Our first “Dutchman,” Kate Van Sluyter started with WORKSHOP8 in June, in September we welcomed Marcel van Garderen. . . Let the double dutch action begin!
Please indulge me while I tell you a little bit about Marcel. You can reach him at marcel@workshop8.us, if you’d like to say, “Hi.”
Born and raised in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Marcel moved to the United States on April 1st, 1988 (Happy April Fools Day). He lived in Bozeman, Montana where he worked in a wood shop for nine years making everything from wooden fly-fishing nets to custom furniture and learning to embrace every woodworking tool available. In 1997, Marcel began his studies in architecture at Montana State University where he earned a Bachelors in Environmental Design and a Masters in Architecture. During summers he put in time doing construction and laying hardwood floors. During this time Marcel was also raising his three children: William (27), Tejay (26), and Chaney (20) — if the name Tejay van Garderen, sounds familiar to you, yes it is THAT Tejay van Garderen.
During his forth year in college, Marcel returned to the Netherlands to compete an eight month Internship in Alphen aan den Rijn, with Bloemen Architecten. The collage above shows his first built project in Leiderdorp, Netherlands — a cool car wash known as AutowasH20.
Following graduation, Marcel worked in Missoula, Montana for two years before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado. Over the next nine years Marcel worked in firms ranging in size from 10 to 200 employees in Boulder and Fort Collins including OZ, Neenan, and VFLA. He has worked on projects ranging from small metal buildings to $300 million ski resort revitalizations. Marcel’s architectural philosophy blends well with WORKSHOP8’s. Marcel strives for his designs to be informed by the experience of the user, the local vernacular, and an engaging concept.
Marcel currently lives in Longmont with his fiancé, Monika, and their herd of dogs, Keizer, Finn, and Mojo. They enjoy helping with dog rescues and often have a foster dog or two in the pack.
During the summer, Marcel loves racing his road bike for the number one ranked masters team in Colorado of which he is also one of the managers.
Marcel is also involved in the large week-long Pro bike races in the united states as a motorcycle driver in a variety of roles ranging from Moto Marshal to Medical Moto Driver.
During the winters you can find him riding a Skwal (not to be confused with a snowboard), hiking in the mountains, and enjoying the winter wonderland that colorado has to offer.
