Building University History

Gundlach Champion has been involved in constructing university projects for over 100 years, when our founder (Herman Gundlach, Sr.) was building his business back in the early 1900s. It was then that our earliest university work began, starting with Michigan Technological University with the construction of the Chemistry building (1902), Civil/Mining/Engineering building (1902), the Metallurgy building (1903), the Sigma Rho Fraternity house (1906), and the Library and Museum (1907).

Gundlach’s reputation for excellence earned him early projects at Northern Michigan University and Finlandia University as well. In 1913, he constructed the NMU Administration Building and the Assembly House & Gym. At Finlandia, Gundlach along with Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen erected Nikander Hall.

In 1945, Herman Gundlach, Sr.’s son, “Winks” (seen above) became president of the firm and continued his father’s work constructing university buildings until his death in 2005. Today, our firm continues the tradition of providing project excellence to these same universities and many others.