Portfolio

This site for a tour company specializing in Mexico’s stunning Copper Canyon has needed a facelift for years. New investors decided to go for a wider audience, translating the site into multiple languages and including the long-awaited ability to make reservations online (in process).

As is often the case with architects and other design professionals, longtime green architect/builder Ben Obregon of the Sustainable Design Center came to us with an existing design, but didn’t know how to change from his existing site to one that he could keep updated himself. We put together the tools he needed to do the job.

Includes an extensive gallery of homes from over 15 years of work.

Sue wanted a strong visual impact from her site, and since she and her team consult primarily with large corporate clients for whom download times aren’t as much a problem as they are for the average homeowner, she wasn’t afraid to display massive images. We took full advantage, with a gallery that shows projects she’s worked on in their best light. Each is backed up with details and descriptions of the major sustainable features and LEED or other ratings where appropriate.

A pioneer in the natural building movement, Charles Gibson built a strawbale home with rainwater catchment in the early 90s and soon made a business of installing rainwater systems around central Texas.

But when it comes to websites, he admits he doesn’t know much. So of course he turned to SustainableSources.com to turn his confusing and hard-to-navigate self built hodgepodge into the current well designed and informative site.

Glenrose Engineering’s most recent redesign.

Artist Gene Avery North’s gallery site. Includes slideshows.

Casa Verde Homes – a long-time green builder in the Austin area – stepped
into the 21st century with their first ever website. Includes a slideshow.

Wood Stock from the Past dismantles barns and other pre-1900 buildings and sells beams, mantles, re-milled flooring, and more.

Green architect Ross Tedter asked us to build a gallery site to show off his work.

Natural Building Colloquium Texas, Kerrville, TX
http://naturalbuildingtexas.org
(2007)

We were sponsors of the NBCTX, and contributed to the effort by building and hosting the website and listservs as well as serving on the planning committee. Sorry you missed it, we had a great time!

The Last Straw Journal’s center for subscriptions and back issues, Lincoln, NE
http://online.thelaststraw.org/
(2007)

Our friends at The Last Straw Journal have long wanted the ability to sell electronic subscriptions and back issues in order to save both postage costs and trees. We built an online store that is easy for visitors to use and easy for TLS Staff to maintain.

The Renewable Energy Roundup, Fredericksburg, TX
http://theroundup.org/
(2007)

We took this eight year old site’s existing content and redesigned everything. We then placed it into our customized “word processor-like” interface, allowing staff to update as needed with just a browser and a password. New pages can be added, new files uploaded, and existing content updated quickly and easily with this custom-built solution.

Austin Diamond Store, Austin, TX
http://austindiamondstore.com
(2006)

The Austin Diamond Store has a hip look and feel (by a separate web design firm whom we often work with) which was integrated into a heavily customized open source ecommerce package by Greenbuilder.com.

(note: Austin Americus Diamond closed their online store in February 2008 due to slow sales, but still maintains both a web presence at http://austindiamond.com [by the same designer, with back-end work by Greenbuilder.com] and of course their brick-and-mortar store.)

Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, Central Texas
http://haysgroundwater.org
(2006)

Virtually all of this site’s content is built and maintained by the HTGCD staff using a customized “word processor-like” interface. New pages can be added, new files uploaded, existing content updated, and news articles can be generated and automatically archived with this custom-built solution.

The Natural Gardener, Austin TX
http://naturalgardeneraustin.com/
(2005, with updates through the present)

We worked extensively with the Natural Gardener staff to bring their site up to a level that would reflect their high aestetic values while also taking a lot of the Q&A load off staff. The site has several sections which are updated by staff on a weekly basis.

You did a great job designing the NG website. It’s beautiful, very user-friendly; worlds beyond the old site. And it’s pretty easy to maintain & update, as well. — Holly Stewart

Lincoln Green Building Group, Lincoln, NE.
http://lincolngreenbuildinggroup.com/
(2005, 2010)

This is a fairly straightforward site to support the activities of the group. As with many of our sites, it allows the group’s organizers to save money by updating their content themselves with just a password and web browser.

Updated to WordPress in 2010

Stewardship Architecture, Austin TX
http://stewardshiparchitecture.com/
(~2004 with updates through the present)

We’re big fans of Stewardship Architecture’s work and were happy to be given the opportunity to build a website to promote it. Many are drawn to the simple elegance of the home page.