As a 30 year veteran of the architecture profession I see no way around the root fact that design with a capital ‘D’ is the primary reason buildings work or do not work. Behind the scene decisions like how to detail and specify durable air barriers, reliable roofs, trouble free curtain walls or selecting the most durable, sustainable, or healthiest materials are essential but cannot correct for counter intuitive design decisions. As our profession moves much faster to seek real and sustained building performance in all matters from design excellence to resilience and above all net zero energy and water use, we must pay close attention to the most important mission any architect can aspire to and that is great design. How buildings perform is not an afterthought to be specified or detailed or built. Thoughtful, engaged, and responsive designs based on facts confirmed and analysis performed at the outset during vision and concept studies empower the design architect to spring board far higher in to exceptional designs that will not need to be continuously remediated throughout construction drawings and construction to meet sustainability and durability goals. The days of considering good analysis as an “early” study should be behind us. Computational tools abound and should always inform our inspiration and design decisions. Those essential design tools continue to be easier to use and even customized as some architects create apps to suit their specific design practice. Informed decisions are what architecture is all about but far more so today as we rise to meet the unending challenge of restoring balance to our planet.