Podcast Summary: The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

Episode: Tom Kundig: Making Memories With Architecture

Release Date: October 15, 2025
Guest: Tom Kundig, Principal and Owner, Olson Kundig
Host: Dan Rubinstein

Overview

In this expansive interview, Dan Rubinstein sits down with Tom Kundig—award-winning architect and principal at Olson Kundig—to discuss the philosophy and memorable moments behind Kundig’s iconic residential projects. Touching on his upbringing in the Pacific Northwest, the influence of his Swiss modernist father, and the origins of his firm’s signature kinetic “gizmos,” Kundig reveals how memory, materiality, and risk define his approach to home design. The episode provides an in-depth journey through both his formative experiences and professional milestones, offering listeners actionable wisdom and engaging anecdotes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life and Formative Influences

• The Landscape of the Northwest:
  Kundig describes his childhood landscape straddling Spokane, northern Idaho, and into British Columbia (“That was my real neighborhood.” — [03:26]). The vastness and diversity of these environments deeply influenced his subsequent design ethos.

• Creative Community:
  Growing up in a small but vibrant creative community, Kundig’s family were friends with artists like Ed and Nancy Kienholtz, Harold Balazs, Rudy Autio, and Peter Voulkos ([04:21]).

  • Quote: “Because it was such a small community, you got to be influenced by them very personally.” — Tom Kundig [04:21]

• Father’s Legacy:
  Kundig’s father, Moritz, was a Swiss modernist and moved to the US post-WWII. Tom notes the extraordinary modernist output in small towns like Spokane and the collaborative work between artists and architects such as the 1962 Unitarian church ([07:50]).

  • Quote: “Artists were actually...making the walls, making the lanterns, making the planters and podiums. I grew up not knowing that that was relatively extraordinary.” — Tom Kundig [07:50]

• Immigrant Upbringing:
  Tom’s first language was Swiss German; he recalls the pivotal memory of moving to Switzerland and then back to the US ([09:21]–[11:16]).

  • Quote: “All of our friends…were on the platform…they were like a marching band…playing instruments that they were not trained to play…some melody emerged out of that.” — Tom Kundig [10:16]

2. Move Toward Architecture

• Geophysics to Architecture:
  Originally studying geophysics due to his fascination with landscape, machinery, and the physics of the natural environment, Kundig transitioned to architecture as an intersection of “the poetic and the technical or scientific” ([12:49]).

  • Quote: “Architecture is this sort of ideal intersection between the sacred and the profane…” — Tom Kundig [12:49]

• Early Career and Joining Olson Kundig:
  Kundig’s adventurous spirit took him to Alaska to open an office, but he ultimately returned to Seattle to join what became Olson Kundig in 1986 ([15:56]).

3. Evolution of Residential Work

• Firm’s Residential Renaissance:
  Although his initial work was mostly commercial, Kundig was thrown into residential projects at a crucial moment when the firm returned to its roots during a downturn ([18:44]).
  • Quote: “If you can continue to work on these relatively smaller projects, you can see that arc time and time again and learn so much…” — Tom Kundig [19:54]

4. Signature Projects and “Gizmos”

• Studio House as a Turning Point:
  The 1998 Studio House marked a breakthrough, defining Kundig’s signature industrial aesthetic—raw concrete, steel, and unpolished welds ([23:28]).

  • Breakdown of a key detail: Concrete kitchen doors on tracks—an early form of the "kinetic" elements that would become Kundig's hallmark ([28:51]–[31:14]).
  • Quote: “You can see the hand of the person…that was made by hand.” — Tom Kundig [27:03]
  • Quote: "If you just move a door, a typical, ordinary door, I bet you never think about the physics of the hinge, the weight of the door, how it’s cantilevered... But if you can… make them extraordinary, you can really make a memory.” — Tom Kundig [31:14]

• Kinetic Design and "Gizmos":
  Kundig explains his approach to kinetic architecture—giant hand-cranked windows and moving structures—originating often from client comments ([32:33]).

  • Chicken Point Cabin Example: A client casually wished to “open up the whole front end of this house and just see that view.” Kundig, drawing on his instinct for mechanics and materiality, collaborated with engineer Phil Turner to create the now-famous operable glass wall ([32:33]–[36:44]).

  • Quote: “The real beauty of design is something that looks really simple, but to get there is actually pretty complex.” — Tom Kundig [35:32]

  • Kundig distinguishes meaningful, user-driven kinetic features (operated by hand, not button) from gimmicks: “You become part of that machine. That machine doesn’t work unless you’re the source of energy behind it.” — Tom Kundig [37:00]

• Maxon House Studio:
  A studio on train tracks that can be physically moved for solitude or proximity ([37:53]).

  • Origin: Stems from an earlier humorous idea of moving a mother-in-law suite: “Most of the issues are pretty solvable. The plumbing issues are a little more difficult…The studio for Lou doesn’t have plumbing issues—it’s basically an electrical issue, like a big extension cord.” — Tom Kundig [38:56]

5. Design Philosophy and Approach

• Contextual Flexibility:
  Kundig stresses the importance of responding to site and context, ranging from the cold Pacific Northwest to Costa Rica’s heat ([43:48]–[45:40]).

  • Quote: “It’s not rocket science to figure out…you have to be smart about, again, the physics of it, the climate…” — Tom Kundig [44:12]

• Home as Refuge:
  He reflects on creating homes as places of safety, intimacy, and experience, balancing “cave” and “prospect” elements ([47:36]).

  • Quote: “There should be the cave…where you feel safe…And then…there also should be sort of a prospect side to it…It can be breathtaking, it almost maybe feels slightly risky.” — Tom Kundig [47:36]

• Advice for Clients:
  Trust is foundational in the client-architect relationship. Kundig encourages clients to express core desires (“I wish I could open up this wall to the lake”), while trusting architects to solve the details ([53:14]).

  • Quote: “If you hire me, you just gotta trust me. If you don’t trust me, don’t hire me…The architect is…in the position to solve the problem.” — Tom Kundig [53:14]

6. Personal Life and Reflections

• Outdoorsman Roots:
  While he no longer climbs mountains or skis, Kundig relishes time in his family’s lake cabin in Idaho and another mountain house in the North Cascades ([49:15]–[51:47]).

  • Quote: “Even though I didn’t want to be an architect…[my father’s lake cabin]…influenced a lot of…my architecture.” — Tom Kundig [50:42]

• What’s Next:
  In addition to the monolithic new book, he’s embarking on more sports facilities and resorts, always with an eye toward creating memorable architecture ([56:02]).

  • Quote: “People leave [great resorts] with memories, just like architecture—you should leave all architecture with good memories.” — Tom Kundig [56:32]

• Self-Description:

  • “Relentless, risk-taker, and realistic.” — Tom Kundig [57:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On creating memorable moments:
  “Where you touch a building, that is the handshake with the building. If you can enlarge that moment…you’ll never forget it.” — Tom Kundig [00:00]; [31:14]

• On kinetic design:
  “You become part of that machine. That machine doesn’t work unless you’re the source of energy behind it.” — Tom Kundig [37:00]

• On context and risk:
  “The real beauty of design is something that looks really simple, but to get there is actually pretty complex.” — Tom Kundig [35:32]

• On balancing refuge and prospect in a home:
  “There should be the cave…you feel safe…And then…a prospect side…It can be breathtaking, it almost maybe feels slightly risky.” — Tom Kundig [47:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 — Kundig on tactile memory and architecture’s “handshake”
• 03:26 — Growing up in the creative Pacific Northwest
• 05:52 — Influence of his father, Swiss modernist Moritz Kundig
• 09:21, 10:16 — Immigrant childhood, Switzerland anecdotes
• 12:49 — Transition from geophysics to architecture
• 15:56 — Early career and joining Olson Kundig (then Olson Sundberg)
• 18:44 — Recommitting to residential architecture
• 23:28 — The turning point: Studio House and its DNA
• 28:51 — Innovative cabinet doors and kinetic details
• 32:33 — The origin and ethos of kinetic ‘gizmos’
• 36:44 — Why the hand-cranked approach matters
• 37:53 — Maxon House’s mobile studio
• 43:48 — Context-driven design from cold Northwest to Costa Rica
• 47:36 — Home as both “cave” (refuge) and “prospect” (view)
• 49:15 — Kundig’s own homes and mountain/lake cabins
• 53:14 — Advice for clients: trust and collaborative problem-solving
• 56:02 — Next steps: book release, sports facilities, and resorts
• 57:18 — Kundig’s three-word self-description

Tone and Language

The conversation is personal, warm, and deeply philosophical, marked by Kundig’s humility, enthusiasm, and practical wisdom. His language is accessible yet layered with references to craft, risk, memory, and context—reflecting the thoughtful artistry of his architecture.

This summary captures all major segments, insightful quotes, and the essence of Tom Kundig’s design philosophy, making it a comprehensive primer for anyone interested in architecture, creativity, and the power of memorable spaces.