Conservation Design Forum

At CDF, we approach site design, green infrastructure, and landscape architecture from a water-smart perspective. Our multidisciplinary team of planners, landscape architects, civil engineers, and ecologists have synthesized the most enlightened methodologies from across core practice areas and academic research in order to provide a cohesive vision for place-making that is restorative to the environment as well as the human body and spirit. Our uncommon regard for water as a valuable resource contrasts with the standard mode of managing rainwater as a waste product. We see the potential for beauty and expression with the element that unites all life - from a single raindrop to a rushing river. Developing that potential within a framework of organic efficiencies restores latent ecosystems in a visible manner, creating a unique sense of place and energy. Optimizing natural processes and using the latest technologies, we formulate water and land-use strategies that make the previously unusable into an amenity, the energy-intensive into the energy-efficient, the unrecognized into the alluring. That outlook guides our leading-edge work in the development of active, green schoolyards, vitalized healthcare facilities and work places, environmentally beneficial urban green roofs/walls, complete and green streetscapes, ecologically robust parks and open lands, sustainable agriculture systems, and living laboratories for higher education. Throughout our 20-year history, Conservation Design Forum has made the Great Lakes region our focus, collaborating with top architectural and engineering firms, civic and educational institutions, government offices, conservation organizations, and private developers on award-winning projects across Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and New York. For inquiries, contact our Lombard (Chicago), Illinois office at 630-559-2000, or our Ann Arbor, Michigan office at 734-663-3751