Sustainable Design & Consulting LLC
Practical Sustainability for Buildings and Infrastructure
Sustainable Design and Consulting can support your organization developing, retrofitting and permitting building developments and related infrastructure, using low impact and sustainable design strategies and technologies
When your organizations priorities focus on sustainability and minimizing impact on the environment and the community, you need a trusted adviser to help you think outside the box and bring those demanding projects to a successful completion. Our strengths are developing winning design concepts and work with developers, designers and planners to create the complete engineering designs and advance these designs through permitting agencies.
Healthy Builing Expert is a Service Mark of Sustainable Design & Consulting LLC
Visit our Healthy Building Expert web page to learn how you can make your building making healthier, greener and more valuabe .... Go to HBE web page
Your organization will be fully supported through the use of sustainable and low impact development (LID) technologies
Sustainable Energy and Water conservation strategies... learn more ...
Low-impact site development for storm water and wastewater treatment and management . more.. learn more ...
Major land use permits and environmental impact reviews supported by practical sustainability applications ... learn more ...
Low impact technology R&D and practical applications to support project work ... learn more ...
Here’s what makes Sustainable Design and Consulting differentand more valuable...
We are not the “typical” planning and engineering company. We consider us as “trusted advisers” to our clients and provide honest advice so they can realize their goals while staying true to commitments to build and develop with low impact and sustainability in mind.
We excel in communicating with the owner and developer to fully understand their goals and we find winning technical and planning solutions which are good for the financial return, the community and the environment.
We are experienced in engaging with all stakeholders and in promoting ecologically responsible project through effective community outreach.
We take pride to maintain a constructive and productive dialogue with our partners at accepting permitting agencies, so we can develop innovative and effective solutions that are respectful to the community and the environment, and provide practical and cost-effective strategies.
We are a flexible team of engineering and technology experts which can deliver results that make a positive , even for difficult projects and permitting cases, at costs that are unobtainable for larger engineering companies. Too often engineering companies get lost in details and adopt an “that is the way we do things“ attitude right at the project start. We believe in partnering with all team members to realize cost effective solutions which the owner and developer needs, and which are good design solutions
We are recognized for the quality of our project work and our final project reports. Our comprehensive and compelling reports have made the difference in getting project objectives resolved and approved.
Experience and Expertise you can trust
Sustainable Energy and Water use and conservation strategies: Read more ...
Low-impact site development strategies for Storm water and Wastewater treatment: Read more ...
Major land use permits, and Environmental Impact Review (EIS, EA) supported by sustainability: Read more ...
Research and Development of Low impact Green Technologies and practical applications : Read more ...
Conservation strategies for sustainable energy and water use.
Energy conservation:We are certified energy auditors and managers and we have worked extensively on energy conservation projects. We provide energy code compliance assessments and we can provide energy modeling using whole building simulation software tools. Our goal is to provide winning energy efficient retrofits and operations.
Water conservation: We conduct water audits and advise our clients on responsible water usage strategies to develop winning retrofit and operational projects.
Example of successful project work: Energy efficiency for residential and commercial buildings: We lead a project team at the University of Hawaii to investigate measures to reduce energy in residential and commercial buildings. Energy modellings was used to optimize for different building types and configurations. The predictions were verified by actual measurements in the field. This allowed building developers and contractors to select the most cost-effective building types.
Low-impact site development strategies for storm water and wastewater treatment:
Low impact development (LID) storm water solutions: Long before low impact development (LID) storm water management became mandatory have we used sustainable storm water management as part of comprehensive “green” site development strategy. We know when and how to use LID storm water strategies to their fullest potential.
Cost saving onsite wastewater technologies: We provide winning onsite wastewater treatment and recycling solutions which not only have very high pollutant reduction but also save significant cost for the treated wastewater discharge. Our wastewater design solutions have a much smaller footprint and a lower impact than conventional septic and aerobic treatment systems.
Example of successful project work:Innovative onsite wastewater treatment and management: We developed a winning onsite wastewater system with very effective pollutant removal for an industrial development that was not connected to the municipal sewer system. The site had very low permeable soil which required very large drain fields (e.g. “leach fields”). Through the use of an emerging onsite wastewater treatment technology and the regulating agency endorsement we succeeded in reducing the drain field by 90%. This made it possible to save on precious land and significantly reduce costs.
Major land use permits, and environmental impact review supported by sustainability
Obtain major land use permits and provide the required environmental impact assessments, including EIS, EA, zone change and SMA permits
Owners representative: We have been serving as owners’ representative in a unique way. As experts in our fields we develop design concepts and strategies and work with our clients to identify the best solution. With the clear design goal established we select the engineering and planning company which can create the engineering plans with significant cost savings.
Example of successful project work: Rezoning and developing a light industrial park: We developed and successfully executed the project strategy to rezone a 20-acre parcel of land adjacent to an environmentally sensitive area to a light-industrial area. This significantly increased the value of the land while protecting the adjacent land, which is home of several listed water birds. This project showed the value of environmentally sensitive development. Our work products included EIS, a Major zone change, a major SMA permitting and LEED sustainability plan. The site development was based on a commitment to develop “green” with superior low impact development strategies for stormwater, wastewater and other impact mitigation strategies. The successful zone change increased the value of the land by double-digit million-dollar amount.
R&D in Energy Saving Technology and Occupant Comfort
For the past 10 years we conducted research and development (R&D) efforts at University of Hawaii in energy conservation and occupant comfort. Research projects included energy modelling, air flow studies through building using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and development of new air conditioning (AC) technology application. All efforts were directed to significantly reduce energy use while keeping occupant comfort high.
Example of successful project work: Innovative and highly energy efficient AC technology: We were contracted by the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) to develop practical applications of an advanced air conditioning (AC) system. The system proved to be highly energy efficient, able to save up 70% of energy, if solar energy was used to the fullest extent. The emerging technology of liquid desiccant was used in the technology application to dry the moist exterior air, independently of cooling . This is a huge advantage in regard to energy savings and safeguarding occupant health and comfort. The climate in Hawaii typically has high humidity levels and therefore AC systems use significant energy to dry indoor air. Drying air is necessary to avoid humidity related indoor healthy risks, such as mold. With the technology developed we could separate humidity control from sensible cooling. The resulting technology will provid superior indoor thermal control AND saves energy costs.
Dr. Manfred Zapka founded Sustainable Design & Consulting in 2010 to focus on his passion of only working on projects that use sustainable design and technology strategies. He has worked in the sustainability arena ever since he received his doctoral engineering degree from the University of Hawaii with reserach work on innovative way to harvest energy from the ocean . He has seen the sustainability field mature from theoretical concepts to cost-saving practical applications. He believes that the practical applications of the most recent sustainable technology and engineering design standards will make a big differnce; not only will they protect the environment and community but also add tangible financial benefits to owners and developers, who use them in a smart way.
Manfred Zapka, PhD, PE, Principal; Certifications: WELL AP, LEED-AP, ENV SP, CEM, CEA
Sustainable Design & Consulting LLC
P.O. Box 25914, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825, USA
Tel: 808-265-6321 - sustainabledc@gmail.com
When its time to invest in sustainability to protect the planet and improve the overall financial performance for your company, organization or community, the smartest first step is to schedule a discovery conversation with a knowledgeable expert, so you can consider all of the angles and design a strategic plan that puts you on the right path forward.
Contact us today to schedule a FREE 30-minute, no obligation strategic brainstorming sessionto help you uncover your very best ROI opportunities from initial concepts to concrete implementation.