Functional & Innovative Landscapes

Written by Inhabitect

Spring Issue '24 - Online Shop

I was born and raised in NW Michigan and have witnessed tremendous change. Growing up, my time was spent on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the forest, and overall just enjoying the beauty of this region. Traverse City was a very different place in the 80s and 90s, it was quieter and a little sleepier, it was grittier. It was a place that many young adults wanted to leave, but nearly everyone came back. 

I personally ended up in Chicago, working an exciting job where I saw every corner of North America. It was great. I was doing work within the green (vegetated) roof industry that gave me the chance to work on the largest and most famous structures being built. This fast-paced life eventually became less exciting and the only place I wanted to be was where my heart has always been—Traverse City. I was traveling there regularly and always dreaded heading back to my high-rise condo in the windy city. 

For a few years, it seemed impossible to leave my cushy job, but I needed to find a way. The Traverse City region was growing, and I realized that I could use my skill set to positively impact the change that was happening to my home. I took the leap in early 2013 and moved back to start Inhabitect. I became a boomerang entrepreneur. In the first years, I found success by landing projects at Cherry Capital Foods, a few at Munson Medical Center, and the Uptown Riverfront and Cityside Condo development. 

A Decade of Growth

The first projects not only solidified that Inhabitect was viable in a smaller market, but it also proved that my work was positively affecting the lives of my neighbors. At home I could see the impact my work was having on the community that I know and love. This was something I was not able to experience with my “big city” job. This connection motivated me to keep moving forward. 

Inhabitect has worked tirelessly to honor and embrace the environment, while never compromising our ecological mindset or belief that stormwater is a resource, not a waste product. A few years in, I realized that the benefit Inhabitect had on the community, our waterways, and the environment would be more impactful with an expanded service offering. So, we started to design, build, and grow ecologically mindful landscapes on the ground, with and without green roofs.  

Fast forward to today and Inhabitect has created a niche within the landscape industry, and we are steadily growing. Our work covers the entire State of Michigan, and we are headquartered in southern Leelanau County, just outside of Traverse City. I am proud that Inhabitect is a part of the local economy—we are thought leaders, and I have a team with an entrepreneurial spirit. 

One Stop Shop – A Diverse Team

We work on sites of all shapes and sizes. From your residential lot to a large acreage restoration project, or lake front estate, to a commercial development in an urban center, we want to deliver impactful solutions. Inhabitect’s hybrid approach to design-build landscaping combines services typically only found at landscape architecture, site engineering, and land planning firms. The team is always open to new collaborative opportunities and partnerships. 

The company is a true “one stop shop.” Blending these services avoids having to hire multiple professionals and eliminates costly miscommunications that happen when there are “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Our solutions are backed by decades of combined experience, numerous degrees and certifications, a licensed landscape architect, a FAA licensed drone pilot, and unrivaled expertise in the field. Inhabitect is a place people want to work, and we are always looking for our next teammate! 

Designing

We were founded on the belief that our public and private landscapes, rooftops, and lakefronts are like canvases, places for us to be creative in delivering nature-based solutions that are dynamic and naturally resilient. We design, build, and grow innovative landscapes, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), including our favorite—green roofs, as well as natural shorelines, and habitat restoration projects.

One recent project showcases how Inhabitect’s work positively impacts surrounding habitats and ecosystems. This property, located on Duck Lake with over 300-feet of frontage, is heavily wooded, and boasts a stream that flows into the lake. Our design covered the entire five-acre estate and dramatically changed how the homeowner uses their property. 

The most impactful change can be found at the shoreline. We removed an aging seawall that stretched along the entire lakefront. This feature did not allow our clients, their dogs, or any sort of wildlife direct access to the water. It was a physical barrier and greatly diminished the benefit of owning a waterfront property. The wall was also deflecting wave energy into neighboring properties and adjacent aquatic habitats, degrading both with each wave. 

During construction, the seawall was cut to the water level and the shoreline was graded back to a more natural slope. Inhabitect then used bioengineering and natural shoreline techniques to create a robust and durable lakefront. This solution allows direct lake access, and immediately was home to numerous types of wildlife including ducks, fish, and reptiles. 

Our team worked with the homeowner to ensure our plant selections met their aesthetic and did not block the newly created view from their back porch. The design included thousands of native plants, and even habitat structures (cedar trees) that extend into the lake itself. 

Our designers thrive on challenges. We make data driven decisions based on a unique process and develop detailed construction documents and graphics. Our process considers the opportunities and limitations of the project, the program elements, the data gathered, and we deliver ecological landscape solutions. This process is fun, it is where our creativity comes out and our experience shines. 

Building

Unlike Inhabitect, most firms that practice landscape architecture, do not also provide landscape construction services. Some provide project management services, but their team is not physically doing the work. Our installation team is uniquely aware of what is being drawn by their co-workers, they “speak the same language,” and always consult with the designers on how the project will be installed. This design-build factor is a huge benefit to our customers. The very nature of how we approach a project ensures that “one hand talks to the other” and that no details are overlooked. 

Our FAA licensed drone pilot uses our Lidar equipped drone to document the entire construction process. In our experience, it is helpful to have a progressive photographic journal during construction to ensure we can revisit the images should any issues arise. Our clients, customers, and collaborators also enjoy receiving these images because they can follow along during the various stages of the project. 

On a recent project in Traverse City, our efforts documented the installation of a large stormwater basin, thousands of trees, shrubs, and other features. These images helped our clients at the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay promote and market the project in real time. Inhabitect also utilized these pictures to share with our social media followers to show what we were up to on this sizable project. 

The Kids Creek Riparian Restoration and Stormwater Wetland Enhancement Project continues The Watershed Center’s exciting restoration of this creek. The goal of the project was to implement streamside conservation practices to improve water quality and reduce stormwater, sediment, and nutrient inputs into Kids Creek, an impaired waterway in the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed. 

The degraded wetland was almost entirely composed of invasive species and devoid of natural riparian buffers following historic farming and development activities. In 2022, the project was pre-treated for invasive species. Inhabitect acted as the prime contractor on the project. We hired and managed all subcontractors. 

This project included 216,000 sq ft. (approx. five acres) of riparian restoration which included reestablishing a buffer consisting of native trees and woody shrubs along the creek and two other tributaries. A one-acre constructed stormwater wetland was also installed. This intercepts stormwater runoff from the north end of the Meijer parking lot, just south of downtown Traverse City. 

Inhabitect has been involved with numerous other green stormwater infrastructure projects along the Kids Creek corridor. This includes two green roofs at Munson Medical Center, rain gardens within the Grand Traverse Commons campus, as well as bioretention basins in the Meijer parking lot. All of these are working together to improve not only Kids Creek, but also the greater Grand Traverse Bay Watershed. 

Growing

We are growing careers; we are growing landscapes, green stormwater infrastructure, and relationships within the communities that we work. I am proud of the fact that Inhabitect’s clients include homeowners, educators, general contractors and developers, local governments, tribal groups, other design professionals, and nonprofits. This creates a cascading impact on the community which provides environmental, economic, and social benefits, in the public and private markets. 

We love challenges. We strive to enhance how our customers experience through the design-build process. We want to positively impact our combined futures by implementing specialized landscape solutions. We do this by investing in our clients, the community, our staff, and the long-term welfare of our region by delivering triple bottom line resiliency. 

BIO

Nathan D. Griswold is the president of Inhabitect, LLC. He founded the company in

2013 and holds a degree in landscape architecture, is an accredited green roof

professional, and a certified natural shoreline professional. He has played a role in the

design, development, sale, and installation of over 1,000 green rooftops during his

career. He was born and raised in NW Michigan, and he and his wife are currently raising two children in Traverse City.

Spring Issue '24 - Online Shop