Roald Gundersen is designing wonderful spaces. His company, Whole Trees Architecture in Stoddard, WI, has a quiet and thoughtful approach to structure and form. He was just featured in a New York Times article but I don't think that will change his focus.
A bit of background: In 1970, Nancy and I got married and went to Ashland, WI to attend a small, private school, Northland College. Besides the fact that it is a beautiful and remote piece of America on Lake Superior, I think the main reason we went was because a PhD friend was head of the Chemistry Dept... hey, it was the sixties if you know what I mean.
It was in the incredible Fall and we were invited out to meet some old Norwegian friends and have dinner. Before anything, one was expected to strip and take a sauna (they build their sauna before the house). It was a beautiful log building with woodstove on the edge of a lake. Get hot and sweaty and jump in the lake on a full moon night ... pretty straightforward. It showed me that structure was not separate from nature and well being. All these families come from deep socialist roots and are very independent. For us kids from the 60's, they were a whole, new welcome family. They spoke of being politically compromised and seeking a quiet place to live. We felt that same idealism when we bought 60 acres in Vermont and originally learned to build houses.
Back in the 70's, we only had Handmade Houses and Ken Kern to spark our inspiration. Today, there are so many resources to help you find your way. Greensource Magazine from USGBC is a great resource for cutting edge products. I see Gundersen as one of those original guys who is still working it forward and I'm glad he's getting the attention.
