Nature Ignores Design That Ignores Nature! with Tom Mortensen, PLA, ASLA, from raSmith

The Stormwater World Podcast

Stormwater World Episode 028: Nature Ignores Design that Ignores Nature! with Tom Mortensen, PLA, ASLA from raSmith

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Key Points Discussed

[00:00:00] - Introduction

• "Engineers do want to very efficiently get to a solution, which I totally understand and respect." - Tom Mortensen
• "I work as this liaison between the right brain, left brain, construct and design." - Tom Mortensen

[00:01:00] - Digital Stormwater Overview

• Services offered: Social media management, Google, LinkedIn, and meta ads, SEO and content creation, website builds and updates, AI automations, consulting, and more.

[00:02:00] - Guest Introduction

• "Tom Mortensen has over 35 years of experience in site design, landscape architecture, and related design and construction in the construction professions." - Ty
• Tom’s experience includes work with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Boy Scouts of America, Native American Tribes, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

[00:03:00] - Rainfall Integration and Stormwater Management

• "Rainfall integration, which is also known as stormwater management." - Tom Mortensen
• Discussion on green infrastructure and its early challenges and developments.

[00:04:00] - Nature and Design

• "Nature ignores design that ignores nature." - Tom Mortensen
• Importance of taking cues from nature in design to create sustainable solutions.

[00:10:00] - Collaboration in Design

• "So this thing called design, what happens is we all get together to do that design, and then you engineer that design, and then you landscape that design, and then you build that design." - Tom Mortensen
• Emphasis on multidisciplinary approach and early collaboration to save time and create effective designs.

[00:14:00] - Grant Funding for Green Infrastructure

• "There's grant funding available to implement GI, and so if you're going to add 5,000 square feet of impervious on a site, you have to implement some form of GI." - Tom Mortensen
• Example of a successful project on a college campus receiving $1.3 million in funding.

[00:20:00] - Project Examples

• Colectivo Coffee: "On one half of the roof that drains to the east, we took that roof water, that rainwater, and we put it through a series of troughs and created a big water feature." - Tom Mortensen
• Challenges and successes in managing urban sites with creative stormwater solutions.

[00:34:00] - Natural Design Principles

• "If you go back to that picture I just showed you, all the trees are on the side slopes, in the uplands. That's where the trees grow. They don't grow down in a low flow channel." - Tom Mortensen
• Importance of mimicking natural landscapes in stormwater design.

[00:39:00] - Relationship to Water and Future Outlook

• "The earth is not green, it's blue. And I think we need to start thinking differently about our relationship to water." - Tom Mortensen
• Discussion on the ongoing challenges and progress in water management and sustainability.

In this episode of the Stormwater World Podcast, host Ty Garmon and Tom Mortensen, a senior project manager and landscape architect with over 35 years of experience, discuss the integration of nature into design, emphasizing the importance of green infrastructure and sustainable stormwater management. Tom shares insights on how to effectively balance creative and technical aspects in site planning, the benefits of multidisciplinary collaboration, and the necessity of understanding natural systems. He highlights successful projects and the role of grant funding in promoting green infrastructure, concluding with thoughts on the evolving relationship between humans and water management.

The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future.

Connect with Tom Mortensen:

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommortensen1/

Email: [e-mail]

Website: https://www.rasmith.com/

Presentation:

Connect with Ty Garmon, LEED AP:

Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/

Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57

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