Alan Maskin is a principal and owner of Olson Kundig, where he leads an interdisciplinary team of architects, designers, visual artists and researchers. His team designs buildings, parks and gardens, installations, sculpture, digital art, graphic novels and film. For over two decades, Maskin has pursued unconventional design challenges in public places, including the recent renovation to Seattle’s iconic Space Needle. His built international portfolio includes museums, installations, exhibits, visitor-based destinations and urban park projects.

In recent years, Maskin has been awarded first place in multiple international design competitions, including The Bob Dylan Center, ANOHA – The Children’s World of The Jewish Museum Berlin, and Fairy Tales 2016, the world’s largest architectural ideas competition. Maskin’s recent self-provoked works include [storefront] Olson Kundig, a two-year experiment in design, culture and social practice, and “The 5th Façade,” a multidisciplinary exploration into the uppermost layer of cities.

Blair Payson joined Olson Kundig in 2004 and has worked on both architectural and exhibit design projects, including the Century Project at the Space Needle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, and [storefront] Olson Kundig, as well as several residential projects across the Western United States and Mexico.

A maker at heart, Blair is an architect who revels in the details. From large cultural projects to temporary design interventions, Blair works to distill large, complex projects into distinct culminating moments. Lately, Blair’s research has taken him on site visits to a subterranean cavern deep underground in one week, to hundreds of feet above an urban landscape the next. Blair holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University, and regularly lectures and organizes conferences across the U.S. In 2018, he chaired the Architects Newspaper Conference in Seattle, and he co-presented a workshop for the 2019 Facades+ Conference in New York City.

Alan Maskin is a principal and owner of Olson Kundig, where he leads an interdisciplinary team of architects, designers, visual artists and researchers. His team designs buildings, parks and gardens, installations, sculpture, digital art, graphic novels and film. For over two decades, Maskin has pursued unconventional design challenges in public places, including the recent renovation to Seattle’s iconic Space Needle. His built international portfolio includes museums, installations, exhibits, visitor-based destinations and urban park projects.

In recent years, Maskin has been awarded first place in multiple international design competitions, including The Bob Dylan Center, ANOHA – The Children’s World of The Jewish Museum Berlin, and Fairy Tales 2016, the world’s largest architectural ideas competition. Maskin’s recent self-provoked works include [storefront] Olson Kundig, a two-year experiment in design, culture and social practice, and “The 5th Façade,” a multidisciplinary exploration into the uppermost layer of cities.

Karen Brandt, AIA, is a Senior Principal at Heintges, a certified WBE. She joined Heintges New York in 2001 and launched the firm’s San Francisco office in 2013. She has spent the last eight years leading and growing the firm’s West Coa­st teams and body of work. Notable projects include 100 Stockton Street, headquarters for Adobe, LinkedIn, and Uber, the MIRA SF tower, the new Whitney Museum of American Art at Gansevoort and the historic renovation of the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters, New York. Ms. Brandt holds degrees in architecture from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Blair Payson joined Olson Kundig in 2004 and has worked on both architectural and exhibit design projects, including the Century Project at the Space Needle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, and [storefront] Olson Kundig, as well as several residential projects across the Western United States and Mexico.

A maker at heart, Blair is an architect who revels in the details. From large cultural projects to temporary design interventions, Blair works to distill large, complex projects into distinct culminating moments. Lately, Blair’s research has taken him on site visits to a subterranean cavern deep underground in one week, to hundreds of feet above an urban landscape the next. Blair holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University, and regularly lectures and organizes conferences across the U.S. In 2018, he chaired the Architects Newspaper Conference in Seattle, and he co-presented a workshop for the 2019 Facades+ Conference in New York City.

Facade Design Director, Studio NYL, has designed and realized award-winning structural and skin projects that merge high performance, high design, and constructability. He is the current national Vice Chair for the Building Enclosure Council and AIA National’s representative on the ASHRAE 90.1 Envelope Subcommittee. Will is also on the ASTM Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings and is a developer and trainer for ASTM’s and NIBS’ new Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) certificate program. Will has presented at various AIA state and local events, CSI’s National CONSTRUCT Convention, BEST5, BEC-Colorado and BEC Minnesota events, and at multiple AIA National Conventions.

O’Hara is facade director for the Skins Group, a division of Studio NYL, established to provide full service facade design specializing in thermal modeling, moisture/condensation analysis, and in-depth detailing. Although Studio NYL is recognized for its skins work with cutting-edge glass and glazing, their team also specializes in digitally fabricated metal skins, GFRC, reinforced polymers, stone, ultra high performance concrete, terra cotta, and traditional precast. O’Hara is currently working on multiple projects in the Boston area.

An exceptional leader, Bradford J. Prestbo, FAIA, is advancing the profession through his practice, advocacy, and educational efforts in the use of cutting-edge design technologies, high-performance design, and the incorporation of maker culture into the design process.

Bradford also finds time to share his knowledge of advanced design technologies, high-performance design, and how maker culture is transforming our practice within the industry. He has practiced internationally, is a sought-after speaker, is frequently interviewed by publishers, and is an educator via his detailing workshops, higher-education classes, design juries, and mentorship of emerging professionals.

Bradford is actively involved in the AIA, and has been elevated to the College of Fellows for his notable contributions to the advancement of the profession of architecture. He is part of the leadership group in the AIA’s Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community, and founded the Boston Society of Architect’s MakeTANK Knowledge Community, where he currently serves as the National Director.

Education
Bradford holds a degree from Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Mark is a Designer and Project Architect who brings a broad array of skills to his projects. His work ranges from large scale mixed-use projects, to city scale urban design, to program driven higher education projects. Mark is dedicated to design innovation through the advancement of novel workflows, advanced fabrication, and innovative project delivery methods.

In addition to his primary professional work, he is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, where he leads graduate courses positioned at the intersection between design, technology, and computation investigating the role of structures, materiality, and digital simulation in driving the design process. Mark has lectured widely and is a thought leader in the spaces of Computational Design, Visualization, Urban Design, and Design for Higher Education.

Blair Payson joined Olson Kundig in 2004 and has worked on both architectural and exhibit design projects, including the Century Project at the Space Needle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, and [storefront] Olson Kundig, as well as several residential projects across the Western United States and Mexico.

A maker at heart, Blair is an architect who revels in the details. From large cultural projects to temporary design interventions, Blair works to distill large, complex projects into distinct culminating moments. Lately, Blair’s research has taken him on site visits to a subterranean cavern deep underground in one week, to hundreds of feet above an urban landscape the next. Blair holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University, and regularly lectures and organizes conferences across the U.S. In 2018, he chaired the Architects Newspaper Conference in Seattle, and he co-presented a workshop for the 2019 Facades+ Conference in New York City.