Ken Crosson: From milking 1 cow to designing one of the word's best 400 houses

Ken Crosson nearly became a dairy farmer milking one cow in mid-Canterbury, instead, he walked into the Christchurch Town Hall at 16 and never looked back.In this episode of 2 Commas, I sit down with Ken, founder of Crosson and Co, one of New Zealand's most quietly celebrated architects, as the firm approaches its 40th year. We cover the pivot from farm kid to globally recognised designer, what it actually looks like to build a 40-year practice from scratch with no business training and one very young first hire, and why Ken still shows up to the office on weekends with a paper diary and a pencil. We get into the realities of partnership - how they form, how they end, and how the right recruiter talked Ken into a completely different hire than the one he thought he needed.We also unpack Plan Change 120, why building in New Zealand has gone from four drawings to 959 pages, and what AI is starting to do - and not yet do - to the profession. If you've ever wondered what four decades of designing spaces that move people actually teaches you about business, relationships, and the built world around us.