what we do

DK Chin, LLC provides landscape design and construction services on small to moderate scale projects throughout the Portland Metro area. We present artful, intuitive, and simple design solutions to help our clients express themselves through their landscape. With a passion for detailing and the appropriate response to site issues, Dan Chin has enabled countless clients to realize the potential of their landscape. Using construction methods that have a minimal impact on the environment and are expertly installed, DK Chin builds projects that mature with integrity. DK Chin specializes in dry stacked or mortarless stone wall construction, a method that will outlast several lifetimes when done with patience.

Dan Chin is originally from Manchester, New Hampshire. Throughout his childhood in New England, he was surrounded by fieldstone walls that have stood for generations. But only after arriving in Portland did he truly develop an understanding of stone in the landscape. Under the guidance of Bob Murase, the late landscape architect, Dan began to see the subtle characteristics of the material, how it can be assembled, and how to use the shadows to create form, space, and texture.

Dan credits his education at the Rhode Island School of Design for providing the foundation for critical thought and inspired artistry. After graduating with degrees in fine arts and landscape architecture, he was a bicycle messenger, built architectural models, drove a dump truck, taught wheel pottery, and played numerous gigs with steel bands. Eventually, he ended up practicing landscape architecture for 14 years for firms in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Oregon. However, Dan decided to spend less time sitting at a desk and more time working with his hands. He got his landscape contractor license and started building his own designs.

Jen was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a degree in architecture and a keen eye for detail to accompany a sound business ethic. Her background in architecture and construction is invaluable to their collaborations.

Together, Jen and Dan travelled extensively in southeast Asia, mostly by bicycle. The life altering experience taught them much about perserverance, priorities, and the capacity for change in ourselves as individuals.

Dan also maintains a wood shop and ceramics studio in the Woodstock neighborhood. When he’s not making things, digging ditches, or moving rocks, he enjoys time with his family and playing taiko. Jen is an avid runner, occasional triathlete, and patient mother .