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photo of Gray Magazine Honors Jim Olson with Legacy Award

Gray Magazine Honors Jim Olson with Legacy Award

2020/12/04

On December 3, Gray Magazine announced the 2020 GRAY Award winners, including the inaugural Legacy Award, given to a designer or architect based in the Pacific Northwest who has dedicated their life’s work to outstanding design. We are deeply honored to share that Olson Kundig principal and owner Jim Olson, FAIA, received the 2020 Legacy Award in recognition of his contributions to architecture throughout the Puget Sound region and beyond.

As a founding partner of Olson Kundig, Jim has explored the aesthetic interplay of art, nature and architecture, and the relationship between light and space, for over fifty years. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the AIA Seattle Medal of Honor and many national and international design awards. Jim’s work has been published worldwide and is the focus of four monographs: Art + Architecture: The Ebsworth Collection and Residence (William Stout Publishers, 2006), Jim Olson Houses (The Monacelli Press, 2009), Jim Olson: Art in Architecture (The Whatcom Museum, 2013) and Jim Olson: Building • Nature • Art (Thames & Hudson, 2018).

Visit the GRAY Awards website to watch a film celebrating Jim and the other honorees. An upcoming issue of Gray Magazine will include a profile highlighting Jim’s perspective as a lifelong Pacific Northwest resident as well as a selection of his projects through the years.

Architecture is a marathon; it takes your whole life to get it right. This award means so much to me and to the talented people that I work with: the staff at Olson Kundig; the consultants, craftspeople, contractors and artists who bring our designs to life; and the incredible clients who make it all possible. Recognition like this encourages us to keep doing what we do and to continue working to be better and better. Jim Olson, FAIA