ABOUT US
We see architecture as an opportunity to transform more than the space.
Karbon Architects is a Greater Philadelphia architecture and design studio creating sustainable contemporary homes, renovations, and workplaces.
We look beyond the immediate brief to uncover the architectural idea that can change how the entire space is experienced, bringing more light, stronger connections, and new possibilities for everyday life.
2019
FOUNDED
Philadelphia
GREATER REGION
PA / NJ
REGISTERED ARCHITECTS
OUR POINT OF VIEW
The brief is where the project begins, not where it ends.
A client may ask for an addition, a larger kitchen, a custom home, or a workplace that functions better. Those needs matter, but they rarely tell the whole story.
An addition might also create a sheltered courtyard at the center of the home. A reworked kitchen might open a long view to the garden. A difficult site might inspire a building that steps with the land.
01
Grounded in place
Generous openings, expressive structure, natural materials, and a real connection between indoors and out. Contemporary design is not a style we repeat from one project to the next.
02
Cohesive at every scale
The overall form, the sequence of rooms, the quality of light, the landscape, and the smallest details should read as parts of one idea.
03
Better with time
The depth of a window opening, the weight of hand-worked stone, an exposed steel frame, cabinetry built as part of the room. These decisions shape how a place feels to inhabit and how it gains character over time.
Our role is to recognize the larger possibility, shape it into a clear architectural idea, and carry it through the finished building.
THE STUDIO
Small by design.
Karbon is a principal-led studio. The people who listen at the beginning stay with the project as it develops, working alongside consultants, contractors, and craftspeople to keep the idea clear as it meets budgets, approvals, and construction.
The people you meet at the start are the people who carry the project through completion.
PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT
Kevin Malawski
Kevin founded Karbon to build a practice where architectural ambition, practical execution, and genuine collaboration are treated as the same work. He is drawn to the move that transforms the whole rather than improving one part, and stays close to it from the first conversation through construction.
AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
THE NAME
What is Karbon?
The Karbon name is a play on the element of Carbon: the building block of life. Much like carbon, we see architecture as a core element to building better lives.