Jim Olson

Over the course of a career spanning more than fifty years, Seattle-based architect Jim Olson, of Olson Kundig, has made his name designing a broad range of buildings that sensitively respond to their environment. Initially drawing from his close connection to the nature and culture of the Pacific Northwest, he has attracted an international reputation for designing houses for art collectors around the world. Considered together, his buildings reveal an exceptional interplay between art, light, nature, craft and architecture, which can be experienced in a range of projects that span the globe, from Mexico to South-East Asia. This complete overview of many decades of carefully considered buildings begins with an extended essay by Aaron Betsky, who considers the intimate relationship between Olson’s natural surroundings and love of art and his design process over the course of his career. This is followed by a selection of twenty-eight of Olson’s recent projects, interspersed with private sketches and his reflections on architecture and the creative process. The final reference section includes an extensive illustrated chronology of the architect’s entire corpus.