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Archive for October, 2009

Shek-O Residence receives design award

International Interior Design Association’s Northern Pacific Chapter has awarded a Best In Category Award to the Shek-O residence in Hong Kong. Please see the Shek-O Residence page for more information on this projects, including credits.



Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

Interior design awards presented

Shek-O residence in Hong Kong. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

October, 21, 2009

Callison’s interior design of the Providence System Office in Renton won the People’s Choice Award at the INawards presented presented
earlier this month in Seattle.

The Northern Pacific Chapter of the International Interior Design Association hosted the awards. Jurors were Jody Pene of GBD Architects, Brian Graham of Brian Graham Design and Chris Bardt of 3SIX0 Architecture.

NBBK Principal Chris Larson won an Honor Award for his career accomplishments and provocative approaches to conceiving interior space by integrating light, context, furnishings, art and other elements. TerrisDraheim Principal Terry Derry Draheim won the Industry Partner Award for this longtime role with the design community as a teacher, mentor and legislative advocate.

Dong Il of Cornish College of the Arts and Katie Doyle won Wilsonart International scholarships.

RESIDENTIAL: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen designed the residential winner, a private Hong Kong villa on a rocky hillside overlooking the South China Sea.

Interior finishes are concrete, locally sourced limestone, glass wood and bronze. The central space has 25-foot ceilings and is flanked by ore intimate seating and dining areas.

The owner has most of the building materials and custom furniture shipped from Seattle. Craftspeople from the Pacific Northwest fabricated furnishings and finishes.

Jim Olson was the design principal and Scott Allen of Scott Allen Architecture was the managing principal. William Franklin and Wing-Yee Leung were project managers. T.S. Chu Architects Ltd., was the local architect and PCS Structural Solutions was the structural engineer. Jim Olsen was the lead on the interior design, and Carline Fairchild was the project manager.

Brianfield Limited was the contractor.

Suyama Peterson Deguchi won an honorable mention for a private residence in Seattle’s Broadmoor neighborhood.


Article reprinted by permission of the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (www.djc.com)

National A.I.A. Firm of Year Award for 2009

During Scott Allen’s leadership as Managing Principal of  Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, the firm was awarded the 2009 National Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects.

Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects Receives 2009 AIA Architecture Firm Award

Firm noted for its commitment to sustainable design

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors (BOD) voted today for Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects to receive the 2009 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The distinction is based on its 35 years of consistently excellent work, including its seamless blending of architecture, art and craft; community involvement; attention to sustainable design; and nurturing of in-house talent.

The AIA Architectural Firm Award, given annually, is the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture firm and recognizes a practice that consistently has produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years.

Partners Jim Olson; Rick Sundberg, FAIA, Tom Kundig, FAIA’ and Scott Allen, AIA, all graduates of the University of Washington, are known for their hands-on project involvement; deliberate efforts to share their knowledge with firm members, students, interns and clients; an intense collaboration with artists and crafters.

The firm’s commitment to sustainable design finds its roots win the firm Olsen founded in Seattle in 1971, which he based on two principles: buildings can serve a s bridge between nature and culture, and inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. Carrying that concept into the firm, the principals remain committed to a democratic and populist office culture.

Known primarily for their integrating of Modern forms that blend artfully into remote, natural settings of the Pacific Northwest, the firm’s work is also adept at creating dynamic urban environments.

“Their residential work in particular reveals a fascination with craft and the material properties of architecture,” wrote Mark Robbins, dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture in a recommendation letter. “Levers, racks, gears, out-sized hinges, and wall-size shutters improbably glide into place to frame sublime natural vistas. The dual American obsession of industry and nature are summed up immaculately in the smallest folly.”

Among more than 65 regional and national awards winners are:

  • The Delta Shelter, Washington Sate, 2008 AIA National Honor Award
  • The Brain, Seattle, 2004 AIA National Honor Award
  • Chicken Point Cabin, Northern Idaho, 2003 AIA Northwest Region Honor Award
  • Frye Art Museum, Seattle, 1997 AIA Seattle Honor Award
  • Pike & Virginia Building, Seattle 1979 AIA Seattle Honor Award

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects will be presented with the Firm Award during the American Architectural Foundation’s Accent on Architecture Gala in February. Previous recipients include Leers Weinzapfel, Moore Ruble Yudell, Murphy/Jahn, and KieranTimberlake. In recognition of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects legacy to architecture, their name will be chiseled into the granite Wall of Honor in the lobby of the AIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

About the American Institute of Architects

For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. By using sustainable design practices, materials and techniques, AIA architects are uniquely poised to provide the leadership and guidance needed to provide solutions to address climate change. AIA architects walk he walk on sustainable design. Visit www.aia.org/walkthewalk

Saratoga Passage Retreat

Situated on a bluff overlooking Saratoga Passage on Washington’s Whidbey Island, this vacation home design offers open spaces for casual entertaining as well as intimate spaces for personal reflection.  Scheduled for completion in 2013, the building design works with the slope of the land to create a ‘hunkered-in’ side towards the uphill slope, with the garage slipped into the slope and covered with a vegetated roof. On the water side, the house gently rises away from the slope, ending in a dramatic cantilevered deck that soars over the landscape towards the water view.

A series of oversized doors allows the house to literally open up to the site allowing for a free flow between inside and outside. A large open breezeway is cut through the house to further reinforce this spatial flow.  This configuration also creates a separate wing that houses the master suite and a guest quarters with its own entrance on the upper level.

Strong, simple materials such as concrete and structural timbers form the ‘bones’ of this textured yet elegant house. Sustainable design strategies including a green roof, operable passive ventilation and a geothermal heat source are part of this home’s design.

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This project began at Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen and was completed at Scott Allen Architecture. Scott Allen, primary designer.

Seven paintings, August 2009

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Oil paintings 2002 to 2008

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Works in pastel, 1997 to 2002

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