Bernard Zimmerman Lecture Series at CPP/ARC

Olson Kundig Architects began its creative existence with architect Jim Olson, whose work in the late 1960s explored the relationship between dwellings and the landscape they inhabit in the Northwest. Olson started the firm based on some simple ideas: that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. In 1996, Tom Kundig joined Olson as an owner, taking the firm to another level of creative exploration and helping it grow into an office with an international reputation. Alan Maskin and Kirsten Murray joined the owners group in 2008, continuing the evolution of the firm and furthering its commitment to the experience around architecture, articulated in exhibit design, interiors, and connections to urban and rural landscapes. Over the past three decades, Tom Kundig has received some of the world’s highest design honors, including a National Design Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he was inducted into Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame. Kundig’s work has received over 50 awards from the American Institute of Architects, including seven National Honor Awards and seven National Housing Awards. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide such as The New York Times, The Telegraph, Architectural Record, Financial Times, Architectural Digest and The Wall Street Journal, and countless books including House, the recently-released volume by Diane Keaton. He is named in The Wallpaper* 150 as a key individual who has influenced, inspired and improved the way we live, work and travel.