Stephen Pondelis

Stephen Pondelis, Partner at Van Dam Architecture and Design, was born in 1950 and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at the Universities of Nebraska in Omaha and Lincoln. His first degree was in sociology with an emphasis on community organization and activism. As an extension of that work, he became involved in pilot programs aimed at educating low-income families about energy conservation and the development of alternative energy resources on a community scale. His work with passive solar approaches to home design led to an interest in architecture and a return to school to study architecture. As an undergraduate, Mr. Pondelis was employed by the Nebraska State Historical Society in the Historic American Buildings Survey. He photographed, researched, and documented historic architecture in 15 Nebraska counties, and prepared nominations for the National Register of Historic Places.

Mr. Pondelis moved to Portland, Maine in 1984 and worked for four years for the Maine architecture firm of Hill-Nemmers & Associates, Architects and Planners, where he was involved in a wide variety of residential and resort/health facility projects.

Returning to the University of Nebraska for his graduate degree, he associated with Professor Keith Sawyers to publish Directions, a guide to contemporary architecture in Europe. He was awarded the Master of Architecture degree in 1990 and won the Henry C. Adams medal for outstanding work in design and scholarship.

Stephen worked with Carol A. Wilson, Architect, in Portland, Maine from 1990 to 1996, where he was project manager for residential and institutional projects. He was a member of the design team on the Gardenhouse at Prout's Neck, which won an American Wood Council Award for excellence in design, and the Environmental Education Center for Maine Audubon, which won a Maine AIA award for excellence in design and The Boston Society of Architects award for excellence in design of sustainable buildings. From 1996 to 2002 he was employed by Van Dam & Renner Architects as project architect on a wide variety of residential and institutional commissions, including several Maine waterfront design projects.

Stephen is a member of the Board of Directors of Architalx, Portland's non-profit group promoting architecture and theory with lecture series held at the Portland Museum of Art, exhibitions held throughout the city, and community design charrettes in low-income neighborhoods.