Todd Saunders grew up on Newfoundland’s rugged coast, carving cabins and learning early that good buildings start with good stories. That hands-on childhood nudged him through a planning degree at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada; a semester at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, United States; and an M.Arch. at McGill University, Montréal, Canada. Stints with landscape architect Maria Auböck, Vienna, Austria; urbanist Rob Krier, Berlin, Germany; and designer Jane Durante, Vancouver, Canada sharpened his craft, while a hitch-and-rail trek that began in Paris, France, boarded the Trans-Siberian in Moscow, Russia, and rattled east for days proved that place matters more than style.
In 1996 he settled in Bergen, Norway, and two years later opened Saunders Architecture, small on purpose, restless by nature. First came the timber Aurland Lookout, Aurland, Norway; then the Hardanger Cabin, Ullensvang, Norway; and a ring of stark-white artist studios that helped remote Fogo Island, Canada step onto the world stage. Those one-offs opened bigger canvases: Villa G on Lake Nordås near Bergen; Roxanne Quimby’s museum, Maine, United States; and community plans for Carraig Ridge, Alberta, Canada and Cypress Village, British Columbia, Canada. Today the studio counts 35-plus commissions in eleven countries, yet Todd still begins every project the old way with a pencil in hand, boots on the ground, chasing the right view line before the first stroke on paper.
When he isn’t sketching on a mountain trail, you’ll find him teaching at Bergen Arkitekthøgskole, Bergen, Norway; guest-critiquing at Cornell University, Ithaca, United States; or fly-fishing with the rod his dad gifted at graduation, a reminder to stay true to home, craft, and the long game.
After three decades he still believes: build lightly, frame the horizon, and let quality shout louder than size.
Curated Podcast Sponsors:
Lutron Electronics: https://www.lutron.com/us/en
Caplan's Appliances: https://caplans.ca/
The Doors: https://thedoors4u.com/
To connect with our sponsors, email me: jonathan@waldenhomes.ca
Behind the Build on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behind_the_build_podcast/
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.