This month Voyage Denver Magazine interviewed Scott (remotely, of course!) for their ‘Inspiring Stories’ series, which focuses on local entrepreneurs, creatives and community leaders. Read the interview and check out the entire magazine here!
Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Rodwin.
Scott, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Rodwin Architecture in 1999. I started working out of my house and have slowly but steadily grown to a 12 person award-winning design/build firm specializing in deep green custom homes and businesses. In 2001 I added our building arm Skycastle Construction.
I graduated from Cornell University in ’91 and have dedicated my practice to advancing sustainable design from the start.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve weathered recessions in 2001, 2007-10 and now. Recessions tend to impact the design, construction and real estate fields particularly hard. The two things that I am perhaps most proud about in our history is that during the Great Recession, I didn’t lay off a single person (and am not planning to during this one), and two – that we’ve never been sued.
In 2005 I hired a young designer named Brandon David from CU Boulder. When the Great Recession hit in 2007, in order to survive we pivoted to become the builder of nearly everything we design. Brandon had been a builder before he went to get his architecture degree and I put him in charge of Skycastle. He’s been with me for over 14 years now and has been a fantastic partner. The process of returning to the old-fashioned Master Builder role has been a huge learning curve, full of risks and financial hits and sleepless nights – there’s a lot more liability in being the builder. But it has dramatically improved our ability to make our buildings into holistically designed and executed projects. And to get to the highest levels of green building, that’s required.
We’d love to hear more about your work
We have created some of the greenest custom homes in the County (multiple LEED Platinum, Net-Zero energy and even “regenerative”). We have taught green building on the local, regional and national stage for over 20 years. Our other work includes schools, offices, restaurants, athletic facilities, retail and co-housing.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My family would go to a place called Tanglewood in Massachusetts, where my family would vacation for a week every summer. We’d picnic all day and night on the concert hall’s Great Lawn with our extended family. Leonard Bernstein conducted the Boston Symphonie – Yitzak Pearlman and some of the finest musicians in the world would warm up their instruments as the sun went down and the concert would start just as the stars came out.
Contact Info:
Address: 1245 Pearl Street, Suite 202 Boulder, CO 80302
Website: www.rodwinarch.com/
Phone: 13032048556
Email: [email protected]