Alan Maskin designs spaces that encourage creativity and reflect values that are important in today’s society, such as education and empathy. He specializes in reimagining the visitor experience and challenging the distinctions between architecture, art and content. Working with artists and organizations of all types, such as the Degenerate Art Ensemble and Seattle Art Museum, Maskin is recognized for his ability to create experiences that are unlike any other in their ability to educate and inspire.
After joining the firm in 1992, Maskin became an owner in 2008. His work encompasses museum and exhibit design, residential, commercial, concept development and design competitions throughout the United States. His body of work includes such notable projects as the Frye Art Museum renovation and Noah’s Ark at the Skirball Cultural Center, which attracted more than 30,000 visitors in its first three months and increased visitorship by 100% in its first six months of operation.
Current projects include Microsoft’s Northport Visioning Facility, 100,000 New Yorkers, Foss Waterway Seaport and “underbelly: The Predator’s Songstress,” a collaboration with Degenerate Art Ensemble. In addition to his project work, Maskin has designed exhibits for the American Academy of Arts & Letters, TOTO Gallery MA, Syracuse University, the University of Washington and the Swedish Medical Center.
Maskin’s work has been published in publications worldwide, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Architectural Record, Metropolis, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal. His work has also received some of the nation’s highest design awards, including an Excellence in Exhibition award from the American Association of Museums, a TEA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Creation of Compelling Places and a Seattle AIA Merit Award. Due in part to Maskin’s significant and compelling contributions to the firm, Olson Kundig Architects received the 2009 National AIA Architecture Firm Award (as Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects) and has twice been named one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Architecture by Fast Company.
Maskin and fellow principal Kirsten R. Murray were instrumental in creating the firm’s intern program and [storefront] Olson Kundig Architects, an experimental work space for the firm’s community collaborations, pro-bono design work, philanthropic and volunteer work, and for design research and the development of design ideas.
Maskin is a 2006 Fellow of the Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy (NIAUSI), a research residency in Civita di Bagnoregio. He regularly serves on design juries and lectures on architecture and design. Most recently, he served as a panelist at the Association of American Museums’ Annual Meeting and Museum Expo. He has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from the State University College at Buffalo.