Founded in 1985, DKA is a full-service architectural firm located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. DKA’s staff provides site master planning, facility assessments, facility programming, architectural design, interior design, space planning, project management, construction document production, and construction contract administration. DKA is known for its portfolio of work on community–based projects including human services facilities, cultural centers, primary and secondary schools, university facilities and affordable housing.

Revolutionary thinking is not every entrepreneur’s cup of tea, but active and successful business leaders welcome the challenge of our current economic environment. Where there is adversity and uncertainty there is great opportunity to model a new direction for the economy.

Talking the Walk

Under the guidance of Donald King, DKA seized the opportunity to work in the green economy well before "building green" became the new normal of business.  With over two decades of experience in environmentally conscious design, DKA was well positioned to re-brand and market themselves as the local leader in green architecture.

With sustainable design and social justice as driving ideals of the firm’s culture, DKA acknowledges how they have wedded these two ideals in the approach to their practice for the past 24 years.  For many who have worked in low-income communities for decades, combining green building applications with a concern for economic and social equity is a logical next step. However, most members of underserved populations are not usually considered environmental activists. Until recently, these groups were excluded from the movement of green design and construction. Sustainable design was not widely embraced among low-income communities because of the misconception that it is more expensive and that LEED© certification, as the recognized measure of a successful green project, is difficult to achieve.

To overcome this challenge, DKA’s Architecture Group and Owner’s Representative Services Group started working toward a broader inclusion in green applications for communities, building design and construction, while at the same time advocating for a green economy and employment for underserved groups.  This focus on sustainable design and social justice has provided DKA with a unique competitive advantage and has positively impacted the company's bottom line.  Sustainable design projects now comprise ninety percent of the total projects in DKA's portfolio.  Donald King and his team recognize that were it not for their experience in and focus on sustainability, DKA would not be nearly as competitive in the new green economy.

Below are just a few of the green building projects within DKA's portfolio.

Navos Mental Health Clinic
The DKA’s Architecture Group is completing the construction documents for a 50,000 square foot community mental health outpatient clinic in Burien. The client has requested a LEED© Silver certification, with a possibility of achieving Gold. The site is a surplus school property leased from the Burien School District. This innovative way to secure the site without an initial large outlay of capital for purchase allowed for a greater expenditure on the building to incorporate the longer term pay off of green features including a ground source heat pump HVAC system.

Seattle Housing Authority homeWorks Program
In the fourth year of a successful low-income, high-rise housing renovation program, SHA began a measurable energy efficiency approach to the latest projects. Of the previous 22 building modernization designs completed by DKA since 2005, all had specific improvements in energy use, water conservation, indoor air quality, single-glazed window replacement, exterior skin weather intrusion and thermal insulation. The next two projects, designed in 2009, began with an energy audit and sustainable practices goals.

Central Area Senior Center
DKA is working with the Executive Director and Board President of the Central Area Senior Center in the planning of a “Green Community Center” for Seattle’s Central Area. This green education and action center will have community-wide impact beginning with the inclusion and participation of seniors as recipients and knowledgeable advocates for home weatherization, energy and water conservation, waste stream optimization and composting for urban vegetable gardens.

Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, DKA President and CEO, Donald King, is working with the Chamber’s Urban Enterprise Center on a “clean energy” forum at the annual Regional Leadership Conference. The 2009 Leadership Conference will delve into the business case for clean energy. As a progressive business environment, our region is staking its claim as the nation’s innovator in the promotion and investment of alternative energy initiatives that:

• Reduce our dependence on fossil fuel energy sources and the added political, health and economic costs that come with it;
• Limit our carbon emissions from manufacture, processing and transportation in our business activities;
• Promote an inclusive economy that sincerely encourages underserved communities in the participation of “ground floor” business opportunities;
• And, support the sustainability of large and small local businesses with a local and regional focus on our most critical human and economic resources.

To learn more about DKA Architecture visit their website (http://www.dkarch.com) and to learn about how they’ve been able to meet client needs, improve their bottom line, and improve the environment call the company’s CEO Donald King at 206.443.9939

Share your own company's green business story by emailing Jesse Robbins at jesselr@uw.edu.