
Who We Are
At Consilium Design, we don’t just do projects; we create communities, we build neighborhoods and beautiful living spaces, places for people to experience a sense of their surroundings and connect with the environment and one another.
We also provide a comprehensive, integrated scope of planning and design services to help our clientele meet the challenge of successful implementation of their development and community building plans.
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VISION
Making Great Places HAPPEN. What’s a great place? A great place is more than a predetermined pattern of streets and trails or the skin of buildings. It emanates from the patterns of life and how the places we create influence the experiences and memories of the people that live in them.
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PHILOSOPHY
At Consilium Design we believe compelling, sustainable design solutions must be contextual, adaptable, and temporal in nature. Our designs are meant to be lived in, not simply looked at. The ideal of place is more than a predetermined pattern of streets and trails or the skin of buildings. It emanates from the patterns of life and how the places we create influence the experiences and memories of people who live in them.
Our mission is to make great places happen.
Relationships
We offer the simplest, most uncomplicated, relationships with our principals in the industry so that you can get your concerns taken care of quickly & expertly…with minimum cost – time, energy, money and lost opportunity.
We have a reputation for working well with all stakeholders of your team. We listen.
Responsiveness
We move with an almost unheard of urgency…we move faster than the speed of business, we move at the speed of developers. “Why not do it now?” is our mantra.
We are detailed, accurate and timely with the information we share with members of the project team so that they have the time and information to excel.
Value
Our Design Philosophy is Doing Simple Well.
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- Your plans get approved faster
- Your plans age well so you build your reputation and open up future possibilities.
- Your plans will sell with greater velocity so you reach your absorption goals, faster.
We provide the most value for your land planning and design dollar. We spend your money as if it were our own — we respect it.
For more detailed examination of our design philosophy, please read Doing Simple Well.
Discover the Consilium Design difference.
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VALUES
RESPECT
We respect people and the environment. First impressions are like our planet, we only get one. That’s why we labor in the details that truly matter to our clients and the various stakeholders in the projects we work on, including ourselves and our team members.
This respect manifests itself in simplicity in our relationships, in our responsiveness to our clients and in the value we create in our designs.
KNOWLEDGE
We encourage a love for and the practice of lifelong learning. Never be satisfied by what you know now.
SPIRIT
We value creativity, passion, enthusiasm, and the courage to explore new ideas and to accept the ideas of others.
ACCOUNTABILITY
We welcome the opportunity to be held accountable for our past actions, to be responsible in the present and to be dependable and reliable in the future.
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EXPERIENCE
Consilium Design’s broad range of planning and design experiences includes:
- Large-scale land use master planning
- Commercial, residential and mixed-use development planning and community design
- Golf course community planning and design
- Neighborhood and small site planning and design
- Design guidelines for commercial, mixed-use and residential development
- Recreation amenity and park design
- Open space and trail design, planting and landscape design
- Streetscape and civic space design
- Community logo, signage and monument design
- Directional, interpretive, & model complex signage design
- Stormwater, water quality, and natural area design enhancements and restoration
Our Team


Craig Karn
With over 42 years in land planning, urban design, and landscape architecture, Craig Karn, principal and founding partner of Consilium Design, is a nationally-renowned expert in community design and real estate development. Craig achieves success with a wide range of challenging projects through an emphasis on quality, sustainable design, and an uncommon respect for the design process. He’s driven to bring great communities to life. Craig’s experience includes large-scale land development planning, golf communities, mixed-use master planned communities, and the design of a variety of neighborhoods and urban spaces. He is active in the master planning and design of communities across Colorado as well as throughout the United States and internationally.


Kristie McDowell
Kristie having a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture brings a wealth of horticulture knowledge to Consilium Design. She owned her own landscape design and horticultural consulting business for over 10 years until co-founding Consilium Design.
Kristie uses her strong financial management & business skills to allow Craig and the Consilium Team to focus on design.


Julie Hendricksen
Julie Hendricksen is a Senior Landscape Architect and brings over 20 years of experience in residential, commercial and community master planning.
Julie is an excellent relationship builder both around the design table and in the field. Her background in construction administration brings a depth of knowledge not always available in designers. She is known for her assertive and intuitive management style that emphasizes accountability and community. Julie was one of the first landscape architects in Colorado to gain her Green Roof Professional certification and values her involvement with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. She is involved in food equity and supporting pollinator habitat. An avid beekeeper, reader and hiker. She spends as much time as possible outdoors.


W. Richard Martin III
Richard Martin is a passionate designer and planner who sees the big picture by paying attention to the details. He has 10+ years of experience in all phases and sizes of high-end residential and commercial design/build projects. Add that to his 15 years of general construction industry background and you will find he has first-hand understanding of how to get things built. Richard’s collaborative mindset, computer knowledge, and artistic graphic skill, guide him in creating memorable spaces. His outdoorsman personality draws him to rivers, forests, mountains, and open roads for exploring, connecting, and recharging.


Makala Gibson
Makala is a graduate of Auburn University, possessing a master’s degree in landscape architecture. With two years of landscape design experience, she has designed residential and commercial projects in various regions of the U.S. Makala has a deep passion for plants and her knowledge of planting design principles, guide in the creation of thoughtful landscapes. Along with this, her technical skills in AutoCAD and Adobe Suite aid in the creation of graphics and presentations. You can find Makala buried in a mystery novel, hammocking in the park, or exploring gardens for awesome new plant species


Sherry MacWilliam
Sherry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Horticulture and Design from Colorado State University and is currently on the path toward becoming a Registered Landscape Architect. She has nearly two decades of experience working in the industry, trying her hand in multiple areas of expertise before settling into Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture. Seeking more impact through her career, Sherry was drawn to the large scale of Urban Planning that connects her to the community in a way that wasn’t possible in her previous endeavors. She loves the perfect balance of science and creativity that Landscape Architecture offers. Plants are the common thread of her career, and her horticulture expertise is a specialty that she brings to the industry. Sherry’s experience working in the field and as a Project Manager gives her a unique perspective that guides her designs to be practical as well as beautiful. Outside of work, Sherry is a busy mom of two young boys who loves to get outdoors at every opportunity.


Hannah Taylor
Hannah is a current student of architecture and learning firsthand the world of landscape architecture through the experienced staff of Consilium Design. In her downtime, she enjoys going for walks with her family, sitting around the fire pit, cooking, and embroidery. She is grateful to use her proficiency in AutoCAD to provide assistance to the team at Consilium design so they can continue to do great work.


Dane J. Huffman
A graduate of Colorado State University, Dane J. Huffman has been with the Consilium Design team since 2005, and has gained a wide range of experience with his time here. With skills in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Sketch Up, Arch GIS, Flash, Auto CAD, Dane is able to assist in providing new alternatives in presenting, processing, and completing projects from start to finish. In addition to his knowledge with new technologies, Dane has strong hand graphics and a good eye for designing great spaces.
Affiliations
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American Society of Landscape Architects
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ARCSA
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CREW Denver
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Home Builders Association of Metro Denver
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LEED Accredited Professional
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National Association of Home Builders
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NAHB Climate Change Task Force
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NAHB Environmental Issues Committee
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NAHB Land Development Committee
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NAHB Land Use Policy Subcommittee
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NAHB Professional Women in Building
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NAHB Sustainability & Green Building Committee Chair
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NAHB Water Conservation Task Group, Chair
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ULI Colorado Community Development Product Council
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ULI Colorado Multi-Family Product Council
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Urban Land Institute
Awards and Recognition
It’s one thing to say your way of doing things is better than others.
It’s quite another when highly respected 3rd party sources say it for you.



The Met at Boulevard One
- 2021 National Association of Home Builders Best in American Living (BALA) Gold, Multifamily Development up to 3 stories, Built for Sale


Stanley Marketplace
- 2018 USGBC Local Leader Award for Outdoor Environments
- 2018 Pacific Coast Builder’s Gold Nugget Award of Merit, Best Rehabilitation Project


Leyden Rock
- 2017 National Association of Home Builders Best in American Home Living (BALA) Gold Award Single-Family Community, 100 units +
- 2016 National Association of Home Builders Nationals, Silver Award, Best Landscape Design, Master Planned Community
- 2016 HBA of Denver, MAME Community of the Year


Sun Kingdom
- 2014 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit, Best International Community Design
- 2014 National Association of Home Builders Best in American Living (BALA) Gold, International Community Design


Alta Aspen Grove
- 2012 EXPO Fall Forecast, Daniels College of Business, Project of the Year

