Photography by Lisa Kuilenburg
MIKE VERDOUW
founding director (2002-2021)
We remember Mike Verdouw, our much-loved and greatly missed friend and co-founding director, who unexpectedly passed away in August 2021.
Mike was a deep-thinking architect who focused on people, family and community relationships as a foundation for design. He saw the human side of architecture – how people physically and emotionally engage with their environment and how architecture has a role in the way we relate to and care for one another. He wanted to build better communities.
He was a consummate practitioner, attentive to the finer details and nuances that can elevate architecture to the highest level. He cared deeply for Tasmania’s beautiful natural environment, where he spent much of his spare time teaching his children about the values, subtleties and hidden treasures of our island.
Mike was a spiritual man who placed his faith and love of his family above all else and used the strength he gained from that to inform his professional life.
In his positive and unique way, he challenged us to be better people. He left not only a built architectural legacy but also one carried by those who knew him, who worked with him or were taught by him, along with those whose joy it is to inhabit the inspired architecture he created.
He gave so much to us at 1+2.
Architecture AU published an obituary in honour of the late 1+2 founding director, written by Fred Ward in October 2021.