Over his thirty-four-year career, Daly has guided a distinctly Californian architectural practice that embraces the practical magic of architecture – an alchemy of craft, material sensibility, and form. Bolstered by abundant research and a design process centered on physical models and mockups, he has realized the implementation of advanced, unconventional building technology in public projects throughout the state and the country, ranging from affordable housing to public schools and university buildings.

Projects by Kevin Daly express his belief in an architecture that is performative on every level: environmentally, structurally, economically, and aesthetically. He has a longstanding commitment to driving building technology downstream, bringing high expectations and exceptional design to modest building programs. Anchored by extensive fabrication and model making facilities, his practice embraces collaboration with specialists, fabricators, consultants, and builders to support a culture of virtuosity in building, acknowledging the role of the architect as a central rather than the sole participant in the design of buildings. Daly’s work embraces the paradoxes of urban conditions: the conflict between increased density and privacy, the challenge of designing with a low environmental impact to address our contemporary climate emergency, and reconsideration of sprawling context buildings as environmental assets.

Daly’s critical practice is nationally recognized and engages the profession as well as the local community. He has served on numerous awards juries, and his projects have won over 100 design awards, including over 30 national awards, as well as the inaugural AIA/LA Firm of the Year Award. He has held distinguished university chairs at Berkeley and Michigan, currently serves on the Rice University Architecture School’s William Ward Watkin Council, and is a faculty member at UCLA. Through his teaching he fosters a next generation of architects across the country.