KFA is pleased to announce the promotions of John Arnold, AIA, Lise Bornstein, AIA, and Shu-Chi Hsu, LEED AP to principal.
With degrees in architecture and landscape design, John joined the KFA team in 1999 and has enjoyed the opportunity of being involved in both LA’s and KFA’s continuing growth and evolution. He has a deep interest in making existing cities better places to live at both the individual level and public level by designing good units and setting them in a lively, diverse urban place.
John’s tenure at KFA has focused on the full range of multi-family housing types including adaptive reuse projects, hotels, affordable family and senior housing, and market-rate condominiums and apartments. He enjoys working with developers and communities throughout the design process to find the project that best fits on each site and meets client goals.
John is an active volunteer in his South LA neighborhood, helping out with planning and preservation issues, and is an advocate of native plants. John has also made a habit building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Southeast Asia.
Notable Projects: Ace Hotel, Pacific Electric Lofts, the Roosevelt Building, Luxe @ Broadway, the Hesby Apartments, and NoHo Senior Villas
Lise joined KFA in 2001 and has incorporated her love of art and design into her work. Working on a wide range of projects including market rate and affordable housing, mixed-use, and master planning projects, she continues to develop her interest in Los Angeles and participates in the considered densification of such a large and complex city.
Focused on creating projects with a big design idea, Lise has managed projects with complex entitlement packages, multiple funding sources and significant community outreach while working collaboratively with clients, consultants, contractors and in-house teams. The ever-evolving LA cityscape is reimagining itself yet again amidst a new era of transformation in the way people live and work. This growth will lead KFA to new and exciting projects with creative partners and offer new opportunities in urban infill development and design.
Lise is a board member of the Association for Women in Architecture Foundation (AWAF), where she chairs the Scholarship Committee.
Notable Projects: MGA Campus Master Plan, Hayworth House, FCD Silverlake projects, Frogtown Lofts, 375 La Cienega, and 1539 4th Street
SHU-CHI HSU, AIA, LEED AP
Originally from Taiwan, Shu-Chi studied architecture in Bauhaus, Germany, and lived in Italy before settling down in Los Angeles. In 2006, she joined the KFA team and has become an expert in discovering the best and optimal land use of any project site. Shu-Chi enjoys working with her team on
complex projects and challenging deadlines, and believes building design should be honest, functional, and timeless.
Outside of the office, Shu-chi works with engineers and artists to create large-scale public works of art for underserved communities both in Los Angeles and in Taiwan. The bamboo bridge her team built won an AIA Los Angeles Design Honor Award, one of the first non-building prize winners.
Deeply interested in business, she is currently an EMBA student at UCLA where her concentrations are in finance and global management.
Notable Projects: 6th and Virgil, 201 Lexington, 7500 Sunset East & West, Pico Eleven, Washington Penny Lane, 375 La Cienegaand 829 Broadway
