Small Things Done Exceptionally Well Spring/Summer 2025 Coledale

Spring/Summer Conversation Two, with Marta Lentisco of Eco Outdoor & Adam Souter of Souter Built

The evening was light and easy. The second in our Small Things Done Exceptionally Well series brought together familiar faces and new ones - designers, builders, and people simply curious about how thoughtful work gets made.

This time, our conversation turned to the relationship between materials and place. How do we build and design in ways that feel honest, lasting, and responsive to the landscape around us?

Building with Intention

Our guests were Marta Lentisco from Eco Outdoor and Adam Souter from Souter Built, two people who understand what it means to make things that endure.

Marta spoke about the integrity of natural materials and the value of letting them age gracefully. “Stone tells its own story,” she said. “When you work with it as it is, without trying to perfect it, you create something that feels real.”

She shared how Eco Outdoor approaches material selection with both aesthetics and longevity in mind, designing outdoor spaces that are beautiful to look at and effortless to live with. “Good design should invite use,” she said. “It shouldn’t ask to be preserved—it should become part of how we live.”

Craft That Lasts

Adam’s perspective came from the construction side, where design meets delivery. He spoke about the quiet discipline behind building well, the small choices that make a home perform better for decades.

His Peppertree project, a certified Passive House, is a good example. “It’s about doing things properly,” he said. “Every junction, every seal, every material choice adds up to comfort, health and energy efficiency. It’s not about trends, it’s about good building.”

There’s something grounding about hearing a builder talk about precision as an act of care. About seeing quality not as luxury, but as respect, for both people and materials.

Connected to Place

Both Marta and Adam spoke of listening to the environment rather than imposing upon it. Of designing with light, air, and orientation in mind.
Marta described landscape as “a participant, not a backdrop,” while Adam added, “The best buildings don’t fight their sites, they belong to them.”

It’s a simple idea, but one that sits at the heart of good design: to work with what’s there, to build less but better, and to think long-term.

A Quiet Gathering

As the evening drew to a close, the conversations continued. Guests compared notes on materials, on sustainability, on how the built environment shapes daily life. It had that same easy rhythm as before, open, genuine, grounded.

These talks are becoming what I hoped they would be: small gatherings where people come together to think about how we can create with more care and intention.

Thank you, Marta and Adam, for sharing your insight and experience. And thank you to everyone who joined us for another evening of conversation, connection, and small things done exceptionally well.