As I reflect back on the past 15 years, it has been a time of tremendous growth in the field of sustainable design.  When I founded CDF in 1994, the US Green Building Council was in its infancy, LEED did not exist, the Sustainable Sites initiative was years away from fruition, and those firms that focused in sustainable design were few and far between.  While we still have a long way to go in our understanding of how to integrate all forms of building and land use in ways that restore and sustain the integrity of the physical resources on which all life depends, it is encouraging to see the growing emphasis that has emerged, particularly in the past decade.

Throughout that time, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to collaborate with what I consider some of the brightest minds in the field, not only within CDF, but with a broad array of the world’s most noted ecological thinkers and doers.  It has been my privilege to collaborate with, learn from, and constantly strive to increase our mutual understanding of how to approach the design, implementation, and stewardship of sustainable design initiatives.  Our projects have varied significantly in scope and scale, and in environments ranging from urban to rural.  We have learned both through our successes, as well as our failures.  The commitment and passion of my colleagues, however, has never wavered.

There is still much work to be done.  As a society, we are only beginning to grasp the magnitude of issues that ours and future generations may face as a result of the disconnection that exists today between cause and effect, particularly as it relates to our current relationships with the resources of the earth, and all other organisms.  A case may be made that in an era of unlimited access to information, there has never existed a society of people more profoundly ignorant of the basic functions of the earth, more disconnected from its realities, and more unaware of the cultural role in the evolution of what we commonly refer to today as “nature”.

It is this process of cultural restoration and reconnection, regardless of the environmental context, in which we continue to dedicate ourselves as we move forward.  Success can not be achieved, however, if the sole emphasis is to restore and sustain ecological integrity.  Solutions must be embedded in both beauty and function, with quality craftsmanship, to nurture social and economic vitality as well.  Only then may our efforts endure.

Thank you to all clients, collaborators, and colleagues who have made these wonderful opportunities possible since our inception.

James M. Patchett, President and Founder