Olson Kundig is a full-service design firm whose work includes residences (often for art collectors), museums and exhibition design, hospitality projects, commercial design, academic buildings, interior design, visual identities, and places of worship.
The firm is led by five owners—Jim Olson, Tom Kundig, Kirsten R. Murray, Alan Maskin, and Kevin Kudo-King—who are supported by three principals, twenty one associates, and a staff of approximately 140 in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood of downtown Seattle. The firm opened a workspace in New York in 2014 to better serve its expanding roster of East Coast and international clients. The in-house interiors studio, founded in 2000, provides a full range of services, including material selection, custom furniture design, and purchasing capabilities.
The firm began its creative existence in 1966 with the architect Jim Olson, whose work at that time centered on explorations of the relationship between dwellings and the landscapes in which they inhabit. Olson started the firm based on the essential ideas that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture, histories, and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives.
LOCATION: Seattle, Washington
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The Trout Lake retreat contains four distinct buildings arranged in two groupings. The first grouping contains the main house, a woodworking shop, and a carport all contained under a single roof in a T-shape. A covered courtyard connects the three spaces in the middle of the “T”.
The owner’s affection for a stone outcropping on her property inspired the design of this refuge house. Conceived as a retreat nestled into the rock, the Pierre (the French word for stone) celebrates the materiality of the site.
The T-shaped form of Rimrock responds to the unique typography of the bluff upon which it is situated. Sited at the edge of a cliff, the house straddles two sides of wash atop a stable outcropping of tough, slow-cooled volcanic basalt.
Set in the Coast Mountains of western Canada, Whistler Ski Retreat is a family retreat built to withstand the harsh mountain environment. Elevated ten feet above grade, the main level provides a sense of occupying the tree canopy while also floating above snowdrifts and flood prone lake shore.
Jim Olson’s reverence for nature and admiration of the site’s beauty is expressed in the design of this project located on Puget Sound and nestled amidst the towering fir trees of an ancient forest.
The main level of the Berkshire Retreat was raised about ten feet above the ground, partly to maximize the views, but also to get up above the humidity and insects in the summertime, and the snow in the winter.
Replacing a stark, all-white interior with a warm, wood-based palate proved to be a wise choice for the owners of this high-rise apartment. With floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle, the unit’s new oak finishes offer a welcome contrast to the often gray and rainy panorama.
Architects: Olson Kundig Architects Project: Sawmill Retreat Location: Tehachapi, California, USA Photography: Kevin Scott Sawmill Retreat by Olson Kundig Architects is a winner in the 2017 AIA Housing Awards in the One and Two Family Custom Housing category. Set in the remote, harsh high desert of California, Sawmill is a family retreat that reflects and
LEED Platinum residence comprised of a new Main House, new Bunk House, new Guest House and remodeled Boat House, with Olson Kundig Architects, Michael Boucher Landscape Architect, Woodmeister Master Builders. Photographs by David Wakely. Thank you for reading this article!
Architects: Olson Kundig Project: Bigwood House Location: Ketchum, Idaho, United States Area: 6500.0 m2 Photographs: Benjamin Benschneider Architecture firm Olson Kundig have designed Bigwood House, a modern mountain home located in Ketchum, Idaho, US. From the architect: When I first visited this site, the owner and I immediately had the idea for a building that seems to be
Project: Pole Pass Retreat / Waterfront Retreat Location: San Juan Islands, Washington Design Principal: Tom Kundig / Olson Kundig Project Manager: Mark Olthoff Project Architect: Christopher Gerrick Interior Designer: Charlie Hellstern Staff: Megan Quinn Jordan Leppert Photographs: Benjamin Benschneider Pole Pass Retreat is an intimate waterfront retreat designed by Seattle-based Olson Kundig Studio. Description by
Design Principal: Tom Kundig / Olson Kundig Architects Project Manager: Mark Olthoff Interior Designer: Debbie Kennedy Staff Gus Lynch Location: Winthrop, Washington Photography: Benjamin Benschneider Studhorse is a rural retreat designed by Olson Kundig Architects. The house is located in Winthrop, Washington, US. Description by Olson Kündig: Set in the remote Methow Valley, Studhorse responds
