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.
Grounding
Offering expert guidance in the adaptive reclamation of the built environment and surrounding ecosystem - their 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, a decade of experience in landscape construction as well as AmeriCorps service terms building trail infrastructure including log bridges, stone staircases and post and beam camping structures.
Landscape Design
Implementing systems of Permaculture, a design process based in ecology, Marc and Michael sought to minimize waste, reduce labor and energy input, incorporate principles of agroecology, handcraft, locally sourced natural materials, and passive solar / rainwater harvest strategies. They emphasized existing patterns in the landscape and the interconnection of species, determining how to best integrate the built and natural environment.
Photo: Brian Botticelli
Landscape Restoration
Either inert or biodegradable was always the first principle when selecting materials. Marc and Michael 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, they crafted new elements to introduce into the landscape out of glass, metal, stone, or wood and as many native plants as possible. They interacted with the landscape 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 they worked toward, with the goal of a healthy, biodiverse, thriving ecosystem that is easy to maintain and delights the senses year-round.
Photo: Brian Botticelli
Restoration Carpentry
Undertaking the careful re-construction of the original details of buildings that have deteriorated over time or been renovated beyond recognition, Marc and Michael 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 them to solve restoration problems with the goal of authenticity and environmental sensitivity.
Photo: Brian Botticelli
Artisan Cottages
Crafting in a traditional primarily hand wrought way using high-quality, local material Marc and Michael reconstructed small, simple dwellings, and outbuildings near a waterfront. Living light on the land through fabricating structures from primarily biodegradable, inert, or reused materials, they sought to minimize the impact of a building on the ecosystem that sustains us.
Photo: Brian Botticelli
Woodwork
Utilizing species of wood indigenous to North America, making things by hand, and exercising skill in carrying out one's work are essential aspects of the work Marc and Michael undertook through Ecological Design Partners. Imbued with the ethos of the Arts & Crafts movement and inspired by the most salient aspects of modernist design, they created new work that paid homage to tradition in an insightful and innovative way.
