Vale Michael Verdouw

Vale Michael (Mike) Verdouw | 1969 – 2021

 

It is with great sadness that I inform you that highly respected member of our Tasmanian architecture community, Mike Verdouw, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday 24 August, 2021.

Mike was a highly valued and awarded member of the Tasmanian Chapter, and in particular the Practice Committee (2004-2021), the Acumen Content Review Panel (ACRP) from (2015-2019), where he was instrumental in contributing to Acumen’s transition to its new platform and Tasmanian Architecture Awards jury chair in 2014. Mike equally demonstrated complete professionalism and enthusiasm for architectural practice. His contributions to our profession and the Institute were of intellectual and practical advice, but always offered with respect and compassion. In his positive and unique way he would always inspire us all to be better people. His overall joyful persona was even more so when expressing the delight and love he enjoyed with his family, especially his wife and children. 

Mike, to use the words of his colleagues, was ‘very focussed on people, family and community relationships, and the human side of architecture, whether it was in the way people physically or emotionally connect with buildings themselves – or more importantly – how architecture can assist us in relating to and caring for one another in building communities.’

‘He was a thoughtful architect, very attentive to the many finer details and subtle nuances in design which in concert, elevated his work to the highest level. He cared very deeply for the environment, particularly Tasmania’s beautiful non-urban environments, where he spent much of his spare time teaching his children about the subtleties, hidden treasures and values of such places.’

‘Above all else he was a spiritual, family and community man. He placed his faith and love of his family above architecture and used the strength he gained from that to inform his professional life. It made him the caring, honest, attentive and utmost professional practitioner that he was.’

Our deepest sympathies go to his family – in particular his wife Julia and his daughters – his colleagues at 1+2 Architecture, his friends, and the architectural community in Tasmania and abroad, as we all reconcile the loss of this dear man and architect.

A service will be held this Thursday 2 September, 10 am, at the Christian Reformed Church of Kingston, 17 Denison Street, Kingston, and family and friends are warmly invited to attend.

One of Michael’s close friends has set up a Go Fund Me to support Julia and their girls. Find details here.

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