Earth-friendly Structural Engineering

Providing licensed engineering services on a wide variety of structures, with an ethos rooted in a dedication to environmental, efficient design and a love for healthy, low carbon natural building systems and materials.

Remodels

Living area renovations, new basement egress, major floor plan changes, change of occupancy projects

Additions

New decks and porches, 2nd-story pop-tops, ground floor additions, solar array installations

New Builds

New construction, including single family homes, ADUs, barns, studios, and pergolas

High Efficiency

High performance design including insulated foundations and Passive House standards

Alternative Materials

Innovative and alternative products such as pre-fabricated panels, Faswall, and AAC masonry.

Natural Building

A passion for strawbale, earthblock, adobe, hempcrete, timber, and historic buildings

Ian M. Smith, P.E., is a professional engineer currently licensed in Colorado, specializing in structural design of residential projects.

After being named ‘Class Artist’ as a high school senior in New Jersey, Ian attended CU Boulder and spent his junior year studying abroad at the University of Wollongong in Australia. After receiving his Bachelors degree in civil engineering from CU in 2002, he was a team member of one of the very first Engineers Without Borders projects in rural Haiti. In 2011, he and his wife spent part of their honeymoon in Auroville, India, studying masonry arches. He was a board member of the Natural Building Alliance starting in 2005, and served as the volunteer Director from 2016 to 2024. He lives in a strawbale home in North Boulder with his wife, daughter, dog, and five chickens (well, the chickens live in the backyard).