Ridolfi Inc.
Specialty: Sustainable design, environmental cleanup and restoration
Management: Callie Ridolfi, president; Colin Wagoner, CEO
Founded: 1990
Headquarters: Seattle
2006 revenues: $2 million
Projected 2007 revenues: $2.2 million
Current projects: Design of cultural heritage center and bald eagle observatory for the Chilkat Indian Village in Klukwan, Alaska; environmental cleanup and habitat restoration of two lead- and zinc-contaminated shoreline sites on the Spokane River for the state Department of Ecology; energy conservation plan for the Skagit Tribe in Sedro-Woolley; transfer station design using solar energy for the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay; Hanford pollution exposure scenario for the U.S. Department of Energy
Image courtesy of Ridolfi Inc. Ridolfi Inc. is creating juvenile salmonid feeding habitat on Tacoma’s Commencement Bay by removing riprap and sheetpile structures on the shoreline. |
Half of Ridolfi’s clients are American Indian tribes. The firm takes pride in its successful and long-standing tribal relationships, demonstrated in projects such as the Chilkat Indian Village heritage center. The museum includes a smokehouse as well as a longhouse, built by members of the tribe using traditional techniques.
Sustainable building code
Callie Ridolfi is developing a “sustainable” building code, which she intends to use with some of her tribal clients. This code promotes the use of porous pavements and natural drainage — stormwater management practices which are still prohibited by most local governments.
“We have to look at the impervious surface issue very, very carefully because of the impact of our stormwater in Puget Sound,” Ridolfi said.
Practice what you preach
Her company’s commitment to sustainability — its motto is “engineers and scientists concerned with the earth” — is not only a focus of its work but an office credo.
The company has an aggressive recycling and reuse policy. The office coffee is shade-grown and the company avoids buying anything made in sweatshops. The firm joined a Flexcar pool instead of buying another company car. Recently, some employees put in an office garden, which includes a composting bin.
Ridolfi is on the board of Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability, which encourages companies to reduce waste and reuse materials. The group is launching a campaign to recognize businesses and landowners who practice environmentally friendly stormwater management and landscaping techniques.