Austin Tunnell

Founder of Building Culture

Host of The Building Culture Podcast

After a brief stint as a CPA at KPMG and two years in the Peace Corps, my path into building began in the jungles of Panama, where I first realized that how we build shapes how we live. Captivated by this idea, I apprenticed under a master mason and timber framer. My roots in traditional design and construction merged with a love for human-scaled cities, cultivated through my travels. This journey led me to question: Why, as the wealthiest nation in history, do we no longer build the kinds of places we all claim to love? Will anything we build today still stand in 500 years? And do our current building practices serve us as people—or do they serve something else?

I founded Building Culture in 2017 to explore these questions. I believe we must start with the human experience—understanding what people need to truly flourish—and build our cities, buildings, and neighborhoods around that. The answer doesn’t lie in a hyper-rational, technophilic, siloed approach, but in a holistic fusion of the liberal arts, construction, and real estate—a blend of science and art, tradition and modern innovation.

Through Building Culture and this podcast, I hope we can work toward creating a more beautiful, resilient, and thriving world for people—one that future generations will look back on with wonder and gratitude. What does the 21st Century version of Florence look like? I’m not sure, but I’d love to find out.