SERVICES
We focus on urban ecology and offer regenerative sustainability consulting services to design and planning teams, developers, owners, businesses and cities. We are experienced in mixed-use/residential, transit and infrastructure, landscape and public space, education, office, arts and culture, hospitality and healthcare design projects as well as advisory services, policy and plan development.
BIOMIMICRY + BUILDING ECOLOGY
We help our clients design and plan a built environment that works more like an ecosystem, eliminating waste as a concept and promoting circularity, sustainability and resilience. We bring nature’s inspiration to the design process.
Our services include visioning, working with clients and interdisciplinary teams to set aspirational sustainability goals, identifying systems to meet those goals, and preparing analyses and cost-benefit studies to refine options. We also consult to owner’s reps to embed sustainability and ecological criteria into RFQs and RFPs.
BIOPHILIA + WELLBEING
People are healthier and happier when they are connected to nature. Bio Studio is a biophilic design partner skilled in helping teams develop a deeper understanding of their site’s ecological roots, infuse nature and natural patterns into their concepts and realize better places for people.
We help clients integrate strategies that benefit people and all species alike. We also facilitate broader design for wellbeing strategy including considerations like air quality, healthy materials and active design.
BIODIVERSITY, HABITAT + LIVING SYSTEMS
At Bio Studio, we are passionate about restoring ecosystems and creating habitat for the benefit of all species, human and non-human alike. We guide project teams in planning to recognize a site’s place in the regional habitat picture, reconnect habitat corridors and enhance biodiversity.
We offer habitat-focused planting design for landscapes and green roofs, creek restoration planning and restoration workshop facilitation based on the Open Standards for Conservation. We collaborate with restoration ecologists, geomorphologists, engineers and landscape architects to serve clients who want detailed design and installation.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE + EQUITY
We acknowledge that wellbeing is not equally available to all communities and that communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities often suffer from higher levels of pollution and lower access to nature, exacerbating other challenges. We help clients find ways to address equity and environmental justice in their projects and seek out opportunities to provide and repair nature access to communities that need it most. We are a small, woman-owned, certified DBE business that works to engage inclusively. We eagerly partner with BIPOC, LGBTQ and other underrepresented professionals to provide informed and relevant sustainability solutions. We are honored to be a part of JUST Collaborate, working for justice by design.
CLIMATE POSITIVE DESIGN + ZERO ENERGY CONSULTING
For human and ecological communities to thrive, we must have a stable climate. Bio Studio offers a full range of climate positive design consulting services to support this goal. We have expertise in net zero carbon buildings and master plans, renewable energy systems and passive solar design. We partner with engineers to deliver detailed energy system designs, district energy systems and microgrids.
WATER HARVESTING + REUSE
Bio Studio offers expertise in planning and optioneering of net positive water solutions, such as rainwater harvesting, greywater and blackwater recycling. We assess a project’s water balance and available non-potable sources and advise on the most sustainable and cost-effective approach. We can provide performance specifications and assist in the hiring of a design-build integrator or work with an engineering team to provide a custom design to bid out.
LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE + CERTIFICATIONS
We have proven success in green building certification management, specializing in the aspirational ILFI standards, Living Community Challenge and Living Building Challenge. We have facilitated many built LEED Gold and Platinum projects in addition to having professional accreditation in LEED, Living Future Programs, WELL and Green Point Rated. We can also facilitate engagement with a variety of other programs like ENVISION, SITES, EcoDistricts, One Planet Living, UN SDGs and Science Based Targets.
SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTING
We work with clients and interdisciplinary teams to set aspirational sustainability goals, identify systems to meet those goals, and prepare analyses and cost-benefit studies to refine options. We also help owners embed sustainability and ecological criteria into RFQs, RFPs and corporate ESG commitments. We are experienced in managing interdisciplinary teams to deliver regenerative plans and designs. We can shepherd sustainability goals through planning, design and construction, assessing the project’s achievement at milestones and completing certification and compliance documentation. We also facilitate post-occupancy evaluation and performance-based certifications.
VISIONING, ENGAGEMENT + FACILITATION
We are skilled facilitators of stakeholder and community engagement. We encourage teams to articulate their priorities and reach for their most aspirational vision, all the while ensuring that all participants feel heard and welcome. When possible, we offer workshops outdoors on building sites or as mini nature retreats, recognizing the power of nature connection to generate innovation, creativity, interpersonal cohesion and simply a good time for all. We love to co-facilitate with our friends at JUST Design.
RESILIENCE CONSULTING
Buildings and communities are only sustainable if they are also resilient. Bio Studio helps clients develop frameworks that make their projects more resilient to both known and unknown risks, increasing business continuity, asset preservation and community wellbeing. We collaborate with engineering teams, guiding studies like energy modeling and flood risk assessment for future climate scenarios and assessing options for microgrids and other islanding solutions.
