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Glass Apartment + enlarge

Photographer: Eduardo Calderón

Glass Apartment

  • LEAD ARCHITECT
  • Jim Olson, FAIA (view bio)
  • LOCATION & YEAR
  • Seattle, WA, 2002

Poject Details

Art and water are two recurring themes in this home for a collector of Northwest and Asian art. Using Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean as a metaphorical setting to unite the collector’s interests, the house takes on an organic and aqueous feeling. Curved elements—made using floor-to-ceiling cast-glass walls (some of which incorporate glass display shelving for art)—were introduced to reference shapes found in nature. Light, passing through the glass walls as well as coming from within them, gives the interior spaces a Northwest glow. Much of the furniture was designed by Jim Olson and finds its inspiration in objects found while beachcombing: driftwood, lily pads (sawmill castoffs) and sea-polished glass.

Interiors designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects.