Photographer: Tim Bies

The Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum

PROJECT ROLES
Jim Olson, Design Principal
Alan Maskin, Principal
Stephen Yamada-Heidner, Project Manager

LOCATION & YEAR
Bellingham, WA, 2009

Project Details

The basic concept for this new $12.8 million museum is that of a museum turned inside out—to make the building as active on the outside as it will be on the inside. An iconic 36-foot-tall, 180-foot-long translucent wall, “the lightcatcher,” is conceived as the focal point and backdrop to a central courtyard that will become a new gathering place for the city. The exterior of the museum is an invitation to engage in art and allows pedestrians walking by to view the art and activity within.

The building is 42,000 square feet. It is the first LEED Silver museum in the state of Washington. Sustainable features include a green roof above the lobby, a rainwater harvesting system, pervious paving, double-skin curtain wall glazing at the lightcatcher wall, and natural ventilation in the public gathering spaces not housing art.

The Lightcatcher opened to the public on November 14, 2009.

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Recognition

The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Musuem is featured in the Indian magazine Design Today’s October 2012 issue...
Upadhyaya, Mamta. "Focal Wall." Design Today Oct. 2012: Cover, 66-75, 98. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in "Fascinating Architecture: World Public Architecture," ...
"Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum." Fascinating Architecture: World Public Architecture 2011: 136-141. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is included in Interior Design Magazine's "Best of the Year" book, pub...
Interior Design Best of Year. Florida: Sandow Media, 2011. Print.
Stephen Yamada-Heidner spoke about sustainable design for museums at two national museum conferences last week.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum appears in December’s Best of the Year issue of Interior Design maga...
"Best of Year, Merit: Institutional." Interior Design Dec. 2010: 78. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in an article in Architectural Lighting Magazine September...
"Building Types Studies, Museums: Lightcatcher Building at the Whatcom Museum." Architectural Record Dec. 2010. Web.
"Lightcatcher at Whatcom Museum." Hinge Vol.183 Nov. 2010: 74-75. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is one of four finalists in Interior Design magazine’s Best of Year ...
"Olson Kundig Architects - Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, WA." archinnovations 15 Nov. 2010. Web.
Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum, 2010 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum
The Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum has received an American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in the September 8th edition of The Architect’s Newspape...
Chaban, Matt. "Through the Looking Glass." The Architect's Newspaper Sept. 8, 2010: 19. Print.
Zeiger, Mimi. "Northern Lights." Architectural Lighting Magazine Sept.-Oct. 2010: 48-53. Print.
Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) 2010 Illumination Awards, Award of E...
"IES Illumination Awards 2010." LD+A Aug. 2010: 39. Print.
Teagarden, Rebecca. "Seeing It Through." Pacific Northwest Magazine, The Seattle Times May 9 2010: 12-16. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in the design blog Inhabitat.
Pham, Diane. "Seattle’s Whatcom Museum Gets a ‘Lightcatching’ LEED Silver Addition." Inhabitat: Design will save the world...
Olson Kundig Architects’ Stephen Yamada-Heidner and Olivier Landa will speak at the 2010 Annual Northwest Sustainability Summi...
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in Interior Design's March issue.
Cohen, Edie. "Truly Illuminating." Interior Design March 2010: 118-120, Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in the "Debuts" section of the American Association of Mus...
"Debuts." Museum March/April 2010: 17. Print.
A feature article about Jim Olson appears in the Winter 2009 issue of Bridge for Design Magazine.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum appears in the Upfront section of Seattle magazine's January issue.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in the January 2010 issue of Landscape Architecture magazi...
Davis, Brangien. "Light Waves." Seattle Magazine January 2010: 19. Print.
Newcomb, Tim. "Catching a (Light) Wave." Landscape Architecture January 2010: 24. Print.
Greg Kucera chooses the opening of the Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher as one of the high points of 2009's Seattle art scene.
Vinh, Tan. "Bellingham meets you halfway." Seattle Times, NW Weekend 7 Jan. 2010: 6-7, 9-10. Print.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in the Seattle Times NW Weekend section from January 7.
"Catching Beauty: Whatcom Museum's new Lightcatcher Building opens." Bellingham Herald, Take Five, November 12-19, 2009, p. cove...
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured on the cover and inside of the December 10 issue of the Se...
Vinh, Tan. "Shedding Light on Art." Seattle Times, NW Weekend Section, December 10, 2009, pp.10-12.
Worssam, Nancy. "Exhibit, like new museum, breaks boundaries." Seattle Times, NW Weekend Section, December 10, 2009, pp.13.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured in Architectural Record's "Building Types Study" on Museum...
"Building Types Studies, Museums: Lightcatcher Building at the Whatcom Museum." Architectural Record Online, December 2009.
The Jim Olson-designed Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum is featured on the cover of Hong Kong's RFP: Builtech Magazine.
"A Triumph of Light." RFP Magazine: Builtech, November 2009, pp. 34-35.
The grand opening of the Lightcatcher was covered in this Sunday's Bellingham Herald. Jim Olson led the design of the Lightcatch...
Jensen, Peter. "County embraces art." The Bellingham Herald, November 15, 2009, p. A2.
Jim Olson spoke about the Lightcatcher at the Whatcom Museum this morning on KGMI-AM.
The Lightcatcher building, designed by Jim Olson, is featured on The Stranger's Slog
"Lightcatcher to open Nov. 14 in Bellingham." Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, September 17, 2009.
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects is pleased to announce the upcoming opening of the Lightcatcher at Whatcom Museum, a new ...
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects is pleased to announce the upcoming opening of the Lightcatcher at Whatcom Museum, a new ...
The Opening of the Lightcatcher Building at the Whatcom Museum
The Whatcom Museum's Lightcatcher Building is featured in an September 17 article in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.
Relyea, Kie. "Whatcom Museum looking for volunteer docents." Bellingham Herald, July 27, 2009.

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