Meet the Man Making the Most Out of Pittsburgh’s Vacant Lots Share this post GTECH’s roots go all the way back to 2006, when Andrew Butcher, Chris Koch, Matthew Ciccone and Nathaniel Doyno planted sunflowers on a vacant lot to beautify empty space, encourage neighborhood revitalization and even use sunflower oil as biofuel. Since 2007, GTECH has helped to clean up more than 2 million square feet in 60 communities and employs 16 people. Learn more about GTECH’s philosophy, history and current projects.