King, Robert Arthur

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Robert Arthur King

1945–

Architect

"Spaces have life…. Space controls people, people don't control the space. If you change the flooring, people walk differently…. You can design the space to make people happy to come home." This is how Robert Arthur King, a Harlem architect and interior designer, described his philosophy to Contemporary Black Biography (CBB). King, the founder and president of his own firm, has restored, rehabilitated, and renovated historic buildings and brownstones in New York City. He is an expert on architectural history and on building codes and regulations. King is an instructor at the New York School of Interior Design.

Raised in a Harlem Rooming House

Robert Arthur King was born on August 6, 1945, in Harlem, New York City, the third child and second son of Gerald and Carol L. King. King's parents had demonstrated themselves to be good neighbors in Harlem, and King remembered growing up in a tight-knit neighborhood. Robert King told the New York Times that as children "we couldn't do anything wrong on this block. Somebody would see us and tell our parents." In 1939 Gerald King, a native of Barbados, had bought the rooming house at 36 Hamilton Terrace in Harlem. Built at the turn of the twentieth century, many Hamilton Terrace homes had been converted into rooming houses during the Great Depression. Gerald King, an expert all-around handyman, fixed everything in the house for his family and their boarders. Gerald King owned and maintained several rental houses and by the time Robert was eight, he was holding tools and mixing plaster for his father. Whereas his older brother found the work boring, Robert was fascinated by it.

King had not intended to go to college. Growing up, his teachers and others told him that he wasn't smart enough and that he should do something with his hands. Seeing others fail in school further discouraged him. So King became an auto mechanic. One day while was working on a taxi, the driver told him he was very smart and should get more education. King entered the American Academy of Aeronautics, planning to become an airplane mechanic.

Finding his subsequent engineering courses at the City College of New York easy, King earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1967. He became an adult education teacher and also worked as an engineer on the camera and radar system for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing.

Inspired by Museum Exhibit

In 1970 at the age of 25, King visited a museum exhibit, "The Rise of an American Architecture." He told CBB: "Suddenly I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to work on something bigger that a tiny camera and architecture could make lives better. I became obsessed with the subject."

King finished Columbia University's four-year architecture program in three years. Between 1973 and 1975 he studied at the Architectural Association in London, England, also working in Norway and Italy. Returning to New York he earned his bachelor's of architecture in 1975. After three months with an architectural firm, King opened his own design consulting firm. In 1984 after he became a registered architect, his firm became Robert Arthur King, Architect/Interior Designer. In 1987 it became a professional corporation, Robert Arthur King, Architect, P.C. That same year King became certified as an asbestos inspector and in 1996 he became a certified interior designer.

Prior to 1988 King was worked for numerous architectural groups and corporations as an architect, draftsperson, surveyor, and construction manager. His clients included International Business Machines, General Motors, Bechtel, Bank of America, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Restored Historic Landmarks

In 1980 King, his wife Elinor, and their children moved into King's childhood Hamilton Terrace row house. Elinor King told the New York Times in 2004: "When I moved here, I was the only white person on the block. Now there are perhaps 25 or so." King completed the design work for at least six houses on the block, including single-family homes and apartments and converted buildings. He told the New York Times: "I have to do a good job. I still think somebody's going to tell my father."

King's major projects—and his major love—have been restoring brownstones. He told CBB that brownstones should be two-family units, never four: "The layout is so important to the neighborhood. It can even affect the local crime rate." He was the architect of record for the renovation and alteration of a historic 14-floor New York landmark hospital into a 120-unit apartment building for senior citizens. He also restored and rehabilitated several historic brownstones. King's clients have included the Harlem Urban Development Corporation, the West Harlem Assistance Development Corporation, and the New York City schools, where he supervised asbestos removal. He also designed and constructed housing developments in New Jersey.

King told CBB that he was particularly proud of an 1883 ten-family Harlem apartment building that he restored into ten co-ops: "I designed them as if I was going to live there." He was also proud of a single-family home on 130th Street that had been built in 1867. The structure had to be almost completely demolished and all of the walls removed. When King finished his restoration, "It looked like the original house. You couldn't see what had been done to it. You shouldn't know that I was ever there. A restored 1906 building should feel like it is all original with no remodeling or renovation."

Although King has had several associates at his firm, he has taken personal responsibility for the management, documentation, specifications, and design of all his architectural and interior design projects, as well as asbestos abatement projects. He has personally overseen most projects to ensure that deadlines are met and that construction is in compliance with building codes and regulations. King told CBB that he visits his projects at least once a week to maintain quality control. "What's behind the wall is what counts."

At a Glance …

Born Robert Arthur King on August 6, 1945, in New York City; married Elinor M. King, 1968; children: Jennifer L., Marisa L. Education: American Academy of Aeronautics, AAS, mechanical engineering, 1967; attended City College of New York; Architectural Association, London, England, 1973–75; Columbia University School of Architecture, BArch, 1975.

Career: Robert Arthur King, NYC, design consultant, 1975–84, architect/interior designer, 1984–87, architect, P.C., 1987–; Parsons School of Design, NYC, instructor, 1984; New York School of Interior Design, NYC, adjunct professor, 1989–; Queens College/CUNY, Continuing Education Department, Flushing, NY, 1990–94; School of Visual Arts, Department of Interior Design, NYC, instructor, 1992–94; Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, instructor, 2002.

Selected memberships: American Institute of Architects, NY chapter; American Motorcycle Association; American Society of Interior Designers, NY Metro Chapter; Civic Air Patrol, NYC Group, NY Wing; Hamilton Terrace Block Association.

Awards: New York School of Interior Design, teacher of the year.

Addresses: Home—New York, NY; Office—382 Central Park West, New York, NY 10025-6016.

Taught for More than Two Decades

An expert on New York City and regional building codes and regulations and New York City barrier-free codes, King's course on building regulations at the New York School of Interior Design was the first such course in the country. He self-published his Study Guide to Building Codes for Interior Designers in 1996 to teach designers how to research building codes and building and design standards. King has taught architectural history and historic styles, from the early nineteenth century to the present, including technological and social background, and historic preservation. He also has taught drawing and drafting. His work has been exhibited at the New York School of Interior Design and Empire State College.

King told CBB that he rises at four each morning to start work, "what Frank Lloyd Wright called 'the golden part of the day.'" His ideas go far beyond what is taught in architecture school: "As an architect, I am a director, so I took a course on film directing." King first gets to know his clients well: "Space should be taken very seriously, but generally it is not. I care about my clients being happy and getting what they deserve. I learn about how they live, not what they see in a magazine…. How the client lives is the most important aspect of design. For example, I was designing a brownstone with lower floors for the living room, kitchen, and entertaining. I made it clear that the upstairs was a private space by carpeting and painting with darker colors. I had a client who wanted to watch less television, so I put the TV in an uncomfortable place." King stressed that the client's ethnicity and cultural background are also important design considerations. "Architecture is a response to our culture and lifestyle today."

As of 2006 King, an amateur photographer, was working on a photo book of the architectural details of New York City buildings. He continued to teach courses on electricity, air conditioning, plumbing, and historic preservation at the New York School of Interior Design.

Selected writings

Books

Study Guide to Building Codes for Interior Designers, Robert Arthur King, 1996.

Periodicals

"Back to Harlem," Newsday, May 14, 1987.
"Renovating a City Brownstone," Unique Homes, June/July 1987.
"Symposium: Architects," Unique Homes, February/March 1988.
"Kitchen Design," New York Post, February 15, 1990.
"Eight Brownstones Rehabilitated in Harlem," New York Times, July 12, 1991.
"Seven Overlooked Wonders … and Blunders: An Exploration of Manhattan Architectural Style, or its Absence," Manhattan Spirit, August 6, 1991.
"What to Know About Asbestos (Before You Call the Contractor)," The Brownstoner, Spring 1992.
"Paul R. Williams, Architect: A Legacy of Style" (book review), Quarterly Black Review of Books, Summer 1994.
"Historic Architecture in the Caribbean Islands" (book review), Quarterly Black Review of Books, Summer 1995.