Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen

Specialty: Residential, museums, higher education, places of worship

Principals: Jim Olson, Rick Sundberg, Tom Kundig, Scott Allen, Kirsten Murray, Alan Maskin, Stephen Yamada-Heidner

Year founded: 1971

2003 revenues: $8.2 million

Projected 2004 revenues: $9 million

Biggest current projects: Seattle University recreation center, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Whatcom Community College science building

 waterfront home
Photo by Eduardo Calderon
This recently finished waterfront home on Lake Washington, designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, uses natural ventilation and is oriented to take advantage of sunlight.

Recent national media coverage of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen’s work has piqued the interest of people around the country.

Cover features in architecture magazines and a two-page spread in the New York Times got some to hire Olson Sundberg for projects around the country and abroad. Its furthest is now under construction, a 12,000-square-foot residence on Hong Kong Island.

Projects such as museums, higher education buildings and worship halls make up about half of the firm’s projects. The rest are residential, a market that has been solid for the company in the last year.

Principal Scott Allen said as the firm begins to garner more projects around the Northwest, hiring will be selective.

Olson Sundberg won’t “frantically” hire the way it did in the booming 1990s,

Allen said. Now, with a staff down to about 65, new recruits will be chosen carefully and deliberately. Three associates became principals this year: Kirsten Murray, Alan Maskin and Stephen Yamada-Heidner. Each has been with the firm for more than 10 years. “They’re an integral part of who we are,” Allen said.

One of the things that keeps employees motivated is an open workspace in which they can easily interact, Allen said. Also, the company’s work atmosphere is dedicated, energetic and easygoing.

Allen might use those same words to describe the studio spaces Olson Sundberg is designing at the 38,000-square-foot Pratt Fine Arts Center. Artist studios will be open spaces where seniors and young people can work side by side.

“Someone who has never blown a piece of glass before can work alongside a master from Italy,” he said.

Olson Sundberg is designing two destination resorts in Eastern Washington, one totaling 400,000 square feet. Other big projects are a 50,000-square-foot recreation center at Seattle University and a 41,000-square-foot science building at Whatcom Community College.



Copyright ©2004 Seattle Daily Journal and DJC.COM.
Comments? Questions? Contact us.