 After serving in the United States Navy from 1946-1948, Knowles completed a Bachelor of Architecture at North Carolina State University in 1954, and a Master of Architecture at MIT in 1959.Knowles taught briefly at Auburn University from 1959 to 1963 and then joined the faculty of the USC School of Architecture at the University of Southern California.In 1962, Knowles applied for a Graham Foundation grant to support his research on natural forces.