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Olson Kundig’s Big Barrow brings Lake Union Park’s native trees back on wheels
Olson Kundig’s Big Barrow brings Lake Union Park’s native trees back on wheels
At Seattle Design Festival 2026, Olson Kundig parked a 20-foot-long wheelbarrow on the lawn of Lake Union Park. Big Barrow carries a load of Northwest native trees and shrubs, the kind of plants that once grew around the park. The installation stood at the festival Block Party on August 15 and 16, under this year’s theme, IN[FLUX].
Seen from a distance, the idea is therefore easy to read. Instead of soil or tools, the oversized barrow holds a small grove. In this way, the piece recalls the ecological history of the site and also makes a quiet case for the urban tree canopy.
A Lake Seen Through Its Past
However, the team looked further back as well. Its statement traces the lake to its glacial origins and to the Duwamish people, who knew the water as a “small lake”. As a result, the barrow works almost like a reminder. It brings a fragment of the earlier landscape back to a park that is now framed by streets, boats and offices.
How Big Barrow Took Shape
Big Barrow began as an entry in the annual internal competition that Olson Kundig runs for the festival. After the scheme won, the team then developed it into a full-size build. The sketches show the long bed, the trusses below it and the wheels that let the object read as a working tool.
Built With Partners
Olson Kundig built the piece with Dowbuilt. Meanwhile, Ohashi Landscape Services donated the trees, and RedBuilt, LLC donated the wood and steel trusses that form the structure. In addition, the process photos follow the work in the shop, from the frame to the first plants.
A Weekend at Lake Union Park
During the Block Party, for example, visitors gathered around the barrow. Some sat on the small wooden stools set out on the grass, while children helped water the plants. At night, the trees were lit from below, and the installation took on a calmer, theatrical mood against the city lights.
Up close, the details are just as plain. Because the planted bed sits on a frame of trusses, the trees rise well above the grass, and the large wheel gives the whole object a sense of motion.
By day, the skyline and the Space Needle fill the view behind the planted bed.
Finally, seen from above, the barrow sits beside the paths of the park like a small forest on wheels, ready to move on.
Project Credits
Project: Big Barrow
Design: Olson Kundig / @olsonkundig
Event: Seattle Design Festival 2026, Block Party
Location: Lake Union Park, Seattle, United States
Date: August 2026
Olson Kundig Team: Hanna Dean, Jeff Sandler AIA, Maxwell Lorenze (Design), Nick Zurlini (Landscape Design), Clay Anderson and Jaclyn Jung (Mentors)
Construction: Dowbuilt
Trees: Ohashi Landscape Services
Trusses: RedBuilt, LLC
Sketches: Olson Kundig
Photography: John Nakatsu, Hybrid3 Studios, Hanna Dean, David Alf
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