Pidgin / Pi-jin / 피진 / ˈpɪdʒ.ɪn
a makeshift communication;
an emergent language that incorporates words and grammar from each participant to create new formations
Pidgin Architecture is a spatial design practice based in Seoul, founded by Kevin Carpenter. We create spaces that shape how communities gather and connect.
The name comes from pidgin languages, hybrid forms of communication that emerge when people with different backgrounds need to work together. We apply this same principle to design, translating between client goals, site conditions, and community needs to create spaces that work.
What We Do
We work with clients from initial concept through construction, adapting to each project’s needs. Projects range from building renovations to interior redesigns, custom furniture, and temporary installations. We focus primarily on hospitality, education, and retail spaces — projects where spatial design directly shapes how people interact. Most projects move through these stages:
Early Stage — Strategy & Research: Understanding whether your project makes sense financially and spatially. This includes feasibility studies, neighborhood research, and initial concept development.
Design — Space & Identity: Creating the architecture, interiors, spatial organization, or stand-alone pieces. We also integrate graphic design and branding when projects need a complete identity—particularly relevant for hospitality and retail spaces.
Execution — Build & Finish: Managing construction, coordinating contractors, and overseeing custom finishing and installation to ensure the design is built correctly.
Flexible Engagement: Some clients need all three stages. Others come with a clearly defined situation and need design and execution. We structure each engagement around what the project actually requires.
Principal Designer — Kevin Carpenter
I studied architecture at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program and gained project experience ranging from high-rise office developments at Kohn Pedersen Fox in London to residential and educational work at a firm in Princeton, New Jersey.
After graduation, I moved to Seoul and worked as an educator while I learned Korean at Yonsei University and completed a Master’s in Architecture at Hongik University. My thesis on transnational housing investment and built form was published in Housing Studies.
I started independent practice by co-founding a restaurant in Seoul’s Yeonnam-dong neighborhood, where I handled the architecture, interiors, and branding as a single integrated project. That led to establishing Pidgin Architecture.
I speak English and Korean, and I’m qualified to practice design in South Korea.