architecture founded jacksonville florida united states 1946 1946 founder william d. kemp franklin s. bunch william k. jackson headquarters thomas v. porter house 510 julia street jacksonville florida usa key people william t. morris principal tom rensing principal craig kirkwood principal services architecture interior design revenue 157.9 million 2005 website www.kbj.com kbj architects inc. kbj is an american architectural firm based in jacksonville florida . the firm designed 17 of the city s 30 tallest buildings and created jacksonville s modern skyline according to the florida times union newspaper . 1 the firm designed the first high rise in downtown jacksonville the 22 story aetna building which opened in 1955 . 2 it took pride in having the second largest number of architects of any florida firm according to a 1997 article in the florida times union . 3 contents 1 history 2 founders 3 notable projects 3.1 other significant buildings 4 current business 4.1 duval county courthouse 5 awards 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit roy a. benjamin 1888 1963 moved from ocala to jacksonville soon after the great fire of 1901 and designed many notable buildings in jacksonville and surrounding areas . his most famous structures were theaters although most of them have since been demolished . he was one of jacksonville s most talented and prolific architects . 4 three university of florida alumni william d. kemp franklin s. bunch and william k. jackson purchased benjamin s architectural firm when he retired after world war ii and renamed it kemp bunch and jackson in 1946 . kbj architects has been in practice for more than 6 decades and is the oldest architectural firm in florida . the company also maintains a branch office in downtown orlando florida . founders edit each of the founders focused on one aspect of the firm which worked out superbly . kemp specialized in the business side of projects . bunch was known for being the expert in the construction and technical aspects of architecture and jackson was the lead designer . franklin s. bunch 1913 2008 served as president on a number of florida boards and foundations including the florida state board of architecture the florida association of architects and the jacksonville building code advisory committee . he was also chairman of the zoning and building codes adjustment board . 1 and named an aia fellow in 1961 . http www.dcp.ufl.edu files 004b4536 1461 4a09 9.pdf william k. jackson 1914 2003 was a strong believer in long range urban planning and was a key supporter of 1962 legislation that created the jacksonville duval area planning board . he was chairman of the board that created jacksonville s first downtown development plan . 5 william d. kemp 1912 1982 was less outgoing that his other partners . according to his son kemp believed that architecture should remain pure and not be directly involved with other construction industry activities . as such he limited his outside activities to his church where he was very active serving as a senior warden and vestryman . 6 notable projects edit project location completed image notes aetna building southbank jacksonville 1955 formerly prudential insurance building 7 233 west duval street northbank jacksonville 1955 formerly independent life building 8 csx transportation building northbank jacksonville 1960 formerly atlatic coast line railroad building 9 times union center for the performing arts northbank jacksonville 1962 formerly jacksonville civic auditorium 10 riverplace tower southbank jacksonville 1967 formerly gulf life tower 11 times union building northbank jacksonville 1967 cathedral towers northbank jacksonville 1968 12 cathedral townhouse northbank jacksonville 1970 13 cathedral terrace northbank jacksonville 1974 14 bb & t bank building northbank jacksonville 1974 formerly first union national bank building 10 wells fargo center northbank jacksonville 1974 formerly independent square 10 550 water street northbank jacksonville 1982 10 everbank center northbank jacksonville 1983 formerly southern bell tower 15 two prudential plaza southbank jacksonville 1985 16 suntrust tower northbank jacksonville 1989 formerly american heritage life building 10 bryan simpson united states courthouse northbank jacksonville 2002 in association with hlm design 10 duval county courthouse northbank jacksonville 2012 17 other significant buildings edit kbj designed buildings in jacksonville include 18 fidelity national financial buildings florida state college at jacksonville kent campus jacksonville civic auditorium times union center jacksonville university administration building omni jacksonville hotel physician sales & service superstock river watch at city center riverside presbyterian house tournament players club clubhouse . current business edit in addition to working downtown jacksonville they work in north and central florida . much of the company s work is for existing clients who include international and private corporations developers institutions public authorities as well as federal state and local governments . the firm also developed the design standards for residential developments at the deerwood country club and at amelia island plantation north of jacksonville . in orlando kbj designed the first national bank and hartford insurance buildings and three of the four airsides at orlando international airport ; in gainesville the delta tau delta fraternity house and tigert hall the university of florida administration building ; the quarterdeck club in miami and the occidental life building in raleigh . 5 duval county courthouse edit in june 2002 kbj architects rink reynolds cannon design and spillis candela were the final four candidates under consideration for designing the planned duval county courthouse complex . 19 when cannon design was chosen kbj appealed the award claiming that cannon s design was inconsistent with the specifications for size and budget set by the city but the administration of mayor john delaney saw no grounds for the award to be rescinded . the project continued under cannon into the term of mayor john peyton but costs and the size of the project fluctuated and ultimately peaked at a 224 million construction cost 23 million over the 201 million mendoza line for construction costs drawn by the mayor . as a result peyton stopped all work on the project and terminated all consultants contracts for convenience including jacobs facilities program manager cannon architect and construction managers skanska dynamic partners . 19 the project was re bid in 2006 and the city received two offers for a design build solution and delivery of the project . the team of perry mccall construction the auchter company coupled with architects rink design and dlr were initially awarded the contract . 20 when it was discovered that the auchter company had financial troubles the contract was terminated for convenience . second place bidder turner construction company which is partnered with technical construction services group and kbj architects was given an opportunity to negotiate a contract with the city in july 2007 by approval of the competitive sealed proposal evaluation committee . a contract was signed with a budget of 350 million . work was completed and the courthouse opened on june 18 2012 . 21 awards edit over the years kbj s projects have received scores of awards for excellence in architecture design engineering and renovations . franklin bunch was elected a fellow of the american institute of architects in 1961 . william k. jackson was awarded the 1972 architect community service award by the florida association of the american institute of architects . the company received a special award in 1992 from the florida association of the american institute of architects when kbj architects was named firm of the year . see also edit architecture of jacksonville references edit a b kerr jessie lynne architect transformed city waterfront florida times union january 24 2008 florida times union march 30 2005 essay contest celebrates high rise s 50th birthday floridas times union october 31 1997 diamond leaves kbj architects by simon barker benfield 1 jacksonville historical society architects roy a. benjamin a b kerr jessie lynne longtime jacksonville architect dies florida times union april 19 2003 caldwell joe william d. kemp architect 70 dies florida times union october 10 1982 841 prudential insurance co. . kbj.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . independent life building . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 11 . csx transportation building . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . a b c d e f award . kbj.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . riverplace tower . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . cathedral towers . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . cathedral townhouse . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . cathedral terrace . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . modis building . kbj.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . two prudential plaza for the prudential insurance co. . kbj.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . duval county courthouse . emporis.com . retrieved 2015 04 12 . jacksonville building informnation emporis website a b luce ann november 12 2004 . architects seeks to clear the air about courthouse project . jacksonville business journal . retrieved july 13 2011 . florida times union july 20 2007 design firm gets new shot at courthouse duval county courthouse . december 3 2012 . city of jacksonville . retrieved 29 may 2013 . external links edit kbj architects inc. website american institute of architects kbj architects member info american institute of architects jacksonville chapter v t e jacksonville area based corporations list of companies in jacksonville florida fortune 1000 corporations 2015 rank csx corporation 240 fidelity national financial 314 fis 422 landstar system 719 publicly traded corporations ameris bancorp atlantic coast financial black knight financial services everbank frp holdings patriot transportation rayonier rayonier advanced materials regency centers stein mart web.com privately held businesses acosta sales & marketing availity axia public relations bloch publishing company crowley maritime elkins constructors fanatics firehouse subs florida blue florida east coast railway gate petroleum haskell company huckins yacht corporation i wear your shirt jacksonville free press kbj architects larry s giant subs m. d. moody & sons mac papers medmal direct insurance company metro jacksonville mobro marine pga tour reynolds smith & hills ring power safariland st. vincent s healthcare sally corporation seward trunk co. southeastern grocers stellar group swisher international group trailer bridge us assure vystar credit union us headquarters of foreign businesses adecco group north america association of tennis professionals beeline buffet group usa h egh autoliners northgate information solutions survitec group north america venus fashion otto division headquarters of us corporations florida coastal school of law infilaw system the florida times union morris communications foundation financial group interline brands the home depot parallel infrastructure florida east coast industries pss world medical mckesson corporation southeast toyota distributors jm family enterprises unison industries ge aviation vistakon johnson & johnson retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kbj architects & oldid 718019509 categories companies established in 1946architecture firms based in floridacompanies based in jacksonville floridaprivately held companies based in florida1946 establishments in floridaskyscraper architectsarchitecture firms based in jacksonvillejacksonville modern architecturehidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search 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