Albert Angel

Biography

Albert Angel

With his architecture degree up his sleeve, Albert Angel left Cape Town for New York. He joined Ralph Appelbaum Associates where he worked on museum designs. This first experience developed his love for story telling and contemporary art. It is later under the architect designer Lindy Roy in 1999 on a project with Bruce Mau which enabled him to assert his desires.He will not be simply an architect building buildings. He wants to build yes, but truly global experiences. Thus, it is his passion for planes – a perfect concentration of design, architecture and service – that leads him to LANDOR to rethink the whole universe of Delta Airlines, from their lounges to the cabin.

In 2005, a friend asked him to design a restaurant in the SoHo district of New York. He seized the opportunity and founded the agency that bears his name. His projects are linked worldwide with a strong affinity for Africa, which he knows very well having grown up in the Congo (DRC). His passion for hospitality leads him to realize one of the few boutique hotel & spa in Mauritius, another in Mahé in Seychelles and most recently the design concept of Onomo Hotels that spans across West Africa.

And it is in the west of Paris, precisely in Boulogne, that he creates his first coworking space called KWERK. The second space located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris opens and confirms its desire to rethink the workspace as unique experiences to live. More than a workspace to share, KWERK is a place where art is inspiring everywhere. Albert Angel spends half his time away, elsewhere in airplanes, in other countries with other cultures. Moreover, with an open mind, to never repeat himself, to better understand himself and thus better understand others.

Lawrence Knights

A marketing graduate of HEC and Sciences Po, Lawrence Knights began his career in the sectors of consultancy, marketing, business management and strategic development. At Tilder, where he spent three years, Lawrence specialised in consultancy and PR strategy. In 2008, his desire to travel brought him to New York to set up the American branch of RLD Partners, where he was an associate. It was there that he met Albert Angel. Once again it was a journey, this time to Bali, which convinced the pair to work together, leading to their initial furniture designs for projects at Albert’s architectural firm. In 2013, they returned to Paris in order to set up Kwerk. Albert would handle the architecture and artistic design, while Lawrence would manage the business and its public relations.