Résumé

Early in life, age 17 or so, King became involved in a community design center being operated in Detroit, MI, He wrote: "When I left that first firm to attend school in Detroit, I started working at a planning and architecture firm. The principal there was starting something I'd never heard of called a 'community design center.' After hours, we'd leave the office and go to another space in a somewhat rundown area and established a community design studio at night. We'd bring in young adults from the neighborhood, teach them about planning, and get them involved in architectural drafting. That was my introduction to the community design center (CDC) movement." After moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, he became active at a community design center, the Urban Workshop, being operated in the Watts neighborhood by Eugene Brooks. (See AIA.org, "Featured Member: Donald King, FAIA," accessed 03/08/2023.)

Designer, The Urban Workshop, Watts, Los Angeles, CA.

Principal Architect, Environmental Works/Community Design Center, Seattle, WA, c. 1980.

Principal, Donald King Architecture (DKA), Seattle, WA, c. 1985-2010. According to former AIA Seattle administrator Marga Rose Hancock, DKA focused "...on community-based projects including health care facilities, libraries, and affordable housing." (See Marga Rose Hancock, AIA Seattle Honors.org, "Donald King, FAIA," accessed 03/08/2023. King sold his practice to two employees, Rico Quirindongo and Chuck Clegern in 08/2010. This firm was later renamed "Mimar Pacific."

Teaching

Affiliate Professor, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA.

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA). Seattle Chapter, Seattle, WA.

Member, National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).

Founding Member, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Diversity Roundtable, Seattle, WA.

Member, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Board of Directors, Seattle, WA.

Member, AIA, national organization, Scholarship Committee.

Member, City of Seattle, Department of Construction and Land Use (DCLU) Director, Search Committee, Seattle, WA. This city department was later renamed as the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI).

Member, City of Seattle, Mayor's Small Business Task Force, Seattle, WA.

Vice President, Tabor 100 "(a grassroots organization designed to promote the economic, educational, and political advancement of African American businesses)." (See Marga Rose Hancock, AIA Seattle Honors.com, "Donald King FAIA," accessed 04/04/2023.)

Member, The Elevated Transportation Company (ETC, later known as the "Seattle Monorail Project,"), Board of Directors, Seattle, WA, c. 2007.

Jury Member, AIA, Whitney M. Young, Jr., Awards, 2015. He served with Hiroshi Jacobs, Assoc. AIA, Studios Architecture, Washington, DC; Michael Pyatok, FAIA, Pyatok Architects, Oakland, CA.; David Trevino, AIA, the City of Dallas, Dallas, TX; and Karen E. Williams, AIA, Pivot Architecture, Eugene, OR.

Member, Elevated Transportation Company (ETC), (later renamed the "Seattle Monorail Project"), Board of Directors, Seattle, WA.

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 2000. In his sponsorship letter for Donald King for AIA Fellowship, David Wright, FAIA, said: "In offering his nomination to the AIA College of Fellows in 1999, sponsor David Wright FAIA noted, "Donald finds the time to participate in countless professional and civic boards and committees. He has introduced architecture and planning to diverse peoples and then nurtured their ability to affect their own built environment. [Donald's work offers] testimony to the tenacity and dedication of that young man who decided years ago that he would make a difference through architecture." (See Marga Rose Hancock, AIA Seattle Honors.com, "Donald King FAIA," accessed 04/04/2023.)

Recipient, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Medal of Honor, 2015. The AIA Seattle Medal of Honor said of King's contribution to the architectural profession: "For 40+ years, Donald King FAIA has based a practice of architecture on the needs of underserved populations, empowering community organizations in project development to design facilities and housing that resonate with the end users’ cultural identity. As a member of the Bellwether Housing Board of Directors, Donald assisted in the origination and design of the Northwest African American Museum." (See Marga Rose Hancock, AIA Seattle Honors.com, "Donald King FAIA," accessed 04/04/2023.)

High School / College

Graduate, Port Huron High School, Port Huron, MI, c. 1967. At Port Huron High School, Donald King was active in the Art Club.

B.F.A., Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, c. 1972.

M.Arch., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Westwood, Los Angeles, CA, 1978.

Relocation

Donald King was born in MI, and lived in Port Huron, MI, during his childhood.

From MI, he relocated to Los Angeles, CA, a few years after it experience the upheavel of the Watts Rebellion of 1965.

King made his way to Seattle, WA, by 1980, where he worked for the Environmental Works/Community Design Center before founding his own firm.