I grew up in a small town in Ohio and most probably for that reason fell in love with cities. I loved the variety and the hustle and bustle. So I graduated from architectural school with the idealistic dream of providing better urban housing at lower cost. In school we studied the various attempts at factory production and this seemed to be the way to go – lower cost, faster production, quality controls, etc. After graduation I developed a residential building system that could be constructed off site. To prime the pump I learned how to be a developer, built some units using the system, hit a major economic downturn with some new kids to support; the result being that I become a developer – no innovative systems for awhile.

However, over time, as a developer and designer of urban residential units, patterns emerged as we used the same designs over and over in multiple projects. And at this later stage of my career, computers had arrived, as had a concern for global warming. So it all came together; digital unit stacks for use in multiple projects that fit into a site-specific grid, that are cost-effectively and sustainably designed, and that can be fabricated off-site – GreenStaxx! – about which you can learn more in this website.

Surprisingly, my commitment and passion for sustainable architecture and community planning stemmed from growing up in Illinois on an isolated organic farm; I was drawing plans for rural communities at age nine. Years later, and having become citified during graduate architecture school at U Penn in Philadelphia, I was enthralled by the impassioned, compellingly rational, and prescient environmental teachings of Professor Ian McHarg, author of “Design with Nature”, a watershed volume. After a move to Massachusetts and two children, I started professional design and building development with my husband, Arthur Klipfel. Energy efficient, transit oriented, high-quality-no-frill, multifamily housing design and development became our daily pursuit.

From a larger vision standpoint, and being concerned aboutthe future quality of life on Earth, it’s daunting to know the inherent carbon footprint challengesfrom simply being an American.One of my long-term resilience and sustainability goals was attained when we developed and moved into in an energy efficient urban cohousing community- Cambridge Cohousing-20 years ago. Working and living as consciously and consequentially as I can and reducing my carbon footprint is a constant and challenging pursuit. One way to follow my life-long passion is to be a partner in GreenStaxx’s cost and energy efficient, (solar powered when possible), multifamily housing that’s designed to foster a sense of community- especially when it’s located in walkable, transit-served locations.