McKim Design Group was founded in south San Jose in 1996 by Kirk S. McKim.  Mr. McKim  worked for many years at a number of local firms and found that it was becoming more difficult to provide the personal service to which he felt the clients were entitled, while at the same time responding to the numerous and sometimes cumbersome requirements placed on senior level management within larger firms.   Mr. McKim first worked with a local firm providing health-care and amusement park design, and later moved to a “general-practice” firm providing design services for residential, commercial, and specialty projects.  The general practice firm expanded into K-12 educational design in 1992 with Mr.McKim providing project architect services under the principal of the firm.  In 1994 Mr. McKim left the local firm along with one of the principals and helped to open and establish the San Jose office of HMC Architects.  Mr. McKim  led the design and management aspects for most of the educational projects and all of the commercial projects.  In 1996, Mr. McKim  left HMC to open McKim Design Group.