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Yugon Kim ’98 was a Fine Arts major at Bard and is now a founding partner of IKD, an architectural design firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that is cross-disciplinary in nature. "We have backgrounds in architecture, art, exhibition design, furniture and set design. From its inception, the intersection of architecture and art has been at the core of our design philosophy. We enjoy the freedom to work on a wide range of different projects and clients and every day we work on something new."

After Bard, Yugon worked as a furniture maker while continuing his sculptural work. After a few years, he decided to go to architecture school at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. "I worked with a number of architects after graduating, most recently with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genoa, Italy where I oversaw the design and construction of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum extension for a period of six years. At the completion of this project, I co-founded IKD with a classmate from Harvard and have taught at a number area schools, now currently at the Rhode Island School of Design."

At Bard, he enjoyed the freedom to explore whatever he wanted academically. The interdisciplinary opportunities helped develop the kind of thinking that led him to found IKD. "Bard helped me identify my own voice by introducing me to a wide range of voices, both teachers and fellow students," he adds.

Yugon’s advice for current Bardians? "Do what you love. Always take full advantage of an opportunity that comes your way no matter how small. You never know how one thing can lead to another or how things organically come together."

With thanks to the Bard College Career Development Office