The firm’s philosophy centers on design that honors and reveals the local history and natural context of a site through a process of observation, creative interpretation, and construction. Initial design concepts are driven by attentive observation of site dynamics including prevailing winds, solar orientation, hydrology, geology, soils, and existing plant and animal communities. In the development of a design, the firm employs a vocabulary of primarily indigenous materials, including plants, paving, landforms, and multiple uses of water. We meld the particular - a place, a plant community, a certain landform - with universal archetypal forms such as the mount, the theater, the grove, the parterre - so that the local ethos of a place is never lost or homogenized. The diverse backgrounds of the staff include studies in the fields of landscape architecture, anthropology, biology, economics, zoology, horticulture, architecture, art, art history, and architectural history. This broad knowledge base contributes greatly to the firm’s collective creativity and ability to respond to diverse client needs and expectations. It also underscores our great commitment to collaboration as part of a healthy design process. We particularly pride ourselves on our productive collaborations with a wide range of outstanding architects both regionally and nationally.