David D. Smith Humanitarian Award

David Smith, AIA, Biography

It took a very special mix of passion, personality, and skills to lead GRPS, the Grand Rapids community and a large number of consultant teams through voting for and delivering $165 million worth of projects. David Smith, AIA, brought just the right mix of twinkling-eyed smiles and backbone of steel to the job. He was not always the ‘easiest’ client, certainly no pushover for a poorly conceived idea He was also not willing to say ‘yes’ to everything the community might ask, always keeping focus on learners and balancing priorities. But he steadily developed a deserved reputation as an honest, hard-working professional who demanded the best, cared passionately about the schools and kids, who was willing to listen, and who delivered what he promised.

For over nine years David served as was the Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management for GRPS. The first architect to hold that position, he was lauded as the force behind massive improvements to the city’s schools. He was tirelessly devoted to bringing great schools back to the kids in Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Upon passage of the bond in 2004, David instituted a Qualifications-Based selection process to choose the architectural and engineering teams for the various projects. This was also a first for GRPS. For each school, David sought the best team. He included the voices of teachers, staff, community and minorities in the selection process. The result was a diversity of teams designing the individual buildings. A strong educational specification and David’s coordination effort assured continuity of basic materials, systems and educational standards across the schools, while allowing individual expression in response to neighborhood and school community input.

While this was not the easiest approach to administer from the District’s side, it proved to be the best approach for creating great neighborhood schools. The included images of the schools built to date clearly demonstrate the priority of design excellence and responsiveness to context.

They also demonstrate an article of faith that David held: all children deserve the best learning environments, regardless of their zip code. And, learners rise to the expectations that their environments present to them. According to Principal Gary Barton of Harrison Park School, since completion of their renovation and addition, the students subtly have changed, being more respectful, proud, excited about their school, yet a little quieter when they change classes.

The measure of the schools’ success is in their overwhelming support in received from their neighborhoods and the community. Enrollments are above projections, and the schools have been a major contributor to GRPS halting and beginning to reverse a years-long trend toward declining enrollments.

With his characteristic perseverance David led his in-house and consultant teams to ensure the projects not only met their goals but also came in on time and significantly under budget. This allowed for the construction of an additional school.
"This is a great gift to the children of our city," school board member Amy McGlynn told David and administrators, upon hearing of the additional school. "I know you worked really, really hard to bring all the other projects in under budget, and we're seeing the benefit."
One of David’s proudest accomplishments was the diversity he introduced to both the consultant and construction teams working for GRPS. Working with contractors, he introduced a scoring system that gave credit for minority participation and was supported among contractors as being fair, not simply a “quota.” The results are project design and construction teams whose makeup more closely reflects the demographics of Grand Rapids, as well as an economically robust minority contracting community.

One intern architect that David mentored was a young Kurdish-American woman, Neval Petkas. David encouraged and supported Neval taking on leadership roles working with school staff and community. Oh hearing of his untimely passing, Neval wrote, “I actually wrote one my graduate school essays about my interaction with David - I never quite knew why he was a big fan, but appreciated it never the less. He really had an impact on the way I perceive myself professionally… I regret that I never got to tell David how much I appreciated him.” 

In part, David’s obituary stated:

David D. Smith, AIA, age 45, loving husband and father and dedicated architect behind the Grand Rapids Public Schools’ revitalization passed away suddenly on December 23, 2007.

Born May 18, 1962, David graduated from Western Michigan Christian High School in Muskegon in 1980.

A licensed architect and respected member of the American Institute of Architects, David received his Bachelor of Architecture from Lawrence Technological University.

David loved his family. He loved being active. He loved the outdoors. He spent much of his personal time with his family and friends traveling, skiing, golfing, camping, riding his bike, and playing soccer.

Prior to his work with GRPS, David was the campus architect for Western Michigan University and an architect with the Grand Rapids firm Design Forum.

David volunteered his expertise in his community as an active member of the City of Rockford Planning Commission for over 16 years.

David is survived by his loving wife of 20 Years, Grace Smith, AIA, and their two children, Eva and Hayden, as well as his parents and numerous relatives.

David will be sorely missed by all.