Olson Kundig is proud to announce Seattle University Museum of Art (SUMA), led by design principal Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA. Envisioned as a teaching museum, SUMA will be a valuable addition to both Seattle University’s campus and the greater Seattle community, creating a welcoming campus entry and fostering a greater sense of connection and accessibility between campus and community. Groundbreaking is anticipated in August 2026, with the museum opening ahead of Fall 2028 classes.

“Tom Kundig’s visionary design embodies our Jesuit commitment to fostering a vibrant, inclusive and intellectually stimulating environment,” said Eduardo Peñalver, President of Seattle University. “This museum will not only house an extraordinary collection of art but also serve as a welcoming gateway to our campus as well as a dynamic space for learning, reflection, and community engagement. We are delighted to see this project come to life and look forward to the profound impact it will have on our students, faculty, staff, and the broader Seattle community.”

Seattle University selected Tom Kundig for his credentials in museum design. Among his notable museum projects are the Burke Museum at the University of Washington, the Bo Bartlett Center at Columbus State University, and two wings of the Tacoma Art Museum. Other notable Seattle-area projects include the Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats, the 2018 expansion and renovation of St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the Chapel of St. Ignatius, as local collaborator to design architect Steven Holl.

“It’s an honor to work on such an exciting project at the threshold of the Seattle University campus,” Kundig said. “In addition to showcasing a spectacular collection of art, the new museum serves a beacon to both the campus and the surrounding community. It carries forward the agenda and ambition of the Chapel of St. Ignatius, framing a flexible gathering space between the two buildings that could be a future campus green.”

The arts and arts education are central to Seattle University’s mission to educate the whole person in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, and the museum will provide for an active learning, teaching and research environment in a world-class facility. As a core curricular tool, the teaching museum will provide students with new entry points into issues and problems in their studies, creating new experiences through their encounters with art, and provoking collective insights through group discussions in front of powerful works of art in a setting outside a typical classroom. It will include flexible gallery space designed to accommodate performance art, music and select theater productions.

It will also permanently house and display the remarkable Hedreen art collection that the university received in 2024. Comprised of more than 200 works spanning the 15th and 16th centuries to modern and contemporary works, it is regarded as among the most prized and finely curated private collections in the U.S. It features works from such masters as Jacopo da Pontormo, Thomas Gainsborough, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and many others.