With four books and well over 500 timberframe structures to his credit, Tedd Benson has played an important role in the resurgence of this centuries-old form of construction in modern America. For nearly three decades, timberframers throughout the country have relied on shopworn, dog-eared copies of his practical how-to manual Building the Timber Frame House (Charles Scribner and Sons, 1980 and Simon and Schuster, 1995) to hone their craft and solve the sometimes complex issues inherent in building with heavy timbers. Since then, he wrote two editions of his second book,: The Timber-Frame Home: Design, Construction, Finishing (1988 and 1997) and Timberframe: The Art and Craft of the Post and Beam Home (1999), which have also become classic references.

Since 1974, when he founded Benson Woodworking Company (BWC), Tedd has been both a student and teacher of timber home construction. As a founder of the Timber Framers Guild of North America, Tedd has spoken at numerous conferences, including many keynote addresses, conducted hands-on classes, and penned many articles extolling the virtues of this venerable building technique. His reverence for the traditions of timberframing has been coupled with a conviction that these buildings are well-suited to meet the challenges and ever-changing technologies of modern homebuilding.

As an active proponent of Open-Building ideas, Tedd continues to champion durability and adaptability in homebuilding. From the disentangled wiring, HVAC, and plumbing systems running through dedicated chases to the pre-engineered assemblies that seamlessly come together as finished custom structures, his houses embody efficiency while anticipating the inevitable changes that a 500-year home will undergo. With the BWC homebuilding division, Bensonwood Homes, he has brought these ideas from the drawing-board to the proving-ground of the construction site through a design-build system called Open-Built®. He has also spearheaded a partnership with the MIT Open Source Building Alliance to build a slate of demonstration building projects called the Open Prototype Initiative. The first building is currently in use as a two-family home at the Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH; the second is in the planning process and will be the President’s home for Unity College in Unity, Maine.

Of all the things Tedd has been involved with building over the years, he is proudest of BWC. It is an organization—an adventurous experiment in itself—dedicated to creating an atmosphere in which fun and excellence can thrive side by side.

When he’s not working on another book or riding a bike, Tedd lives with his wife and partner Christine in an Open-Built home in Alstead, New Hampshire.

Other individual/companies to be honored are:

Honorary Degree recipient Duane Hallowell, President of Hallowell International
Citation recipient MOFGA
Citation recipient Central Maine Newspapers
Citation recipient NRG Systems
Citation recipient ReVision Energy LLC