By: Sam Cole

Running a business is a balancing act – luckily, we have some friends who know a thing or two about building stable structures.

Back in 2023, New Energy Works founder and CEO, Jonathan Orpin, started a networking group called the Building Forward Collaborative (BFC). The BFC is a focused cohort of 10 small businesses in the design-build space, located in the Pacific Northwest. And, perhaps most importantly, they are all businesses dedicated to the Triple Bottom Line, a business philosophy that places equal importance on People, Planet, and Profit.

Last month, we had the pleasure of convening with the Building Forward Collaborative and couldn’t be more grateful for the time.

“Coming together with like-minded business owners like this is really powerful,” says Jonathan. “We’re all striving to run our companies with respect to the Triple Bottom Line, and having an opportunity to not just strategize together, but encourage and reaffirm one another – that’s huge.” 

The idea behind the BFC is simple: get together with these companies that not only operate in the same industry, but share goals and principles, spend time comparing notes and brainstorming, and ultimately become better businesspeople together. Each member company brings their own unique experiences and specific insights to the table, and through collaboration, remove obstacles for one another.  

“In a way it’s like builder therapy – you’re in a room full of smart and motivated people who share a lot of your same challenges,” says New Energy Works architect, David Shirley, AIA, CPHB. “Everyone brings their energy to really help one another, as well as commiserate on losses and celebrate the wins. You come away feeling equal parts exhausted and inspired.” 

Proud to be a part of Log and Timber Home Living's 2026 Timber Home Buyer's Guide with a feature on one of our favorite Adirondack homes.

The elegant symmetry of this lakeside estate is the centerpiece of a legacy camp that will house generations of family and friends. Melding custom timbers and metalwork, the home celebrates both strength and warmth. Centered around a substantial stone fireplace and towering window wall, there are ample views of the water and woods waiting to be discovered in every nook in the house.

The homeowner recalls, “I've always loved timber framing. My better half, Brian, has been out west and loved the style, look, and feel of the Colorado Mountain Lodge. When we decided to build, being in such a beautiful area in Northern Michigan, we thought, ‘oh, a timber frame would be a perfect fit for that kind of feel’, where it's majestic, but it's warm and it's cozy. 

We’ve been on the lake for decades. So, it’s really a kind of family compound. I have memories of the lake since I was five. I’ve got 29 first cousins, so we have a really large family. My cousins would come up every summer, and we would have obstacle courses on the beach and skiing, tubing, and campfires at night and really just a lot of good family bonding time.”

The formative family times spent on the property became the blueprint for the homeowner’s desire to create a thoughtful rearrangement of the grounds. With a bit of patience and ingenuity the vision came into focus for an expansive property that would include the parent’s cottage, the homeowners new build, and the connecting land that ties the entire complex together.