In 1996, Christian founded The Bungalow Company, launching an online ready-made plan company known as "The Bungalow Company." Initially offering Arts & Crafts-inspired house plans for online purchase, clients had the option to customize them to meet regional requirements. The Bungalow Company rapidly gained popularity and cultivated a dedicated following. During this time, Christian authored two books and coauthored a third for Gib Smith Publishing related to Bungalows and Arts & Crafts Architecture. As the demand for custom, site-specific designs surged, Christian established Gladu Design as a separate studio to handle these unique projects.
Relocating to Bend, Oregon, Christian expanded his team and refined both the ready-made plans and custom design offerings under the Gladu Design brand. While maintaining a strong online presence, he had the opportunity to draw on his construction background and personally designed and constructed multiple homes for himself and family members.
Missing his lifelong connection to the water, Christian relocated back to Washington State and had the opportunity to explore working with new prefab technologies, including volumetric prefab and panelized prefab construction, as well as cross-laminated timber.
Throughout its history, Gladu Design has operated from various locations, including Bainbridge Island, Seattle, Washington, and Bend, Oregon, and has completed projects in major U.S. markets. Christian maintains that the success of his design career is based on his hands-on training and influences. He remains a woodworker and works closely with the trades on his projects to ensure they are meticulously designed and constructed. Christian and his wife Cathryn are scheduled to break ground on a new personal residence and studio in the spring of 2024 in Kingston, Washington. Christian and his team continue to maintain a hands-on and personable approach to their work, consistently providing custom design solutions for their clients while remaining true to the values and inspirations that have shaped their journey.
How It All Began
Christian Gladu's upbringing in Canterbury, New Hampshire immersed him in his father's expertise as a design builder, specializing in the restoration of 17th and 18th-century homes and the construction of reproduction homes using traditional timber frame methods. Christian acquired his skills by working alongside his father and local craftsmen, ultimately becoming a proficient carpenter. The family business was comprehensive, encompassing all aspects of construction, with a strong commitment to using regional materials and preserving time-honored building traditions. The historical significance of Canterbury, home to one of the original 19 Shaker Communities, profoundly influenced Christian's values, fostering a deep appreciation for innovation, entrepreneurship, community, and a strong work ethic.
After pursuing a design education in Boston, Christian embarked on his design career, initially joining Grisold, Helckel, and Kelly, a Boston-based firm. Subsequently, he took a position with ADD Inc Architects in Cambridge, Massachusetts. However, his deep affection for the Pacific Northwest led him to move to Washington State, where he joined NBBJ Architects, a prominent multidisciplinary architecture firm in Seattle.
Christian's strong connection to his roots and passion for residential design prompted him to shift his focus to single-family residential design. Following the purchase and restoration of a 1926 Bungalow on Bainbridge Island, he was inspired by attending a thesis presentation on the Original American Bungalow movement. This presentation discussed influences from artisans like Gustav Stickley and regional design and developer Judd Yoho. Inspired by this, Christian created a collection of reasonably sized Arts and Crafts-inspired house designs. These designs were conceived as a response to the lifeless suburban sprawl prevalent in neighborhoods in the early 1990s. They were intended to function as infill lots in historic neighborhoods or as designs for new Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND) emerging across the country.
