PROFESSIONAL
PROFILE: JAMES BURDE
My design education began
with my studies of art history, architecture and design at
Hampshire College, and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Before graduating, I took an Introduction to Architectural
Drafting and Design course at Smith College as part of
Hampshire's 5-college exchange program, and went on in the summer
of 1982 to do an internship with Tullio Inglese at NACUL Environmental Design Center in
Amherst, Ma.
From 1983 to 1986 I did freelance work with architectural firms
in the Connecticut River Valley, employing an acquired skill for
building architectural models. This gave me an introduction to
the real world of architectural practice in a way that allowed
more fun and creativity than churning out working drawings.
In 1986 I moved to London, England, where I continued my
freelance work, designing and building architectural models of
historic buildings, including work I did for the National Trust,
and high profile architectural buildings such as the Sainsbury Wing, Robert Venturi and Denise
Scott-Brown's addition to the National Gallery in London. This
work ultimately led me to Jerusalem, Israel, where I was invited
by the Rothschild Foundation to design and build architectural
presentation models for a new Israeli Supreme Court Building.
With the idea of spending a couple of years pursuing a nascent
passion for modern architecture, and broadening my skills in the
practice, I moved to Paris in 1989 where I found work in the atelier
of Yves Lion, an eminent Parisian Modernist.
Here I was part of a team bringing together projects ranging from
urban design and redevelopment to public housing, museums, and
civic buildings.
I returned to the U.S. in 1993 and decided to direct my attention
fully to developing my own design style, drawing upon the
experience I had acquired in Europe and the Middle East. With the
objective of launching an example of my work, in 1996 I began the
project of designing and building my own
house in Vermont.
To this end I recruited a team of builders and worked with them
learning countless "tricks of the trade." I brought
many ideas to the process as well, combining my knowledge of
Modernist and European building with the building traditions of
New England, and a feeling for the inherent beauty and sense of
belonging buildings have when local materials are used in their
creation.
I have since applied my skills and ideas to a variety of projects ranging from furniture design to custom
homes and site specific buildings. My work unites the clean lines
of European modernism with New England tradition, the warmth of
natural materials, an acute environmental sensitivity, and a
sense of style and fun. Teiki-Techture has been given special attention in
the press, and most recently participated in designing
one of the Pilot Homes certified by Vermont Builds Greener as part of establishing the
U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes model.
