Let's Build Next Century's Celebrated Buildings—Together.
Austin Tunnell
Founder and CEO
Head of Product
Austin Tunnell is the Founder, CEO, and Head of Product at Building Culture, a holistic real estate development company dedicated to creating beautiful, resilient, and thriving places. With a hands-on approach, Austin oversees all aspects of design and craftsmanship, ensuring every detail aligns with the company’s vision for timeless and human-centered spaces.
Austin’s journey into building began with a brief stint as a CPA at KPMG followed by two years in the Peace Corps. During his time abroad, he recognized that the built environment—our architecture—profoundly shapes the human experience, influencing not only how we live but also our physical health, mental well-being, and social connections. He saw how our current habitat fosters isolation, depression, financial instability, physical ailments from sedentary lifestyles, and even the erosion of culture and community.
Compelled to make a difference, he apprenticed with a master mason and timber framer, gaining deep expertise in traditional building methods as a foundation for crafting healthier, more resilient, and culturally vibrant environments.
As Head of Product, Austin leads design and innovation at Building Culture. From masonry and massing to interior design, he sets the tone and feel of every project, ensuring a cohesive vision. He is also a relentless innovator, pushing the boundaries of masonry and construction techniques to create sustainable, enduring buildings.
Austin’s work extends beyond design—he serves as a General Partner for various development deals, leading projects that embody Building Culture’s mission to craft neighborhoods that prioritize beauty, functionality, and long-term stewardship. He also hosts The Building Culture Podcast, where he engages with industry leaders and change-makers to explore holistic solutions for the built environment.
With a vision for multi-century architecture and a commitment to cultural impact, Austin is leading Building Culture to redefine how we shape the world around us.
The Team
Matt Hayes
Matt’s passion for the entire process of bringing a project to life is at home in Building Culture’s holistic design-build approach to creating beautiful things that enhance our lives.
Prior to joining Building Culture in 2022, Matt worked in Manhattan at G.P. Schafer Architect, on custom residences in areas including Arkansas, Virginia, Florida, and New York City. He brings the rigor and attention to detail of those $10 million+ projects to Building Culture’s work in Oklahoma.
A dedicated learner and teacher, Matt studied traditional architecture and urbanism at the University of Notre Dame and serves as instructor at the Institute for Classical Art and Architecture.
He is a licensed architect in Oklahoma and New York, is NCARB certified and a member of the AIA.
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Sarah Tunnell
Sarah shines in helping people connect in meaningful ways, and is fascinated with how this can happen organically when set within a proper built environment like the places that are created by Building Culture. Prior to joining the team, Sarah was the Director of the Carlton Landing Community Foundation where she oversaw the new urban community's marketing and event programming. Sarah currently consults for developments in Downtown Edmond, and helps to shape Building Culture's messaging and content. She adores being a mother to her young daughter and looks forward to another joining the pack soon.
Thomas Dougherty
Thomas Dougherty is an Architectural and UX Urban Designer revolutionizing infill development by uncovering the forgotten space of the inner-block. He holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism from the University of Notre Dame.
"I grew up on a small farm where building and repairing buildings was a constant need. I worked as a timber framer for a few years in my early twenties. I was chasing durability and beauty with the timber framing, and it was that drive that took me to Notre Dame to study traditional architectural and urban design. I met Austin in the summer of 2016, and under his leadership helped build a small load bearing brick home. There is an integrity to Austin's work - and now the work of Building Culture - that is being recognized around this Country. The durability and beauty of Building Culture's masonry walls allow their buildings to be worth inheriting; a true legacy project and gift to future generations."
Graham Robertson
Graham is a strong believer in how the built environment shapes us. Motivated by his experience growing up in the suburbs of Dallas, his life's work is to provide future generations with what so many of us have never had: a sense of place, beauty, and connection to our neighborhoods and towns. With Building Culture, he uses his trade experience to realize this vision through traditional design and construction methods.
Prior to joining Building Culture in 2023, Graham served as a designer-builder on projects in the Lakota-Sioux Nation in South Dakota, Open Source Ecology in Missouri, and St. Arsenius Hermitage in Texas, in addition to starting his own organic farming business. Graham earned his B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2020.
Nolan Hill
Nolan believes that keeping an open mind, discovering a common goal, and playing to an individual’s strengths are some of the best practices when working on a project. Born and raised in the Edmond and Oklahoma City area, he has a passion for the local community and has witnessed many of the construction milestones that have made the OKC Metro become a more vibrant place for people. Nolan enjoys working with his teammates at Building Culture as they to continue to cultivate communities in the place he calls home.
Along with his passion for building better places, Nolan studied architecture and marketing entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University. He has worked previously at a local vocational school as the Product Development Shop Coordinator and for an organization that coaches college men and women to live a life of classical virtue focused on truth, beauty, and goodness. Nolan’s well-rounded skill set culminates in being able to envision and create a more magnanimous built environment for all.
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Melissa Griffin
A former ballerina from South Africa, Mel brings a unique grace and precision to her role as Operations Coordinator at Building Culture. With a degree in Psychology and Communications, she has a deep understanding of human connection, which she applies to her work by fostering a smooth and supportive environment within the team. Her journey from the stage to the realm of architecture and construction has given her a distinct perspective on structure and flow—qualities she now uses to enhance Building Culture’s projects. In her free time, she delights in exploring creative avenues and walking her dog.
The spaces we create shape how people move, connect, and experience life. At Building Culture we’re committed to crafting a better human habitat, one beautiful, lasting space at a time.
"First we shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us." - Winston Churchill
Carlton Landing
