About Madeen Architecture & Construction

Madeen Architecture and Construction is a licensed architecture firm that was founded by Greg Madeen to help enhance the human/nature connection. Some of Greg's earliest memories in the early 1960's are of building tree houses, earth tunnels, snow caves and hay bale forts. He spent his high school summers as a surveyor. In the 1970's he became assistant city engineer and learned about water, sewer and other civil engineering practices. He also installed dozens of solar hot water systems and built solar collectors. These early experiences led to a strong conviction toward site analysis and environmental design.

From 1981 through 1986, while attending architecture school in Bozeman, Montana, Greg studied indigenous, vernacular and regional styles and the reasons why they generally fit their landscapes, climates and functional requirements while using local materials. To fund his college, he did drafting on large farm-scale ethanol plants, designed passive solar office buildings, and helped Bozeman and surrounding communities with their municipal water and sewer systems. His thesis project was a hot springs resort that utilized the sun and the naturally occurring hot water to their fullest. Upon graduation, he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and interned with two well known solar adobe architecture firms.

After two years as a self-employed environmental designer, Greg became a licensed architect in 1991 and started his own firm that again specialized in organic design. In New Mexico, Greg Madeen Architecture designed dozens of solar adobe projects. Greg was instrumental in making pumicecrete a viable alternative to adobe. Greg was also actively involved in getting strawbale approved as an alternative building material. He also helped plan a 500-unit neo-traditional village, as well as a 30-unit environmental subdivision. Recently Greg's 16 year old idea of an unplastered rammed earth wall system with sandwiched mid-wall insulation was utilized on a 3000 s.f. residence with exciting color bands. Sustainable, alternative, instinctive, handcrafted, breathable and healthy are descriptive terms that help define the Madeen Architectural approach. The style and material solutions are derived from the site and the client's desires, and not the architect's preconceptions or the trends of the times.

In 1996, Madeen Architecture and Construction moved back to Southwest Colorado and opened a professional office in the heart of Durango. As well as all the architecture projects, Greg has general-contracted a half dozen projects he designed. Greg's wife and partner, Carol, runs the affiliated Madeen Interior Design, Inc., and is an Allied ASID Interior Designer. Her environmental background dates to 1977, when she graduated with a biology degree and became an environmental consultant in Washington, DC. In the late 1970's she also worked two years at Arcostona, a visionary community in Arizona. In 1980-81, Carol built United Nations refugee camps in Thailand.  Carol's passion is beauty, which she strongly believes is an integral part of nature and good architectural design.

Madeen Architecture and Construction encourages involvement and cooperation with other enthusiastic environmental professionals. Staff size varies with workload requirements.

With over a two hundred-project history that includes 50 adobes, 10 strawbales, 10 pumicecrete, one rammed-earth home and numerous other innovative holistic solutions, Madeen Architecture and Construction is more dedicated than ever to the belief that humans can beautifully live and work with nature.