Tom Kundig
Seattle, Washington
In Tom Kundig’s architecture, the expression of the craft of making, and its engagement in experience, engenders a quality of built character absent from much contemporary construction. He believes that “building craft is the confluence and resolution of natural, cultural, and economic forces.” His architecture actively engages the fact that today the act of building remains largely accomplished by handwork, allowing the making of adjustments and changes during construction. His small domestic projects, often built in the fragile environment of the Pacific Northwest, are examples of exquisite architecture made using the most basic materials and construction methods. Kundig endeavors to support and continue local craft traditions as opposed to accepting their replacement by digital prefabrication, believing that hand craft involves risk while digital fabrication is inherently risk-free. His work accepts and engages the anomalies that occur on the building site, the naturally occurring and all too human imperfections in craft. He believes that the architect and craftsman’s sense of proportion, fit, and finish are essential to the creation of experientially enriching places.
