Father and son as well as business partners Marc and Michael Fasanella grew up working in the professions of estate gardening, landscape maintenance, residential construction, and stone masonry. Between 2018-2023 they joined forces to offer environmental design/build services to the East End of Long Island.
Our Work
Offering expert guidance in the adaptive reclamation of the built environment and surrounding ecosystem - our work focused on regenerative architecture and land stewardship.
Marc brought to the company his training and certifications in Art as well as Industrial Arts and Technology from the New York State Education Department, a permaculture Design Certificate from Punta Mona Center for Botanical Studies and Regenerative Design, and a PhD from New York University focused on the Environmental Design of Jones Beach State Park.
Michael contributed his certification in Residential Carpentry from the Eastern Long Island Academy of Applied Technology, an Associate Degree in Applied Science focused on Landscape Development, a Bachelor of Technology in Plant Science from SUNY Cobleskill and a seven-month AmeriCorps service term building trail infrastructure including log bridges, stone staircases and post and beam camping structures throughout New Hampshire State Parks and National Forests.
Landscape Design
Implementing systems of Permaculture, a design process based in ecology, we minimized waste, reduced labor and energy input, incorporated agroecology, handcraft, locally sourced natural materials, and passive solar / rainwater harvest strategies. We emphasized existing patterns in the landscape and the interconnection of species, determining how to best integrate the built and natural environment.
Landscape Restoration
Either inert or biodegradable was our goal. We addressed the landscape as a living entity that responds to the changes impressed upon it. By interpreting the existing grade, using as many permeable surfaces as possible, we crafted new elements to introduce into the landscape out of glass, metal, stone, or wood and as many native plants as possible. We interacted with the landscape we inherited and kept in place as many structures, as well as near-native or non-invasive hybrid plants, as possible. Right plant, right place is what we worked toward. Our goal was a healthy, biodiverse, thriving ecosystem that is easy to maintain and delights the senses year-round.
Artisan Cottages
Crafting in a traditional, non-mechanized way using high-quality, local material we worked on small, simple dwellings near a waterfront and or outbuildings forming part of a homestead occupied by an agronomist, or craftsperson. Living light on the land through construction practice utilizing primarily biodegradable, inert, or reused materials, we minimized our impact on the ecosystem that sustains us.
Restoration Carpentry
Undertaking the careful re-construction of the original details of buildings that have deteriorated over time or been renovated beyond recognition, we analyzed the history of each building including the effort of each craftsperson who contributed to the building’s evolution and formed a restoration program. A palette of solutions fashioned from glass, metal, wood, and stone enabled us to solve restoration problems with authenticity and environmental sensitivity.
Woodworking
Utilizing species of wood indigenous to the United States, making things by hand, and exercising skill in carrying out one's work are essential aspects of the work we undertook through Ecological Design Partners. Imbued with the ethos of the Arts & Crafts movement and inspired by the most salient aspects of modernist design, we created new work that paid homage to tradition in an insightful and innovative way.
