Given the dynamic nature and complexity of the systems involved in nature-based solutions, an approach that maximizes flexibility and fluid communication between the designer, constructor, and project owner would be ideal. Fortunately, it exists. It is a project delivery method known as “design-build.”
A design-build team at work: Biohabitats principal engineer, Doug Streaker confers with a Meadville Land Service operator during construction of a cascade for an urban stream restoration project in Washington, DC
Join us as we examine the rewards, realities, and regenerative power of design-build for nature-based solutions. We’ll begin by chatting with clients, contractors, and designers who have been using this streamlined method to efficiently and creatively get projects in the ground. Biohabitats Construction Coordinator, Jim Favret, and I explore the question, “Why Design-Build?”
Donna An and members of the Actaeon crew ©Actaeon
Biohabitats founder and practice leader, Keith Bowers, shares his thoughts about why Nature Needs Design Build. We shine Leaf Litter’s Nonprofit Spotlight on the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), an organization that promotes and elevates the practice of design-build through its robust advocacy, education, and certification programs. Jim Favret has achieved the DBIA’s Associate Design Build Professional certification, and in the Reflections section, he tells how he came to be a proponent of design-build.
Jim Favret at a wetland restoration site in New Jersey
For those wanting to dig deeper into this topic, we share resources. We also provide updates on some of our own design-build efforts, as well as other news related to Biohabitats Projects, Places, and People.
Extern Allyson Gibson and environmental scientist, Austin Vong on a project site
As is the case with every issue of Leaf Litter, we welcome your feedback. If you want to share feedback on this issue, suggest a topic you’d like us to explore in a future issue, or just want to say hello, drop me a line!
Amy Nelson, Editor