Thinking Outside Of The Box

Local architect and ex-president of the Eco Building Guild, Bruce Millard, discusses the evolution of sustainable design in his practice and the throughout the region. Moving to Sandpoint from the urban Philadelphia over thirty years ago,  Bruce had the opportunity to re-invent himself professionally  Designing in an open rural environment  presented many different design challenges and possibilities and he started exploring new materials - e.g., straw bale.  He also  realized that he was re-inventing himself and his focus and become  healthy sustainable living design. "Architecture is all about people and I realized that my focus had shifted from what I knew .  I had much more to learn so I started reaching out to others in the region to explore new ideas." In connecting with others he became part of the Eco Building world and sustainable design became the focus.  Bruce was president of the Ecobuilding Guild and started bringing builders, designers, realtors to Sandpo