May 19, 1999

Donald King, Donald King Architects

By SAM BENNETT
Journal Staff reporter

Firm: Donald King Architects
Office: 2107 Elliott Ave.
Year founded: 1985
Staff size: 14
Recent local project: The Casey Family Program office

Q: What is your firm's specialty?

Donald I. King, A.I.A.

A: We specialize in community facilities. We probably have more experience on community facility projects than any firm in the region. Community work is 75 percent of the projects we do, and 25 percent would be corporate and public agency work, such as health care centers.

Q: What is your background?

A: I have 20 years of experience working in community design centers. Community design centers are pretty much a community service that grew out of urban revolts of the '60s. They were about rebuilding central city communities. So I grew up working with these community-based organizations of the '60s that are now more mainstream non-profits that are the basis of our practice.

Q: What are the demands of the organizations you work with?

The Sea Mar Community Health Center in Seattle houses 100 long-term care residents.

A: They want to build image, pretty much in the same way a for-profit corporation would. We work with a diverse set of ethnic cultures. The International District is Asian and the Central Area is African American. These organizations are really becoming comfortable with ethnic identities and are really looking for an expression of that in their architecture, which is exciting for us to explore how that is different than European images in architecture.

Q: Is it important to understand the cultural background of the groups you design for?

A: I hate to say I know enough about all these cultures to represent them in their architecture. We have found that, working with them, they actually give us the input to provide the kind of finishes and materials to create environments that are comfortable for them. They have a different set of values as to what's important to them, and it's not always Eurocentric. It's fun and challenging. The best preparation we find is just listening to the client, which has really given us the edge because we do put our egos aside. We're not building jewel boxes. We don't build to win design awards. We build to provide the best facility for our clients.

Q: At the same time, working with non-profits must present financial challenges.

King's firm was given only a few weeks to design the Seattle Seahawks Endzone store and customer service offices.

A: Primarily, we find as innovative means as possible for saving on the actual construction of the building. We look at the building and ask, 'How can we get this project to function well, look good and remain affordable for our non-profit client?' That is the harder part of architecture. We provide good, solid architecture that is functional and uplifting.

Q: How did you get interested in architecture?

A: I grew up in Detroit. I began working in architecture when I was 17 and I have worked consistently since then. I worked my way through school. I began to connect with the central city African American neighborhoods, and felt what I wanted to offer was quality professional service to those communities. I thought it was a terrific aspiration.

Q: What are some of your current projects?

A: We are having our busiest year ever. We have eight projects under construction now. One of the largest is the Casey Family Program, a 15,000-square-foot Seattle division office. The two-story building will have a community commons which will be available to the community to use for events. It will have an adjoining conference training room to hold 200 people.

The Mount Zion Baptist Church Gideon Bell Tower is a 26-year dream project for the church.

The other is a small, community-based project, the Gideon Bell Tower for Mount Zion Baptist Church. This is a bell tower planned 26 years ago when the church was built. It's a small, $150,000 project, but we're really proud, and the community and church are also proud.

Q: Which architects have influenced you, and what local buildings do you like?

A: Lewis Kahn is one of my favorites. He had this other-than-European influence. So did [Frank Lloyd] Wright. He had an Asian influence in his work and some Mayan. I really appreciate seeing other forms of architecture that can be reinterpreted. One of the best Afrocentric buildings is the Seattle Art Museum, which has African form and decorativeness.

Q: What is your dream project?

A: An African American museum and cultural center. I think it would be an excellent way to continue to explore what could be an African American architecture and what does it look like and how is it different. We haven't been able to explore that.

Previous columns:

• Matt L. Driscoll, Driscoll Architects, 05-12-1999
• Tom Ferlan, Notkin Engineering, Inc., 05-05-1999
• Steven Erickson, Stock & Associates, 04-28-1999
• Cyndi Stever, Voute Design Group, Inc., 04-21-1999
• Jerry Lawrence, Burr Lawrence Rising + Bates, 04-14-1999
• David Leavengood, Leavengood Architects, 03-31-1999
• Jeff and Anita Degen, Degen & Degen, 03-24-1999