Richard Olsen is a Carmel, California-based independent architectural historian and author-editor-photographer.

From curating a design studio’s monograph to researching, writing, and photographing a house history for a homeowner, and from advising on brand strategy to consulting on historic preservation, Richard’s approach is rigorously research based, holistically integrated across creative components, and, ultimately, virtuous-cycle focused.

In his three decades as an editor of architecture-and-design books and magazines, first in New York and then in Los Angeles, Richard's held the positions of Senior Editor, Forbes Media, where, in 2023, he launched Forbes’ Architecture + Design department and created its “top architects and designers” lists; Senior Architecture Editor, Architectural Digest (Paige Rense Noland, Editor-in-Chief); Senior Editor, Architecture + Design, Harry N. Abrams Publishers; Architecture Editor, Rizzoli International Publications; and Director, Architects & Designers Book Service and Antiques & Collectibles Book Club. At Amazon.com, in Seattle, Richard was the editor of the book divisions of Arts & Photography; Home & Garden; and Travel.

As an author, the work has been reviewed widely, including by the New York Journal of Books; the New York Times; TheWall Street Journal; Time; Architectural Record; Architects Newspaper; and Architectural Digest.

A photographic contributor to architecture books and magazines since 2002, Richard also maintains an extensive archive, including an ongoing project, an historical inventory of the residences of Big Sur, California.

Drawing from all facets of this background, Richard takes on select special projects.