After graduation, he apprenticed with sculptor Paul Shao, and worked for the Iowa Conservation Commission in Parks and Recreation Planning.
He attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and received his Master in Landscape Architecture in 1986.
[1] He is well known for his work on the Roof Garden of New York City's Museum of Modern Art, which consists of white gravel, recycled black rubber, crushed glass, sculptural stones and artificial boxwood plants in a camouflage pattern.
[2] Smith was awarded a major commission for Orange County Great Park, a 1,300-acre (530 ha) urban park on the decommissioned El Toro Marine Base in Orange County, California.
[3] Ken is responsible for the landscape architecture of the World One project in Mumbai, India.