Will Bruder has practiced architecture in Phoenix, Arizona, for more than 40 years, designing major civic projects such as the Phoenix Central Library , the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Billings (Montana) Public Library. He has also designed private houses, multifamily housing projects, and commercial developments that explore inventive and contextually exciting solutions in response to site opportunities and user needs. His work celebrates the craft of building in a manner not typical of contemporary architecture. Through his creative use of materials and light, Will is renowned for his ability to raise the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Self-trained as an architect, Will earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and took supplemental courses in structural engineering, philosophy, art history and urban planning. He later served architectural apprenticeships under Paolo Soleri and Gunnar Birkerts.
Having opened his first studio in 1974 in the Arizona desert, Will now lives and works in downtown Phoenix and continues to lead and mentor students of design. He has led work for over 500 commissions and actively engages in his community in civic conversations regarding downtown Phoenix and the role of design in place-making within its fragile, young and optimistic urban desert environment.