Olson Kundig

On November 16, two Olson Kundig projects were recognized with 2020 AIA Seattle Honor Awards for Washington Architecture. Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats (led by principal/owner Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA) and The Burke Museum (led by principal/owner Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA) each received an Award of Honor. This annual awards program recognizes architectural design excellence in projects from firms across Washington State.

The new Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats was carefully sited to fit within the existing park Lake Union, while presenting a more visible face to the city beyond. The new building allows CWB to engage with a wider audience by revealing the boating artifacts and restoration work within, thereby exposing its wide range of programs to more people than ever before. The highly sustainable building features a user-operated passive ventilation system, which mirrors the central tenet of sailing: that one must work with natural forces to make adjustments to optimize performance.

The Burke Museum is the oldest public museum in Washington State with a collection of over 16 million artifacts and specimens, ranging from totem poles and gemstones to dinosaur fossils. The design of the new building breaks down traditional museum barriers between public and “back-of-house” spaces, integrating collections and research labs with traditional galleries. The result is an experience that invites everyone – from curators to visitors, educators to students – to engage in the process of scientific and cultural discovery.

As a firm deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest, we are honored to have our work recognized by this program, and thankful to the valued clients and project partners we had the opportunity to work with on each project.

Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats, Seattle, Washington, USA

Design Principal: Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Principal: Steven Rainville, AIA, LEED® AP
Project Architect: Angus MacGregor, RIBA, LEED® AP BD+C
Architectural Staff: Derek Santo, Dawn McConaghy and Simon Clews
Building Performance: Vikram Sami, AIA, BEMP, LEED® AP
Hanging Boat Installation: Tom Kundig, Alan Maskin and Angus MacGregor
Gizmo Design: Phil Turner with KB Architectural Services
General Contractor: Schuchart
Civil and Structural Engineer: KPFF
Mechanical Engineer: WSP
Electrical Engineer, Lighting Design and Acoustic Consultant: Stantec
Geotech Consultant: Adapt Engineering
Gizmo Fabrication: Alpine Welding, Gizmo Fabrication
Building Envelope: RDH

The Burke Museum, Seattle, Washington, USA

Design Principal: Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Principal and Project Manager: Stephen Yamada-Heidner, AIA, LEED® AP
Project Architects: Edward Lalonde and Justin Helmbrecht, LEED® AP
Architectural Staff: Gavin Argo, Julia Khorsand and Olivier Landa, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C
Gizmo Design: Phil Turner
General Contractor: Skanska
Laboratories: BergerABAM
Landscape Architect: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol
Elevators: Lerch Bates
Civil and Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Lighting Design: Niteo Lighting
Building Envelope: RDH
Electrical Engineer: Stantec
Mechanical Engineer: WSP
Gizmo Fabrication: Turner Exhibits
Specifications: Cite Specific
Museum Programmer: Walter Crimm Associates
Accessibility Consultant: Karen Braitmayer
Exhibit Design: Evidence Design