Photo: Maxie Chambliss
Michael Payne
Following six years of working in India and Nepal, Mike Payne returned to the United States in 1977 with the idea of someday returning overseas to continue to work in rural development but with more experience in design and construction. This goal led to jobs in construction and land surveying in Oregon and a master of architecture degree from the University of Oregon.
Shortly before completing his master’s degree, Mike was hired in 1985 by the University of Calgary’s Nepal Project to conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a hospital in Manma, the district headquarters for Kalikot District in the Mid-Western Development Zone of Nepal. Mike traveled to Nepal to conduct this study and soon realized that there was no shortage of Nepali architects and engineers who were well qualified to do the study. Their knowledge of local conditions was critical in recognizing that the hospital was intended to be built in an area that was seismically active and could not be safely built. In addition, there were no roads in the area to transport the required structural materials. This experience reinforced Mike’s understanding that the effectiveness of any development undertaking, international or local, is based on collaboration and communication, as had been the case in Dhorpatan.
Mike returned to the United States and then completed his architecture studies in 1986. After working for an architecture firm in Boston for five years, he and a principal of that firm cofounded a new architecture firm there. The firm’s mission statement was “We Help Build Livable Communities.” This mission finds its philosophical roots in the Dhorpatan project, a world away but very similar in its goal to improve the lives of people where they live, through understanding the challenges they face in their daily lives.
Mike is an emeritus architect of the American Institute of Architects. In 2019, he retired to the Boston area with his wife, Jean. They spend time whenever possible with their three adult children, Jessica, Lydia, and Carter
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