For almost 40 years, students at the Liverpool School of Architecture have been taught in ‘the Studio’ with its memorable green carpet, castellated beams, exposed ventilation system and staircase on the central axis. It sits on the Charles Reilly designed courtyard and gives the impression of symmetry – even down to a set of dummy light switches being installed (without power) to maintain the axial balance. It was designed by Dave King and former student Rod McAllister in association with Gerald Beech in 1986, and has remained a pedagogical aid, hub of studio, theatre for reviews, and host of many notable events ever since. It was just one of many buildings carefully designed by Dave King over an impressive career that spanned six decades.
Dave grew up on Wirral, spending time between sailing at Hoylake and school in Chester before attending Manchester University in 1956. After University he worked for LAG Prichard before joining Denys Lasdun and Partners in 1965, working on the University of East Anglia campus and the National Theatre. Joining Arup Associates in 1970 he remained there until taking up a lectureship at Liverpool in 1976 whilst continuing to practice and eventually setting up King McAllister from his home in Lark Lane.
The practice won a further commission on campus (again to expand a Reilly designed building) at the Student Services Centre and Guild in distinctive brick forms and aluminium brise soleil. An architectural language was beginning to emerge that became further refined and distinctive when the practice reformed as shedkm with Urban Splash developer Jonathan Falkingham in 1997. A material and colour palette of profiled cladding, precise steel details, and primary colour finishes, along with meticulous detailing and fabrication surfaced. The result was always carefully crafted, often modernist – as well as being playful and never dull. If there was an architecture that reflected Dave’s character this was it.
With shedkm, Dave worked on the Liverpool’s Matchworks, Collegiate and Littlewoods, amongst many other buildings that have defined Liverpool regeneration, as well as schemes throughout the North-West and London – nearly all of which were pioneering not only for their innovative designs but also as refurbishment and retrofit projects. As well as developing shedkm into the practice it is today, Dave continued to sail and ski - and was always at the forefront of design and technology, whether it was being one of the first to own an iphone, extolling the delights of a Brompton bicycle, or with his distinctive eye-wear and technical clothing.
At the School of Architecture, we remember Dave mostly through his teaching. He was full-time from 1976 until 1986 and taught various cohorts. He returned to deliver memorable lectures to First Years in the 1990s (often fizzing from Chandigarh to the beauty of yacht design) and was often present for B.Arch reviews too.
He was a kind and generous teacher – but also direct, and relentlessly pursuing solutions that were properly resolved. He was able to spend an extended time in the Studio he designed – coming to terms with its climatic flaws and acoustic hubbub – it was a structure that not only taught students. From this space many of our young graduates were given their first opportunity in practice through Dave’s support, and some were given their first commissions as they set up their own practices.
Whilst some architects leave practice and move into academia – Dave did things differently and ventured back into full-time practice aged 60 with vigour. Thankfully he still found the time and energy to return to teaching, and in recent years contributed to the school through talks, reviews and teaching. He contributed to our BA3 Studio ‘pen and inc’ as tutor and guest critic and to our London campus of Liverpool School of Architecture the same. He generously opened his home at the Barbican for students to visit, participated on Zoom tutorials during the dark covid days, and always delivered pithy, encouraging, and often witty responses to the students’ design projects during reviews.
Iain Jackson
November 2024
Liverpool School of Architecture
Image courtesy of Dave King in early 2024
Thanks for the ride everyone - despite setbacks (like not getting in as a student) and absences - like being away for 20 years. The LSA has been the determining factor in my architectural life. The main thing of course has been meeting so many people - students staff visitors and (wait for this) even the dean who gave me a lecture in academic freedom - or not...! but even though doing buildings doesn't count as research, I don't regret the studio one bit. Nothing exceeds the pleasure of coming back home to it...
Dave King from his presentation the serendipity of technology
If you have a memory that you would like to share, please send your text to martinw@liverpool.ac.uk and we will publish it.
I met Dave in 2013 and since this time he has become a colleague, a friend, a teacher and pretty much a cool and constant part of life here at Liverpool School of Architecture.
A firm returning supporter of the School, Dave gave his time to talks, reviews, workshops, Winter School, revisiting his fabulous extension and tutoring, all with his extraordinary combination of wit, opinion, design talent and knowledge, and storytelling. He helped us celebrate his 80th birthday with a special feature on him (by him) in our 2018 yearbook. It feels like five minutes ago.
We in Studio pen & inc spent many memorable days with Dave guest teaching. Throughout the pandemic he joined us regularly, embracing Teams technology for ‘studio’ and Zoom for after work ’drinks’ and ponderings, for hours on end. It was fantastic for us to all be together in person afterwards. Without us realizing Dave had become an anchor in our lives. We are so privileged to have had all that time with his extraordinary talent and humour and will miss him. Sincere condolences.
Sandy Britton
In the mid-90's Dave asked me if was able to help with some early 3D modelling and CGIs of his scheme for (what is now known as) the Matchworks in Liverpool. It was one of my first paid commissions which as a student was very welcome, but he didn't just want output - he invited me into his studio and explained his thought process behind the scheme and took me along to present to the client (Urban Splash). He didn't have to do that but he knew I would benefit and learn from the experience. It was an early example of someone valuing my input that stayed with me throughout my subsequent career.
Mushtaq Saleri
I met Dave in 2018, when we were both invited as reviewers for the housing design studio led by Johanna Muszbek at the London campus of the Liverpool School of Architecture. I told him I was a big fan of his design for the extension of the Liverpool School of Architecture (known as the Stirling Gallery). He smiled proudly and we became friends. He later shared with me the slideshow of a very comprehensive talk he had given on the project – ranging from the very first inception sketches to minute design details. I cherish it as something precious.
In the following two years, we taught together as tutors in Johanna’s London-based housing studio. During design tutorials and reviews, he would often get enthused by a design idea - e.g., a new housing typology. A week later, he would come back with a complete layout of his idea - perfectly drawn in Autocad and presented in a professional layout. “This is what student X should do!” he exclaimed, and he proceeded to sell the scheme to the student and to myself.
Dave was a keen sailor. He was “bringing back to life” a J105 boat - a very elegant, stripped-down, fast boat, the first of its kind to use an extending bowsprit and asymmetric spinnaker. The boat came from Chicago, where it had done the 300 miles annual race up Lake Michigan.
I would often send pictures of the Stirling Gallery to him and to other friends, usually after the miraculously sun-drenched end of year prize ceremonies. Several friends pointed out its nautical feel. I personally love how exposed to the elements one feels inside it. It provides the same sunlight and wind-induced euphoria I imagine sailors get on a boat’s deck.
In message I recently received from Dave, he stated: “boats as an alternative to architecture is a given as they all have a distinct functional purpose which cannot be evaluated with fancy language & abstract academic theories…”
In academia, one can often hear people say research is a form of practice. Dave believed design should be acknowledged as a form of research.
Pietro Pezzani
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