Roger Kraft

Roger Kraft (1947-2012) was an architect and artist with a unique eye and aesthetic sensibility shaped by his deep appreciation and life-long study of art and architectural history. A discussion with Roger could easily move from the early Renaissance paintings of Piero della Francesca to various details of a Palladio, Scarpa or Louis Kahn building to Bob Dylan. Roger’s broad aesthetic, artistic and intellectual interests are reflected in the timeless quality of all of his work.

Roger received his architectural training at the University of Kansas and from the formative experience of working with Ted Seligson. Deep immersion in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s extensive collection inspired Roger’s creative, passionate spirit, and he found great satisfaction in passing his knowledge and enthusiasm on to his students at the Kansas City Art Institute and the KU School of Architecture and Design.

Roger started his own design practice in 1980, and his productive output included buildings and furniture recognized nationally by such eminent figures as Kenneth Frampton and Jack Lenor Larsen. Many of Roger’s clients —as well as the architects, builders, and craftspersons who worked to make his vision a reality— became lasting friends. We lost Roger to ALS in 2012, but all who knew and worked with him continue to reflect upon the unique experience of collaboration with such a rare and talented man. It’s time to celebrate his achievement and keep his legacy alive!

“The house is a tool: a purely technical matter. But there is always a feeling, sometimes an overriding one, which demands a very special attention: integrating the house to oneself, making it say “I exist”, making it radiate. It is in this passage from one objective to another, from the function being useful to the function radiating, that Architecture is situated.”

— Le Corbusier (in 1926)
One of Roger’s favorite quotes