Ms. Ruddick's planning and design work on a 2,500-acre ecologically oriented resort in the Western Ghats of India focuses on adhering to the highest standards in ecologically sensitive, socially responsible and managerially expert practices. These practices emphasize preserving and enhancing existing wildlife habitats, restoration of forests, establishing ecologically sensitive practices for the use of water, plantations, and building, and establishing organic farming on the site. The sustainable economics of the project take a central role, guiding all of the decisions of siting, design, technology, and program. The programming and design of the project are geared to help the people who live there and in the surrounding villages to adapt to and benefit from the new resort culture that is developing around them.

Margie Ruddick received a BA in English Literature from Bowdoin College, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Her work has received the Places Design Award 1999, the Waterfront Centre's first prize 1998, and she received the Lewis Mumford Award for the Environment from Architects Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility in 2002. Her work was presented in the Architecture League's Emerging Voices Series in 2003. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Yale University, and Parsons School of Design.