Who We Are

Bill Johnson – Editor

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Inspiration for TheTechbuiltHouse.com grew out of Bill’s original research for his Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation, awarded at Eastern Michigan University in December of 2017. Bill’s passion for mid-century design and architecture led to focus on the work of Carl Koch in general and Techbuilt in particular, but Bill is a man of many interests including woodworking, furniture restoration, birding and world religion, among others.
The richness of the Techbuilt narrative and the enthusiasm of the community he helped create, led him to establish this site and lay the foundation for ongoing inquiry and creation of new ideas beyond the confines of academic discourse.
Bill and his family relocated to Bloomfield Hills, a hub of Michigan Techbuilts, in 2012, from his home in Chattanooga, where newfound exposure to Michigan’s central role in Modernism, has been a constant source of discovery.

Jeffrey Adkisson – Assistant Editor

jeff bwJeffrey Adkisson studied architecture at Iowa State University 1977-1981 before moving to Brooklyn, NY to start a career in commercial package design. In 1996, Jeffrey purchased a Techbuilt house in Montauk, NY from the son of the original owner. Over the next 14 years he maintained the house in its original condition and began researching the history of Techbuilt development on Long Island. Jeffrey sold this house in 2010 and relocated to rural Hudson, NY.

In 2017 Jeffrey was able to save two Techbuilt homes in Aurora, NY from demolition. He dismantled and relocated the houses and is currently working on their next manifestation. Jefferey brings a wealth of experience and information on Techbuilt with his 20+ year relationship with them. The dismantling of the Aurora houses alone gives him a deep understanding of how these houses and their systems were actually put together. This combined with research conducted at both the Frances Loeb Library at Harvard and the Albert Farwell Bemis Foundation archives at MIT in preparation for the Aurora project give Jeffrey a unique perspective on Techbuilt houses and their history.

Scott Hedges – Assistant Editor

scott2Scott Hedges is the co-founder of Bygghouse, a building technology company that grew from his experiences building houses in Sweden.  Scott is a leading North American expert on industrialized building and works with leading construction firms to transform construction.  His work has helped small firms like Bensonwood Homes, EcoCore, GOLogic, and PhonenixHaus introduce versions of the European element construction methods to North America, and he works with larger firms like Toll Brothers, Great Gulf Homes, Maronda, and Katerra on the implementation of building component automation.  He’s also a consultant to the Lindbäcks Group, the North American agent for Randek AB & Innovativ Plast & has created the “WarmFörm” foundation system.

He is currently working with Tony Denzer, author of the “Solar House”, on a major history of the relationship between Scandinavian and North American building, and has a love hate relationship with the field of architecture. He believes that unless architects choose different heroes, and appreciate their own historical relationship to building technology in better focus, they will continue to elevate nonsense over substance and be locked out of an increasingly technologically demanding building industry.  His exploration of Carl Koch’s experiences, especially his formative years in Sweden are part of Scott’s ongoing and wide ranging work as a change agent in the building industry.