on thursday 19th june, the first day of liverpool school of architecture’s summer degree show 2025, we celebrated and paid tribute to dave king.
From the green carpet of ‘the studio’ he designed, Dave’s former faculty colleagues and Hazel Rounding shared their memories of a fierce talent, dedicated mentor and friend.
An exhibition ‘Under the Radar’ of some of Dave’s contributions to architecture and LSA went on display in the adjacent Golden Gallery. This exhibition will remain in place and is open to view until 14th July (weekdays only).
John O’Loughlin, Designer, shedkm: “It was an honour to be asked to help Dave’s family and the University of Liverpool to select work from Dave’s vast portfolio to be included in the exhibition. The truth is that Dave did much of the curation – his words and his pictures, edited and narrated by him with precision, insight, and humour, to form the pages of his book ‘Under the Radar’. There were so many good stories and projects that the challenge was choosing what to focus on. Bold, bright, and witty, as always. He was an inspiring and encouraging boss.”
Hazel Rounding, Managing Director, shedkm (speaking at Dave’s memorial):
“In many ways, Dave was an eternal student.
He set up practice as ex-tutor with Jonathan Falkingham and James Weston – my fellow directors Mark Sidebotham, Ian Killick and myself joined soon after and he went on to employ the best graduates from both Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool University, including our London director Alex Flint. I was never his student but he ‘kept an eye on me’ apparently. When he employed me, as I was thinking I might return to London following part II, he said “London can wait – it will still be there in six months, lets see what we can start here in Liverpool first”. He was full of energy, even though he was calling me from a hospital bed at the time and at an age when most are thinking about winding down to retirement.
He loved the city and was kept young by his relationships with education and students. His desire to connect this synergy with private practice and the production of distinctly bold buildings never waivered. shedkm grew from this creative and personal energy. Dave created the ethos and culture of shedkm that I, my fellow directors and the now employee-owned shedkm Trust continue today. He was the one who insisted on team lunches and annual study trips and, in the early days, stayed in the office with us every evening – not because he was promoting extended hour working but because he was promoting a sense of architectural home and family, with a shared passion. I recall him saying “lets spend money on the studio because the team are here as much as they are at home so we need to make it fun and comfortable”. He extended that home to students from places as far afield as Germany and Japan.
Dave was also an uncompromising modernist student in his approach to design. Unlike some, I didn’t have too many design run-ins with Dave – maybe that’s because he influenced me so much that I developed a parallel approach… or maybe its because the first time we had a run in, I said I’d be out the door if he spoke to me like that again – neither of us really wanted that!
He wasn’t always easy to manage though… he was an eternal student in every possible way and when we did finally make it back to London, I recall the first meeting we had with a far more straight-laced and commercially minded client than the likes of Urban Splash in the North. They said to me… “We like shedkm, you’ve got the job but who’s that old guy laid on the floor in a shell suit taking photos? You can’t bring him again.” Those of you who knew Dave will realise what it took for me to mediate that situation with him to gain traction in London!
We worked it through though, as we did many other situations and growth – he entrusted me and the team with the vision and supported in whatever way he could as the practice evolved – in his latter years in London, this included taking on the office fit-out, talking to every new recruit (lots of talking!) and infiltrating the shedkm approach somehow by osmosis. When we went into lockdown he became omnipresent in his sporadic emails to everyone – poems, sketches, thoughts on life.
Dave had a distinct vision for shedkm – an architectural practice grown with Liverpool graduates, driven by modernist design but rooted in the culture he loved as a lecturer; student-like energy, mischievous fun and a relentless, forward-thinking consideration of design. His great affinity with youth and his belief in the importance of nurturing young talent also made him the last man standing on any drinks night!
Dave became Father of Architecture to many of us and shedkm will continue as a testament to his legacy. He would be delighted to know that his family, friends, the shedkm team, school alumni and current students are all gathered together today – mixing education, practice and life-long friends, as he always did, and in his much-loved venue here at Liverpool School of Architecture.”