Episode 3: Walker Mckinley

Walker Mckinley is a founding partner of the firm Mckinley Burkart. Along with Mark Burkhart, the firm has made a name for themselves with their designs in the public sector, including numerous restaurants, breweries, and other public spaces. With offices in both Calgary and Vancouver, the firm is globally known and have won numerous awards for their local and international designs. The traditional practice of architecture has increasingly separated into opposing models: the rarified world of the Starchitect, and at the other end the increasing commodification and specialization of the more common practitioner. For most of the industry, this has led to a loss of influence and an inability to bring true value to projects. In reaction to this, McKinley Burkart has been seeking to develop a new model of practice, based less in hourly effort and a narrow understanding of the appropriate scope of the architect’s role, and more in the collaborative, multi-disciplinary mode of an intelligence agency. This ongoing process has lead Mckinley Burkhart to the establishment of numerous entities within the firm - Black Chamber Think Tank, Little Sister Branding, Tableau Procurement, Mosquito Agency Art Consultancy, Fat Frames, and Tone Deaf, just to name a few. What you are about to hear is a conversation we had with Walker Mckinley before his Design Matters Lecture. Please Enjoy.