He began to make his mark in the early 1970s as an educator, architect, historian of non-Western architecture, author, and strategic planner.
Bender was an associate professor of architecture in the University of Minnesota, and the Project Ouroboros he co-directed there with Dennis Holloway in the early 1970s was one of the first demonstrations of "resource-self-reliant houses."
The term "sustainability" which he coined in his 1975 essay, Sharing Smaller Pies, has become core to current progressive cultural perspectives.
[1] These principles have received interest from governments of Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as endorsement by the European Union, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and UNEP.
[3][4] He lived on Neahkahnie Mountain, on the Oregon coast and designed many residencies and public buildings in the surrounding communities.