounded, yet quietly intimate.

He holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and separate degrees in Architecture and Economics from the University of Maryland.

His professional experience spans both design and development. He began his career at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), contributing to international high-rise and adaptive reuse projects. He later worked in real estate development at Hudson’s Bay Company—the oldest continuously operating company in North America—where he focused on repositioning and transforming large-scale retail properties. While a student at Harvard, he apprenticed with Sou Fujimoto in Tokyo and with KieranTimberlake in Philadelphia.

Kocani’s academic collaborations include research with Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, and Martino Tattara on regional planning in Switzerland, as well as work with Harvard’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure. His work has been exhibited at Gallery A4 in Tokyo and published in Achtung: die Landschaft and several editions of GSD Platform.

AKDW was founded as a workshop: a space for thinking, making, and refining. The work is guided by restraint, material presence, and attention to context—not as aesthetic choices, but as ethical ones. The practice seeks a balance between precision and atmosphere, designing spaces that speak with clarity and resonate with feeling.