[3] Kaufmann attended Whitgift School in South Croydon, and went on to graduate from the London Polytechnic Institute, circa 1908.

Kaufmann, along with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, designed the general campus plan featuring four residence halls to be built the first four consecutive years of the College (1927–1930).

[5] Later in his career, Kaufmann worked primarily in the Art Deco style, with a personal emphasis on massively thick, streamlined concrete walls which gave his buildings a very distinctive appearance.

Kaufmann's buildings as a result took on a very "mechanical" appearance, often resembling huge versions of old-fashioned appliances.

Kaufmann is buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.