Professional
Profile:
James Burde
As
sole proprietor of the Design Studio, I bring over 30 years of
training and professional experience to my work. 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, Mass.
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 skills as an architect, 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.
In my practice, I have applied skills and ideas honed and developed
over time to a variety of projects ranging from furniture
design to custom
homes
and site specific buildings, creating work that 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.
