My Background
My name is Kenneth Hart and I am a licensed architect and certified interior designer and landscape designer with Peacock and Lewis in southeast Florida. We also have an office in Naples, Florida and we service the private club and resort markets throughout the US and abroad. I have practiced this line of work for over 25 years and Peacock and Lewis has been designing club facilities since 1961. Located off PGA Blvd in North Palm Beach, Florida, there are numerous private clubs and resorts that surround us which provides us a laboratory unlike any other area in the world to better understand the trends in the design and construction of club amenities, resorts and recreational facilities.
Growing up in a small town north of Detroit, my journey to becoming an architect was straightforward if not predictable at a young age. I was taking college courses in art and sculpture when I was 10 and shortly thereafter, I was blessed with a drawing board and a metal carrying case full of hand me down drawing tools from an uncle that graduated from the University of Michigan school of engineering. Ruling pens, compasses, French curves, wood scales, mechanical pencils, leads, green plastic templates of all shapes, slide rules, powders, tapes and so much more. I treasured the tools and still have them today.
After graduating with an advanced degree in architecture I practiced in Chicago before moving to Baltimore where I was the Director of Architecture for a firm and won several design awards, including ‘Clubhouse of the Year’ by Golf Inc. for the design of the Inverness Country Club which marked a new design trend for smaller and more efficient club design with attractive amenities. In North Palm Beach Florida, my position with Peacock and Lewis varies from master planning to project planning. From concept drawings to construction drawings.
Undoubtedly there is no other architectural firm in the US that has the level of experience in the planning and design of clubs and resorts that is located as central as we are to some of the finest clubs and resorts in the world. We are active participants and sponsors of several key organizations such as the Club Managers Association of America, Club Spa and Fitness Association, American Society of Golf Course Architects and the National Club Association. These organizations provide us with valuable insight into design and operational trends in the industry as well as legislative issues.
As an avid outdoor enthusiast, sailor, golfer and lifelong fitness buff (93 marathons to date), my line of design connects me to some of the most beautiful facilities in the world that are operated by some of the best people in the hospitality industry. It is truly a blessing to have the opportunity to work with so many talented people. All of the sketches on MLD are mine and I work every day with computer drawing programs but for me there is nothing better than the freedom of picking up one of the vintage hand me down drawing tools and placing some thoughts on paper as a sketch. A sketch that may stay on paper in perpetuity – or just may become the next new project that you’ll see on My Line of Design!