Just off the coast of South Carolina is a remarkable island paradise – unsullied by common progress, exquisitely subtle in its development – the kind of place that demonstrates how life is meant to be lived. The sand on the wide beach is white, like sand should be. Sea oats and sweetgrass wave in the refreshing breeze, which carries the expected tangy salt smell. Tranquility hangs in the air like a sigh; one feels every system in the body slow down to the pace of Dewees Island.

Dewees is a barrier island, with a job to do. It protects the coast from severe storm damage and offers a refuge for plants and animals. Nature designed it to weather the storms for ages.

Like many barrier islands, Dewees also offers humans a haven from the stressful off-island lifestyle. Whereas customary island activity does not tend to sustain a barrier island’s protective role, Dewees Island supports a higher intention. Here, harmony blends everyday comfort and natural preservation into a sanctuary designed to endure.

Development on Dewees nestles in, making a small footprint on the island. Natural beach erosion and accretion are anticipated. Fencing and beach access paths encourage a healthy dune system. Indigenous residential landscaping requires no artificial chemical maintenance and protects the island from erosion. Permeable sand-based roads lend minimal disturbance. Even cars are banned from the island; the residents leave their cars at the ferry on the mainland and navigate the island in electric golf carts.

Wise planning of the Dewees development has ensured that people could live in harmony with the island itself for generations. When fully developed, the 1,200-acre island community will accommodate only 150 property owners; each house must be built to minimize energy and water use, waste, and habitat disturbance. Those drawn to live on Dewees relish the opportunities for fishing, bird watching, and the broad range of educational outreach programs. While tennis courts and a swimming pool are included in the homelike amenities of the local lodge, the Huyler House, golf is not. The environmental impact of a golf course is antithetical to the Dewees philosophy, so golfers head to the mainland to indulge their passion.

Special attention must be paid to the vagaries of weather, especially when building on an island. The modern-day development is kept to a minimum to maximize the ability of Dewees to do its job as a barrier island, with 90 percent of the island left undisturbed. Home sites are tucked back into the maritime forest. Houses are restricted in size and must be elevated so that any tidal surge from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane would flow beneath the structures.

Called to Dewees
One doesn’t come to an island to make it a home; one is called. It requires a certain kind of integrity, a patronage of spirit that is committed to environmental preservation. While it is true anywhere on the planet, it is especially evident on an island that what goes on the ground ends up in the water. Those who choose to live in an environment like Dewees discern a certain essence, an attractive force drawing them to such a place that must be safeguarded.

Developer John Knott’s first encounter of Dewees Island took him quite by surprise. “I was overcome with the raw spiritual power of the place,” he said. “It was so raw in its natural state – virtually undisturbed.” Ordinarily, this third-generation builder/developer would never consider developing a natural refuge like Dewees. His family’s business legacy has been a commitment to rehabilitation, redevelopment, and revitalization of deteriorating urban settings. But preliminary development of the island had begun and human habitation was inevitable. Knott accepted the challenge to weave a community harmoniously into the native environment, preserving as much of the indigenous ecosystem as possible. Little did he realize the intention to minimize the impact of the built environment on the island would actually serve to increase the diversity of the existing flora and fauna. And the outspoken opposition from conservation groups to developing the island turned to praise and a proliferation of the sustainable building principles Knott developed for Dewees.

Knott came to the island with no preconceived ideas of how the community should be designed. Rather, he allowed the island to have its say. “I allowed myself to see Dewees for its value and its power,” Knott said. “Rather than starting with an assumption, I preferred to begin with observation, which leads to inquiry.”

Look back, then ahead Photo by:Emily Hagopian
Knott begins his work by looking to the past to design a blueprint for the future. “I look to what was built 70 years ago for models of green building,” he said. “Technology has transformed the way we have created ‘place.’ In the meantime, we forgot how to build with the environment.” First, he studied the evolution of the island over the last 2,000 years. He studied the impact of weather, including hurricanes. Identifying a 250-year pattern of shifts in the environment, which he calls a volatility zone, he could place outside that zone the people and all that modern-day development brings with it. This sort of peaceful coexistence means nature can do its thing on Dewees while the humans can enjoy theirs.

“Dewees as a refuge still functions as if it were unoccupied,” Knott said.

The success of Dewees Island has catapulted Knott’s reputation as an innovator in the green building arena. Now widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading developers of environmentally sensitive communities, he has embarked on what is possibly the largest environmentally sustainable urban revitalization in the world. As president and CEO of The Noisette Company, Knott is redeveloping a 3,000-acre tract in North Charleston, South Carolina.

His success with Dewees has inspired other communities as well; Dewees Island’s model of environmental preservation has fostered changes in building codes in numerous urban environments committed to what Knott calls socially durable communities.

Dewees Island sets a new paradigm for living built on time-proven principles of environmental respect, intentional simplicity, and preservation for the future. It offers a vibrant and irresistible concept with the potential to inspire other communities that seek to be environmentally responsible, economically profitable, and socially fulfilling. Looking to the past for inspiration, Dewees presents an irresistible vision of what is possible for communities everywhere.