SCS Leadership

Sand County Studios is the brainchild of Jim Sipes. The idea behind Sand County Studios was to build a small, aggressive firm that focused on sustainability and "green" projects. That is all we do. We have put together a talented, creative, and imaginative team that is committed to excellence.  

Jim is an award-winning environmental planner, urban designer, landscape architect, and writer with more than thirty years of experience encompassing a wide range of planning, design, research, and communication projects. Jim has received national recognition for his writing, having written more than 350 articles for a variety of publications and receiving the prestigious Bradford Williams Medal award for outstanding writing. He has published Creating Green Roadways (Island Press, 2012), The Bayous of Houston (Arcadia Publishing, 2012), Sustainable Solutions to Water Resources (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), International Water Resources (John Wiley & Sons, 2012), Digital Land (John Wiley & Sons, 2007), and Integrating BIM Technology into Landscape Architecture (LATIS, 2008). Jim has also been recognized as Outstanding Alumni at Iowa State University, and has received numerous planning, design, and communication awards over the years.