Draft:C.W. Kim

Kim, was born on August 3, 1938, in Namwon in Chung Buk Province, in South Korea.^[9]  Kim was born during a period when Japan had annexed Korea and conscripted its resources for World War II. Then Kim was separated from his father and siblings throughout the Korean War.^[9]  Despite this, Kim won top prizes in district school painting competitions. With encouragement from his teachers and older brother, Kim decided to pursue architecture when he was 14.^[5]

Kim completed an undergraduate degree in architecture at the University of Washington in 1965.^[5] He later won a Mellon Fellowship, and obtained a double master's degree in architecture and city planning at the University of California, Berkeley.^[9][4]

Kim worked as a draftsman in Washington until 1971. In 1971, while studying full-time as a graduate student, Kim worked as an architect and urban planner at San Francisco firms, including the SWA Group. 

In 1978, he moved to San Diego where he might have more of an impact on its skyline.^[5] Kim joined San Diego's oldest and largest firm, the Hope Consulting Group, which had been founded by Frank L. Hope.^[4][10]  With the firm, Kim travelled to Saudi Arabia to design a variety of schools and commercial projects.  In 1980, he began working on the San Diego skyline as Hope's director of design for the First National Bank Building^[3] and the Intercontinental Hotel.^[1][4] He also worked as a master planner for the new location of the San Diego Convention Center.^[3] Kim was promoted to senior vice-president and head director of Hope in 1983.^[5] 

In 1984, Kim opened his own firm, C.W. Kim AIA, Architects & Planners, Inc.^[1] There he worked on a wide range of projects commercial and residential projects in San Diego, national and international, including in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Central America.^[3][5]

Kim's was responsible for the design of numerous San Diego landmark buildings,^[3] including the First National Bank Building,^[3] the Hotel Intercontinental,^[1][3] the Emerald Center,^[7] the sail-shaped Spinnaker Building;^[3] the nautical-themed Loews Coronado Bay Resort and Marina;^[11][12] the Scripps Clinic and La Jolla Research Laboratory,^[3] and the 100-acre Daley Center.^[5] He was also responsible for the master plan for the San Diego Convention Center district.^[3]

Kim also became a founding instructor at San Diego's NewSchool of Architecture in 1983.^[13] He is a trustee of the University of San Diego^[9] and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art.^[9]

The projects for which he is most well-known include:

• 1982: First National Bank Building, San Diego now known as 1 Columbia Place.^[3] The building was Kim's first big downtown project. It departed from existing high-rise designs, box-shaped and zoned for single-use office space. To integrate the high-rise with the surrounding neighborhood, Kim used a series of landscaped terraces.^[14]  A design for a structure linking this building to the then proposed San Diego Convention Center never materialized after the site was moved.^[10][5]

• 1984: San Diego Marina District. This project was a master plan of the 150-acre harborside for the San Diego Convention Center,^[3][a], the Intercontinental Hotel and the marina.^[1][3][4] Kim won a national competition with the design theme "pacific gateway". The first tower was built as Kim conceived but the developer used a different firm and design for the second tower.^[6][10][15]
• 1988–1993: Emerald Center, San Diego now known as Emerald Plaza.^[16] Considered by many to be San Diego's most iconic building,^[9][4][7][8] the building resembles a cluster of emerald crystals. Although the complex appears from afar to be 8 separate towers, the unique octogonal design consists of two buildings joined by two 8-story glass atriums.^[4] Kim is credited for the planning and design of the complex.^{[1][2][3][4][17][18][19]}

• 1989–1991: Loews Coronado Bay Resort and Conference Center, Coronado, CA.^[16] This mixed-use development was designed as a community, connected with a nautilus design, encompassing a resort, 5 tennis courts, a convention facility, and a marina.^[11][12][19] Kim designed an expansion in 2000.^[3]
• 1996 - 2000: SKC International Headquarters and ABC Project, Covington, GA.^[3] Kim was designer and project architect for the headquarters of a manufacturing subsidiary of SK Group.  The plan combined 39 hectares of industrial space and 380 acres of wooded land, with the buildings designed to be built in six phases. The first building, the subsidiary's office headquarters was completed in the first phase of Kim's commission.^[20][21][22]

Other projects include:

• 1978 - 1979: School of Logistic and Transportation, Taif, Saudi Arabia.^[3]
• 1980: Scripps Clinic and Research Laboratory, La Jolla, CA.^[3]
• 1981:  Mercy Hospital Expansion, San Diego, CA.^[3]
• 1985 - 1989: Daley Center, San Diego, CA.^[5][23][24]
• 1990 - 1993: The Sun Dial House, La Jolla, CA.^[19][16]
• 1995 - 2002: Whang's OB-GYN Private Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.^[3][24]
• 2000: The Spinnaker Building, San Diego, CA.*^[3][24]
• 2001: The Pacific Trade Center, Los Angeles, CA.*^[4][5]
• 2003: Tae Kwal-Lyong Resort, South Korea.*^[3]
• 2004 - 2010: Oceanside Hotel, Oceanside, CA.^[25]

Kim has won numerous awards, including:

• Building Owner's & Manager's Association Honor (1993)^[17]

• GoldSea, One of The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time (#82 C.W. Kim).^[9]

In 1966, C.W. Kim married Dong Jin Kim.^[9] In addition to architecture, Kim pursues oil painting, sculpture, and furniture design.^[5][26]