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Elizabeth Wright Ingraham Architects is a high quality, client-centered, strong design, architectural firm that
is very mindful of the impact of the built environment on human society.
Evan did an informal residential site assessment for a project in the foothills of Colorado's front range, including
an evaluation of the historical and ecological overlays.
The site was located on a hillside with exceptionally mature scrub oak and remarkably little understory. The uniqueness
of this particular feature led to identification of the following design considerations:
- Vegetation Preservation - Rather than blade the site, it was recommended that the scrub oak be preserved
as a solution multiplier for slope stabilization and natural cooling.
- Wildfire Mitigation - The mature scrub oak was an indication that the ecology of the site might be dependent on
frequent low intensity burning. This was confirmed when the soil was sampled for horizons containing wildfire ash.
This had created wonderfully unique vegetation, but it also created a wildfire hazard
in the case of a high intensity burn. It was recommended that precautions be taken to create defensible space.
- Historical Continuity - The unique ecology of the site indicated possible historical usage. It was recommended that
this be investigated for possible reference in the design of the residence to provide a sense of historical
continuity.
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GreenLeaf Forest products is a Colorado company that integrates forest management and operations, materials processing, and manufacture of handcrafted value-added products. Evan spent three months
as general manager of GreenLeaf's front range sustainable forestry and onsite milling operation.
In this capacity, Evan managed sales, account management, and milling operations. In the second month of management, Evan brought the operation from
cash flow negative to cash flow positive. Subsequent to that, he found himself constrained from making economically viable decisions on the grounds
that those short term decisions didn't meet an important stakeholder's conceptual model of sustainability.
Evan came out of this experience convinced that any sustainable enterprise must be economically viable, in addition to the more traditional
sustainable considerations of ecology and community. In addition, Evan developed a preference for iterative improvement through system dynamic analysis and a
distrust of static conceptual modeling.
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The Dine' (Navajo) Nation is a sovereign tribe located in the four corners area of the Southwest United States. The Dine' people
captured this territory and established a pastoral economy shortly before european settlement. Due to the harsh environmental
conditions of this area, and the exceptional Dine' adaptation to it, they were able to retain a relatively large part of their
original territory and cultural autonomy. Evan performed an ethnographical study of a particular Dine' family.
In the course of his ethnography, Evan identified the methods used by this family to exploit the resources available
to them in the white world. Surprisingly, they availed themselves of these resources from within the conceptual framework
of their traditional seasonal migrations. They did not surrender their cultural autonomy in the process.
This was Evan's first lesson in how the goal of economic viability could be achieved without compromising cultural
or environmental sustainability. In the process, environmental and cultural diversity was actually increased.
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