Skip to Content
Photo: Eirik Johnson

Metropolis Think Tank

2017/09/01

Last month, Olson Kundig partnered with Metropolis magazine to host Think Tank, a continuing education series led by Metropolis’s Director of Design Innovation Susan S. Szenasy. The Metropolis Think Tank travels to leading architecture and design firms across the country to challenge experts in design – architects, interior designers, manufacturers – to examine the strengths and weaknesses of current design-thinking and practice.

Photo: Eirik Johnson

This year’s Think Tank series theme is “The Human Factor: In Search of Human-Centered Design,” and the August event held at Olson Kundig’s offices explored this theme through the lens of contextual design in two of Seattle’s developing neighborhoods: Pioneer Square and South Lake Union. Titled “Contrasting the Contextual: Designs Revitalizing Seattle’s Neighborhoods,” the Think Tank included panelists Tom Kundig and Kirsten Ring Murray, owners and principals at Olson Kundig; Scott Redman, president at Sellen Construction; and Karen True of the Alliance for Pioneer Square. Several of Olson Kundig’s local mixed-use projects were featured as part of the discussion, including 9th and Thomas in South Lake Union.

Photo: Eirik Johnson

Moderated by Metropolis’s Susan S. Szenasy, the Think Tank produced lively discussion between the panelists on the future of Seattle’s neighborhoods and the challenge of balancing context with growth. The panel will appear in the October print issue of Metropolis, and the entire panel discussion is available to watch here. Learn more about the Metropolis Think Tank series by visiting http://www.metropolismag.com/about-metropolis/think-tank/.