Throughout the course of his 26-year tenure with K.C.-based global architecture firm Populous, Senior Principal JON KNIGHT has contributed to the design of several NFL venues, including Gillette Stadium and Heinz Field, as well as renovations to Arrowhead Stadium. Lately, he has turned his attention to growing the company’s MLS design team. Knight was responsible for the design of Sporting Park, which opened in ‘11, home to MLS club Sporting KC. Most recently, he designed Populous’ new K.C. HQ, which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in October. Knight’s extensive knowledge and passion for architecture has industry newcomers constantly picking his brain, and he is happy to oblige. “I enjoy helping young people with what design is all about,” he said. Knight spent the early part of the week in meetings in San Diego before driving up to Ojai, Calif., where he met up with his wife and two children for a vacation with some old work colleagues.
SMOKE SIGNAL: There will always be food on the agenda with this group. We are all foodies and fell in love with food in New York City while working at HOK. My guess is that there will be a lot of cooking happening this weekend -- probably seafood accompanied by a watermelon-tomato salad with basil and feta on top. I am pretty serious about cooking. I will put a pork butt on the smoker for 10 or 12 hours and then use the pulled pork for smoked tacos and homemade tamales. I like things that are a production. I also make my own sausages. I will grind my own pork or chicken and then smoke them. It is a fairly long process.
POINT BREAK: We all rented a house together that has a really nice pool. We will be doing a lot of relaxing and just living the life this weekend. Saturday is going to be our day at the beach. We will cook up some breakfast burritos -- eggs and bacon all wrapped up in a tortilla -- and then head to the ocean. We are taking surf lessons together. This group does not get to see each other that often, so we will probably just stay in and create our own nightlife. One of our friends just got back from Paris and he brought some wine with him. We will hopefully pour some nice Sancerre; have some fish on the grill and talk about the good times. Sunday is a mountain day up in Ojai where we go hiking in the foothills.
THE TRAIN FROM KANSAS CITY: On a typical weekend at home in K.C., I like doing woodwork. I also enjoy yardwork with my wife and spending as much time as I can with the kids. Our flower gardens are finally starting to look good. This year they turned out awesome because we had so much rain. I ride my bike a little bit and do a lot of hiking. My wife and I are always exploring different parks. I walk my dog regularly. She does not pull me anymore because she is so old. Almost every summer and fall, we end up taking a couple of canoe trips in some of the waterways in southeast Missouri and Arkansas. We live in an area called Brookside, and our house is over 100 years old. There is an old trolley trail where it used to run and they turned it into a walking trail.
