WAKEY WAKEY, put your nice clothes on, it's time to go visit the design firm. Easier said than done though. We awoke this morning to find two of the vans' spare tires had been stolen. After a half hour delay, we hit the road and drove north to Hoffman Estates. Once there, we met up with Jim Patchett, an Iowa State alumnus and founder of Conservation Design Forum (CDF) in the Chicagoland area. Conservation Design Forum (CDF) is a multidisciplinary firm that specializes in water resource management; water drives every design.
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| Bluff Spring Fen |
We first traveled to Bluff Spring Fen, a remnant prairie full of native Illinois plant species that maintains its water runoff through underground streams and seeps. Patchett brought Savanna Studio to this prairie to show us a natural working landscape that manages its water effectively on its own. He taught us that we must understand complex systems like these in order to design landscapes that manage its own water like it does so efficiently in nature.
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| AMCOL Headquarters |
After viewing a natural water management landscape, we went to the AMCOL Headquarters, a business campus that CDF designed with water management in mind. The campus is built with permeable sidewalks and roads and extensive drainage systems that drain into its own prairie. The drainage system restricts water from running into stormwater management systems and saves energy. Furthermore, the AMCOL Headquarters employs green roofs to reduce water runoff and reuses "gray" water in its toilets.
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| Jim Patchett talking about the water systems |
Seeing landscape architecture, engineering, and architecture come together as one from nature to the campus was really interesting. The day truly showed us the different paths we can take in our careers and how we have to be collaborative with all design disciplines. Thank you Jim Patchett and CDF for sharing your day and extensive knowledge with us.
Brett & Austin
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