Firm Profile

Firm Profile

Definition

hyphae (noun) plural for hypha: the ?ne, weblike, branching tubes which make up the body (or mycelium) of a multicellular fungus, responsible for symbiotically sharing nutrients between soil and plants. In the sustainable design community, we embody the  biological functions of a hyphal network. We provide the link between other disciplines to bring about deeply sustainable collaboration. 

Overview

Hyphae Design Laboratory is a certified Oakland Small Business Enterprise (OSBE). Their work focuses on ecological solutions to land and water use and reuse. Their work focuses on ecological solutions to urban design, from green grading and sustainable stormwater management to water conservation, water reuse and ecological remediation.  Hyphae Design Lab is an ecological engineering firm, the blends, restoration, urban design, green infrastructure, and civil engineering. Hyphae is an West Oakland based SLBE.

 

Our Mission

The Hyphae Design Laboratory is a engineering and design firm dedicated to innovative green infrastructure. We are a mission driven company; we focus entirely on sustainable engineering and design. Where possible, our mission is to do engineering work for communities unjustly impacted by urban development. Much of our work, is focused in communities such as Hunters Point, San Francisco, East San Jose, East Los Angeles and East & West Oakland, where we are located.

 

Approach

We focus on intricately blending landscape and civil engineering disciplines, with the genuine belief that it is hard to pull the two apart. Founded by an artist and ecologist, we also bring a unique perspective to design process, with attention to both aesthetic detail and materials, as well as a deep respect and understanding for ecological systems. At Hyphae we strike a delicate balance between community-participatory design, aesthetic design and technical engineering. Rather than an engineer that works with designers, and community outreach consultants we are an engineering firm that thinks in like designers and community members,  we serve as both conceptual designer and and technical engineer. We bring a unique community and ecologically driven focus to urban planning. We are highly data driven, but also extremely community focused, bringing experience of how to manage both empirical subjective data

Experience

We have designed ecological sites, landscapes, living roofs, and complex mechanical as well as biological treatment systems for rainwater, graywater and wastewater, and even public art pieces. We have worked in a diversity of design fields and scales from residential, to commercial, institutional, hospitality, and municipal design. We have designed systems on both urban and rural scales and managed the design phase of construction projects ranging from  $25,000 to $100-million. Our clients include local and national architects, landscape architects and engineers, and city agencies. Please contact us for an up to date list of clients.

We pride ourselves on diligently working to design and engineer innovative, yet PERMITTED sustainable water systems, which includes the frustrating, but rewarding handholding process with building departments and environmental health officials. We are currently working to permit water reuse systems in San Mateo, Contra Costa, Marin, Alameda, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Mendocino and San Diego Counties. Specifically relevant to this project, we have just permitted the first city flow-thru stormwater planter for the city of Berkeley, California, where we were required to work closely with city officials including parks and recreation, urban planning, civil engineering departments. We have also done sustainable stormwater design for the city of Los Angeles, designing flow through planters, parking lot bioswales, green roofs for Council District 9, Community Center and City Hall, a low impact development pilot project for the city.

 

Services

We provide services from concept to construction documents. Below is a list of our core services. Please contact us about our expertise in other services:

• Water Conservation Planning
• Green Streets, and Low Impact Development
• Civil Engineering
• Ecological Engineering
• Community Particapatory Design
• Constructed Wetlands and Wetland Restoration
• Bioremediation and brownfield redevelopment
• Living roofs, wall, and innovative living syste,s
• Greywater, rainwater treatment & reuse systems
• Ecological waste treatment & water reuse
• LEED consulting and decision-making based on regional, economic & ecosystem data
• ecological performance modeling & building information systems
• real-time environmental, air & water quality remote monitoring systems

 

 

Previous Clients

ARUP Engineers, Flack & Kurtz, Pyatok Architects, Aidlin/Darling, Leddy Maytum Stacey, SmithGroup, Arkin/Tilt, Peter Walker & Partners, Pelli Clark Pelli, SWA, Chong Partners, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, City of LA, City of Oakland, City of San Jose, City of Berkeley, East Bay Asian Local Development Company (EBALDC).

Current Projects

Some of Hyphae’s current projects include an affordable housing water study for East Bay Asian Local Development Company (EBALDC), bioswales and streetscapes for the City of Los Angeles, Ecological design for a 6 acre data center project, Greywater resue for a UCSD dormitory, and developing a 20-million dollar public art project for the City of San Jose. We are currently working to permit water reuse systems in San Mateo, Contra Costa, Marin, Alameda, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Mendocino and San Diego Counties. Specifically relevant to this project, we have just permitted the first city flow-thru stormwater planter for the city of Berkeley, California, where we were required to work closely with city officials including parks and recreation, urban planning, civil engineering departments. We have also done sustainable stormwater design for the city of Los Angeles, designing flow through planters, parking lot bioswales, green roofs for City Hall, a low impact development pilot project for the city.