Close to Home: Buildings and Projects of Michael Koch, Architect

Close to Home presents the creative, award-winning work of Louisville architect Michael Koch, introducing readers to the simple elegance of his designs and meaningful contributions he has made to the landscape of Kentucky. The projects featured in Close to Home are within a 15-mile radius of where Louisville architect Michael Koch was born, raised, and has practiced for almost forty years. Educated at the University of Kentucky School of Architecture during the Dean Anthony Eardley era, where he was taught by Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Peter Carl, Stephen Deger, Judith DiMaio, Clyde Carpenter, and Herb Greene, Koch has created a body of work in the Ohio River Valley that is site-specific and expressive, translating Kentucky’s regional idioms into a vibrant modernism. From airy houses that take advantage of Louisville’s Olmsted-designed parks and local materials, to structures that are strikingly adapted to the Ohio River floodplain, to church-inspired metropolitan projects, Koch’s buildings are a memorable part of the city’s landscape. Close to Home presents the award-winning achievements of his firm Michael Koch and Associates Architects, and introduces readers to the simple elegance of his designs and meaningful contributions he has made to the architecture of Kentucky.

Michael Koch received his architectural education from the University of Kentucky, College of Architecture. He established Michael Koch and Associates Architects in 1983 and maintains his office in Louisville, Kentucky. The firm is the recipient of numerous AIA Kentucky Design Awards including the Distinguished Firm Award.

Dr. Gregory Luhan, is the John Russell Groves Endowed Professor of Architecture in the UK College of Design and an affiliate professor with UK’s Lewis Honors College and the College of Engineering Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. Luhan holds a University Research Professorship and is a nationally recognized architect, scholar, author, professor and academic leader whose work investigates how design, emerging digital technologies, critical theory, pedagogy, practice and academic-industry partnerships intersect.