AIA, GPCP, GGA
A recycler since he was a 10-year-old paperboy, Don collected the newspapers on his route and recycled them at a nearby facility and wrapped gifts in comic-strip pages. “Later, in architecture school, I built design models out of junk mail like Marlboro cigarette flyers and reclaimed Frito Lay tray boxes from my job at a grocery store,” recounts Don. “I think one of the biggest things I can do personally is recycle.” When he built on property in North Jasper, Georgia, Don first minimized site disturbance as much as possible and then re-milled wood from any trees that had to be taken into 2x6s, 2x4s, and mulch.
While still in college Don took a job as a drafter doing CAD work for an electrical contractor. His boss shared Don’s enthusiasm for recycling and sent him into the field to pull and recycle copper wire and its plastic casings. He began working as an architect in 2005 and in 2007 became principal of his company, MARSTON design studio in Georgia. At work, he provides design consulting and recommendations to a broad spectrum of projects and has performed Fannie Mae green certifications, Energy Star evaluations, and high-performance building assessments.
One of Don’s favorite things about Green Globes Assessments is conduction the on-site walkthroughs and he believes it’s what makes Green Globes special. “My job is to find out what each project does have, and I get to walk around with the team and have them tell me the building’s story,” Don says. “A lot of projects aren’t pursuing certification and I think Green Globes’ personal touch is the right way to engage them. This is what sustainability is supposed to be.”