Top 20 Under 40

Scott Rodwin

SCOTT RODWIN

40
Principal
Rodwin Architecture
Time in current position 9 years
Time in the industry 17 Years
Education B.A., Architecture, Cornell University, 1991
Hometown Boulder
LEED Accredited Yes

Awards AIA Young Architect of the Year, 2006; Golden Nugget Award, 2003; AIA Colorado North Awards, 2001, 2002, 2005; AIA Denver Award for Leadership, 1995; AIA National Research Award, 1995

Important Projects 1920 Market Street, Denver; Boulder Aikikai Dojo, Boulder; Tara Institute for the Performing Arts, Boulder; City on the Hill Church, Boulder; Japango Sushi, Boulder; Japon Sushi Restaurant, Denver

Community Service AIA, Architects and Planners of Boulder, Boulder Green Building Guild, Blueprint Boulder, Consortium of Cities Green Commercial Codes Task Force, The Denver Foundation, The Solstice Institute, Sierra Club

Professional Affiliations, Memberships AIA, Homebuilders Association of Colorado, U.S. Green Building Council, The Center for Resource Conservation, Boulder Chamber of Commerce

Scott Rodwin’s many accomplishments are diverse for the owner of an architectural firm.

“While still in high school, I found that I loved art, physics and computers,” he says. “Put all three together, and you have architecture. During summers in college, I swung a hammer or interned in an architecture office.”

His award-winning, six-person firm— Rodwin Architecture Inc. of Boulder—is currently involved in the design of two churches, two retreat centers, a large public school, a small private school, the remodel and expansion of a historic mixed-use building in LoDo and more than a dozen green residences ranging from affordable cottages to ultra-high-end homes.

Besides teaching green building to architects and builders for the city of Boulder, Rodwin is writing a book about green homes.

“I am always deeply moved when I walk onto a building site and see people building my ideas,” he says. “I have enormous respect for them. Without builders, ideas are nothing. Being part of a team that creates something beautiful and functional is incredibly fulfilling.”

After several years as an employee for a number of architectural firms, including Davis Partnership of Denver, he founded Rodwin Architecture in 1999, with offices located on Boulder’s historic Pearl Street Mall.

He is also president of Skycastle Homes, a small green-residential development company in Boulder.

As founder of Blueprint Boulder, a grass-roots public forum focused on the city’s future development, Rodwin helped bring together more than 130 members of the public to talk about good urban design. The group has been lauded by the planning director and members of Boulder’s City Council.

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Rodwin maintains a deep commitment to the arts. He has danced professionally and taught contract improvisation dance for the last seven years. He co-founded CI36, an international dance festival, and is an award-winning professional sculptor. His work is currently on exhibit at Boulder’s Smith Klein Gallery.

Sculpting and dance are artistic passions that Rodwin says contribute substantially to his creative design experience.

“The downturn has made us pay closer attention to what we are designing. People want smaller, greener homes thoughtfully integrated into the landscape and the community. When times are good and anything sells, the industry sometimes loses sight of those basic desires. I hope that when the market does recover, we can continue to honor those values.”