The art of winning

The Seattle based design firm, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen (OSKA) were recently named the AIA’s ‘Firm of the Year’. ARCHITECT’s Lauren hills caught up with Jim Olson, OSKA’s founding principal.

Best known for his residential architecture, often designed for art collectors, Jim Olson’s designs also include museums, public spaces and places of worship. With an eye for the community value of any architectural design, as well as the relationship between art, nature and architecture, Olson has been widely published in books such as Art + Architecture: The Ebsworth Collection and Residence. 

Olson founded Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen (OSKA) in 1971, and the firm has grown and diversified over the years to its current collaboration of the principal architects Rick Sundberg, Tom Kundig, Scott Allen, Kirsten Murray and Alan Maskin. The AIA has awarded its highest honour to OSKA in recognition of the firm’s consistently excellent work across the globe, including an intelligent blend of architecture, art and craft.
 
As a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), how do you think that the organisation benefits the world of architecture?

JO: I think they do a great job serving as an advocate for architecture and as a resource for the many contractual and business aspects of architecture that we, as architects, rely upon.

Your firm has just received the AIA Architect Firm of the Year. What does this award mean to you?

JO: We are deeply honoured to have been given this award, especially since the recognition comes from our peers. We feel encouraged, and are excited about the future of our firm and our work.

The AIA has benefited you and your firm in numerous ways, do you think that a similar organisation would benefit the world of architecture in the Middle East?

JO: If the Middle East doesn’t have a similar organisation, then yes, I think it would be very helpful.
   


What inspires your work?

JO: I find constant inspiration in nature and art.

You have been in the profession for over 40 years, what have you particularly enjoyed?

JO: I love working with clients and trying to find ways to enrich their lives through architecture. Watching people enjoy the spaces I’ve designed is very satisfying.

In three words, how would you describe your personal design style/signature architectural style?

JO: Balance, nature, harmony.

Do you think your design style has changed and developed throughout your career?

JO: I don’t think what inspires me has changed that much since I started my career. I continue to look to many of the same sources of inspiration that I did when I first started... architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, the ancient architecture of Greece, the elegance of traditional Japanese architecture, the beauty of nature, and the insights to be gained by experiencing art.

You specialise in building houses for art collectors. What inspires you about the relationship of art and architecture?

JO: At its best, architecture can enhance the experience of art. I like the play of the rigor of architecture set against the free expression of art.

Do you create a space that complements art or do you use art to enhance architecture?

JO: Many clients come to me with a collection already assembled. In those cases, I study each piece and the collection as a whole to know how best to design space for it. Architecture and art can work together. When I design space for art I let the art become the focus. I provide a strong architectural framework that lets each work of art have its own space.

Art and architecture are disciplines that both embody aesthetic design, what do you think connects art and architecture?

JO: The connection between the two is poetic expression. While architecture is functional, it is also a poetic expression. Like art, it is a voice of the human spirit.   

Your work has been celebrated for intelligently blending into its context. What, do you think, is the importance of designing a building to suit/complement its context?

JO: We should all strive to be good stewards of the earth. By taking inspiration from a given context and learning what it has to offer, we can work with a site’s natural attributes (topography, wind, sun, shade, rain, etc.) rather than fight against them.



What are you working on that  you can tell us about?

JO: I like to work on a mix of project types. I just finished a house in Hong Kong, and I am currently working on houses throughout the United States, in Mexico and in Seoul, Korea. I have a museum project in Washington State that is currently under construction, and I am just starting on a religious building.

What goals do you have for the future of the firm?

JO: Our firm has always been interested in urbanism and projects that contribute to the community in which they are built. We have a wonderful variety of projects to work on: houses, museums and exhibits, religious buildings, commercial buildings and educational facilities and I am very excited about the increasing opportunities to work both close to home and afar in all of them.

Other projects by Jim Olson include:
• St Mark’s Cathedral renovations, 1997
• Noah’s Ark at the Skirball, 2007
• Pike and Virginia Building, 1978
• House of Light, 2006
• Gig Harbour Heritage Centre, 2004
• Whatcom Museum, in progress