Mission/History

Watershed moment:
def: reaching a place where the landscape turns in a new and different way, a defining moment, a pivotal moment, a turning point

What’s in a name? Our office is located on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, at the mouth of one of the largest watersheds in the country. The actions of millions of people and businesses upstream have significant impacts on the health of our bay, and therefore our local economy. While not everyone lives in such a extreme location, we chose the name Watershed as a reminder that we all live downstream.

The alternate meaning of “a watershed moment” inspired us to start a new business while in the depths of the recession. Our founding concept was that the economic downturn could be a watershed event, stimulating people to examine the way we build and the way our communities grow, so that we can chart a more sustainable course.

Our mission is to create and improve buildings so that they to leave this region better than we found it. We want to go beyond “mitigation” or reducing the harm of development, to creating positive impacts on the natural world, positive economic gains, and positive social impacts.

Our method is three fold: to build expertise around affordable, sustainable building solutions for our hot humid climate, to create built environments that inspire a greater connection with the natural world, and to perform our work in the spirit of collaboration, sharing information with our communities and clients.