AKF creates spaces for people to achieve – Celebrating 30 years of engineering leadership

Featured Company: AKF

New York, NY AKF, a global leader in engineering, commissioning, technology, design, and consulting, is celebrating our 30^th anniversary. Established in 1989, we have since grown to become an award-winning firm recognized for our leading industry experts. Our team of 500 professionals reimagine the built environment and design for the future. What we do every day empowers people to create, cure, dream, build, and produce. It supports the work and aspirations of those who occupy the spaces we design and commission. When we design a space for a researcher, we become an important part of a chain of discovery that will lead to cures for cancer. When we commission a data center, we ensure that people stay connected. The mixed-use communities we design bring people together. At universities, the integrated systems we design and commission allow students and educators to learn, discover, and innovate.

Over our three decades in serving clients across a variety of sectors and locations, we have delivered transformational projects across the globe, including an automotive plant in Mexico that has changed the way cars are manufactured, and a cutting-edge campus in India for one of the world’s largest technology companies. We have earned the distinction of designing the first Net Zero Energy school in New York, as well as the western hemisphere’s tallest mixed-use tower. 

As we celebrate AKF’s 30^th anniversary, we continue to build on our past successes and maintain a client-focused approach that guides our efforts. Our “Energy + Performance” team is providing expertise to the growing number of cities and municipalities adopting new, sweeping carbon emissions regulations. We strive to solve design challenges today that comply with the legislative implications of the next 30 years. The expertise of our energy and sustainability leaders uniquely qualifies us to implement tailored plans for compliance based on specific building needs. AKF developed a one-of-a-kind app, which calculates emissions output for existing New York City buildings based on energy bills, predicting the potential carbon fines facing building owners.

We are also excited by the growth and success of our commissioning practice. AKF’s Commissioning Group has cultivated a culture which embraces highly technical projects, and last year was named a Top 10 Commissioning Giant by Consulting-Specifying Engineer. 

Across the A/E/C industry, 21^st Century technology presents promise, but also tremendous complexity. Buildings are becoming more advanced and codes more rigorous. The Internet of things holds incredible potential for owners, developers, and managers, as well as employers, universities, and health systems. This technology utilizes data to integrate nearly all aspects of buildings – from corporate headquarters to college campuses – including parking, security, lighting, and energy usage. 

The promising impact on the culture, performance, and wellness of building occupants cannot be overstated, but this is still a game-changer in its infancy. Perhaps most importantly, clients are demanding solutions that not only solve today’s issues but provide both immediate advantages to their mission and enable flexibility for the future.   

It’s what we call engineering leadership: The ability to listen to our clients, inform them of their options, design for the human experience, and discover ways to meet their needs today and tomorrow. It’s recognition that the best way to do something isn’t always the most obvious, and true ingenuity requires dedication and understanding. It’s our commitment to delivering value to those who value what we do best.  

We are proud of our accomplishments over the last 30 years, and we’re even more heartened by what the next 30 has in store for our industry and clients.

DeFeo is a respected and admired leader whose market knowledge and passionate commitment to clients have formed the foundation of a 25-year career. He understands working as an integral part of a design collective with the express goal of realizing the direct client’s vision; this has fostered decades-long relationships with business partners and major institutions across the U.S. Since joining AKF in 1994, DeFeo has overseen the significant growth of AKF, specifically our national healthcare and higher education sectors. In his role as managing partner, DeFeo brings the same client-focused tenets to sustainable overall firm growth.