Architect Karl Grice spent many of his childhood days running around the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club in North St. Louis. Martin Mathews, co-founder and president emeritus of the club, is like a second father, he said.
One of his proudest moments as an architect was designing the existing club facility in 1981 and incorporating perks that he didn’t have as a child, he said.
“We ended up with the gymnasium, the swimming pool and all of the activity spaces,” he said. “The other aspect was bringing in the educational component. Mathews-Dickey always got the young boys there through sports, but Mathews always kicked in the educational component to get us to think about things in a different manner.”
Mathews said Grice has been by his side through many obstacles, including the several years it took to plan and build the new facility.
“He’s always found a way around them,” Mathews said. “He’s a first-class young man. The facility and his design was one of the best things to happen for St. Louis and our youth.”
Grice started his small architecture firm, Grice Group Architects, in 1984. And since then, he said 99 percent of his work throughout the metropolitan area has been community-type projects – including schools, churches, recreational centers and financial institutions that are in neighborhoods. His office, at 4332 Lindell Blvd., sits only two miles from where he grew up.
On Friday, November 20, Grice will receive The St. Louis American Foundation’s 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year award at the 16th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon, which will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis. The networking reception begins at 11 a.m., and the luncheon program at noon.
Grice grew up near St. Louis and North Taylor avenues, back when the Greater Ville area was a vibrant African-American neighborhood, he said. His father was a construction laborer.
“He would always bring blueprints home, and I’d take a look at them,” he said.
He once told his father that he wanted to follow in his footsteps, but his father steered him in a different direction.
“He said, ‘Why don’t you be an architect? You don’t have to work as hard, and you can also help more people through designs of buildings,’” Grice said.
After graduating from Sumner High School, Grice earned two master degrees from Washington University – one in architecture and another in social work.
“My philosophy there is thinking about architecture from a social standpoint and how the buildings will impact people,” he said.
His firm centers its practice around the idea of “participatory design,” where the client is immersed in the design process, he said.
“Each building we work on is designed specifically for that client and specifically for that site,” he said.
His architecture practice has given him the ability to be an entrepreneur, he said. In 1983, Grice remembers meeting with KAI’s Michael Kennedy Sr., who is one of his mentors in architecture.
“I said, ‘Mike, I’m thinking about hanging out my shingle. Could you give me some advice?’”
Kennedy told him to “stay small” because it would give him the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the projects – from the drawings to the construction administration.
“I think if it was larger, you end up – as Mike would say – looking for work or trying to get paid for work,” Grice said. “That is the difference from what I would say in having a small practice compared to a larger practice. I’ve really enjoyed operating in this manner.”
Grice still very much enjoys drawing by hand, and he stresses to his employees “that’s a critical part of what we do,” he said.
Outside of his own practice, Grice has served in many civic leadership roles. In 1995, Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed Grice as the first African-American architect to sit on the Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. In 1994, the then Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. appointed him to the planning commission where he led the task of updating the city plan – which had not been revised since 1947.
He has also served on several boards, including the St. Louis Zoo Association, Forest Park Forever and Laumeier Sculpture Park.
And through the National Organization for Minority Architects, he has constantly pushed to encourage more minority youth to consider architecture as a career.
Grice said he feels has been able to combine a career in architecture with community engagement, mixing his “architect’s sensibilities and training as a social worker.” Focusing his work in underserved communities, Grice has tried to offer a “service to society” in all aspects of his career, he said.
“This service to society is a benefit to all of us,” he said, “bringing out the best so we can give our best.”
The 16th Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon will be held Friday, November 20 at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, with a networking reception at 11 a.m. and luncheon program at noon. Tickets are $100 for VIP/Preferred seating, $75 for general admission. Call 314-533-8000 or visitwww.stlamerican.com for more information or to purchase tickets.
