My name is Jesús and I was born in Toluca, Estado de México (Mexico State), México, up on one of the highest points of elevation in all of México. No matter where I have called home within in my adopted country, in the United States or my birth country of México, I have always felt the pride of being an immigrant and citizen to both. There has always been a sense of comfort and easiness within myself, when I would go visit the urban environment in México unique Spanish Colonial design or navigate my way through innovative growth of Vancouver, WA. Whether I was in Toluca, MX or Vancouver, WA, came to notice is that although these two places are unique, they share one key thing, they Design with Nature. I feel times as human beings we don’t immediately come to recognize our built environment in a world filled with carbon. The reality is that we are transitioning from artificial environments to one that engages with our natural surroundings. As humans we have cognitive recognition to the world around us and what way we interact with the natural environment versus one artificially constructed. 

As humans the sense of touch, taste, smell, hear and see to enhance our experience within the cities we live in. My vision as a designer is to reestablish or to help carry-on the work of other designers, that have focused their design through advocating sustainable thinking for a world in which ecology meets art, and where science strengthens a sustainable design. Using all that I have learned through my studies, I will implement everything from urban design, ecological application, geology, soil science, topography, and sustainable development so that we too can be stewards of the world. In the famous words of an individual that pushed the idea of Designing with Nature, Ian McHarg stated “Man is that uniquely conscious creature who can perceive and express. He must become the steward of the biosphere. To do this he must design with nature.”