[citation needed] "The design-build culture was largely initiated by two members of the class of 1965, David E. Sellers and Peter Gluck.

"[6] Shortly after Yale, Sellers and his friend, William Reineke purchased a piece of land near Warren, Vermont, known by the name Prickly Mountain, while Peter Gluck embarked on projects elsewhere.

At the time, Sellers was quoted as saying: "The architect is irresponsible today in thinking he has to sit in his office and wait for some client to come up and say, all right build me that.

A broad, formal or structural concept executed as a simple sketch or scale model would often be the only aspect of design completed prior to construction.

[10][11] Starting in the mid-1970s, Sellers experimented in the integration of sustainable energy and waste systems into homes by featuring various green technologies.

Between 1974 and 1980 during the oil embargo, Sellers designed five residences (in Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Vermont and New Jersey) featuring passive and active solar, wood backup, super-insulation, water storage for recirculating heat, composting toilets, windmills.

[14] In 1978, he co-founded 4 Elements Corporation with architect John Todd,[15] to develop solar aquatic waste treatment systems.

Sellers architectural style reflects a commitment to bringing outside materials indoors and remaining true to the natural beauty of the surroundings.

[citation needed] He has developed advanced concepts for "Pedestrian Villages" of the future, solar cities and, with students from Norwich University, a "Sprawl Free Vermont" on a 50-mile wide zone across the entire state along existing Amtrak lines.