Badanes received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 1967, and his Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) from Princeton University in 1971. Seeking an alternative to conventional practice, Badanes and his partners Jim Adamson (who now also teaches a design/build course at the University of Miami) and John Ringel founded the Jersey Devil design/build firm in 1972. The firm has designed and built a wide variety of projects over the ensuing three decades. Their work has been the subject of three books, Jersey Devil Design/Build Book (1985), Devil's Workshop: 25 Years of Jersey Devil Architecture (1997) and 'Design/Build With Jersey Devil: A Handbook for Education and Practice'. Their work has also been featured in numerous articles in various professional and popular media.
Badanes has taught at various architecture and art schools since the 1980s. He has been on the board of directors of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, Vermont, since 1983, and regularly teaches there in the summer. He first taught at the University of Washington in 1988. In 1996, he accepted an appointment as a permanent member of the UW faculty and is the first to hold the Howard S. Wright Endowed Chair. He typically teaches a design/build studio every year in the spring.
Badanes has conducted design/build workshops at the University of Technology in Helsinki, Auroville, India, the University of Oregon, the University of Miami, Atlantic Center for the Arts, McGill University, UNCC, Ball State University, the University of California at San Diego, Florida A&M University, Miami University in Ohio, North Dakota State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin. He is a frequent speaker at architecture schools across the United States and internationally.
