Beyond the Built Environment celebrates the contributions of diverse designers and advocates for equitable built environments and communities.
DONALD I. KING
Donald King Architects, Schemata Workshop
African American AIA Fellow
SAY IT LOUD - Washington DC Exhibitor
Washington Based Designer
Bio:
He encourages participatory design processes resulting in a body of work that resonates with the cultural identity and enhanced dignity of the end-users.
DONALD I. KING
Bio:
Donald King is a Seattle-based architect, planner, and educator with over 50 years of experience in planning, design, and project management in the built environment. He is supportive of user-responsive design for how it empowers clients and community. He is a facilitator/interpreter of collaborative design approaches. He encourages participatory design processes resulting in a body of work that resonates with the cultural identity and enhanced dignity of the end-users. In 2015, Donald King was awarded the AIA Seattle Medal of Honor. In December 2018, he completed a five-year tenure on the AIA National Board of Directors. He is a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and is a former Vice President of the Western Region. Donald has recently been actively involved in consulting on planning and design for faith-based organizations and public and non-governmental organizations around the region. As an initiator of the Nehemiah Initiative, he has been instrumental in assisting the church community to recognize the embedded power of their property holdings to build income-generating projects to better serve community and maintain their presence in the Central Seattle. He is an Affiliate Professor of Architecture in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington where he teaches community-based practice in grad and undergrad design studios.
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Object:
Object Two - Practice Management, or Practice Technical Advancement
Year of Elevation:
2000
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Featured Project Name:
Imani Village
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Featured Project Location:
Seattle, WA
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Featured Project Completion Date:
2011
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Role in Featured Project:
Principal
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Featured Project Description:
Imani Village is a low-rise housing development with 16 apartments and townhomes for children and families struggling with the effects of poverty and crisis. This service-enriched housing complex has ample usable open space for its residents including a vine-screened central pedestrian courtyard with a play area for young children, a lower-level play area for older children, and a second permeable courtyard with a small amphitheater shared by the First Place School.
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