The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with Austin Tunnell

The ICAA, INTBAU, and the King's Foundation are pleased to continue their collaboration with The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with..., a series of interviews featuring three architects and designers from different backgrounds and points of view: Austin Tunnell, Mamdouh Sakr, and Joachim Tantau. Over the three-part series, each speaker has the chance to play the role of both interviewer and interviewee. In each installment, one of the three architects interviews another about the influences, experiences, and projects that have led to their design perspective on the architecture of place. At the end of each session, students from partnering university departments pose additional questions to the speakers, followed by an open Q&A with attendees.

In this iteration of the series, Joachim Tantau interviews Austin Tunnell about his work, background, and design perspective.

After a brief stint as a CPA at KPMG and 2 years in the Peace Corps, Austin’s path into building began in the jungles of Panama where he was first introduced to the idea that how we build shapes how we live. Captured by the idea, he went on to apprentice for a master mason and timber framer. He taught himself design along the way, his drawings informed by understanding of the mediums he was working with, and inspired by the simple act of studying buildings he found beautiful. He sharpened his design and construction chops in Carlton Landing— winning 2 national awards in the process—before, in 2022, bringing Oklahoma City its first new structural brick masonry home in generations—with many more to come.

Austin is a relentless innovator, always experimenting with better ways of doing things. He plans to expand Building Culture to include apprenticeship programs, R&D, manufacturing, education and resale of traditional materials and methods—aiming to build a culture that expresses its ideals in a multi-century architecture: a whole new Building Culture.

Presented as part of The Richard H. Driehaus Curricula for the Built Environment at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation for its generous support of this program.

Tags: architecture of place, recorded event, architecture of place in conversation with, world of classicism, sustainability