Saunders Architecture

Saunders Architecture is an architecture firm based in Bergen, Norway, founded by Canadian architect Todd Saunders and renowned for its timber projects integrated into Nordic landscapes. The firm was founded about twenty-five years ago, after Todd Saunders settled in Bergen after leaving Canada. Holding a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in architecture with a specialization in ecological community design, he now teaches at Yale University while running his firm, which relies on a human-scale, international, multidisciplinary team. Saunders Architecture’s practice is rooted in a search for harmony between nature and architecture: for Todd Saunders, « nature and culture must take precedence over architecture », with his buildings aiming to extend the landscape rather than occupy it. Among its most emblematic timber works are the Aurland Lookout in Norway, a wooden viewpoint overlooking the fjords named among the seven architectural wonders by Condé Nast, and the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland (Canada), a stilted hotel clad in wood whose profits are reinvested in the local community. Todd Saunders is among the most renowned architects in the world, and the firm is notably pursuing a community project on the island of Fedje, Norway.