Sustainability industry leaders Gunnar Hubbard, FAIA, LEED Fellow, and Michael Pulaski, PhD, have launched Solen Works, a sustainability consulting company that will provide project consulting and advisory services to help architecture and engineering firms develop climate-positive design and leadership strategies. The new firm will also offer a strategic Innovation Lab aimed at helping businesses grow and expand to new markets and offering workshops and industry roundtables to move the needle on climate change.
Solen Works launches with a focus on accelerating climate-positive impact in the built environment by delivering cost-effective low carbon, healthy and resilient buildings. From portfolio-wide decarbonization strategies to climate-forward building design support, the firm integrates building science, incentive optimization, and market positioning to guide institutions, owners and developers through evolving certifications and codes.
“Solen” means “the sun” in Scandinavia. Solen Works will help the industry harness clean energy, embrace circularity and create climate positive buildings and communities that work with natural systems rather than against them.
Solen Works’ Innovation Lab plans to accelerate innovation in the AEC industry by combining strong industry relationships with technical expertise to help companies expand and increase market share. Focusing on off-site fabrication, electrification, low-carbon and healthy materials and AI-enabled tools, the company connects climate-positive innovators with compatible clients, building an ecosystem where breakthrough solutions are scaled through real-world projects. With a combined 50 years of industry connections, Hubbard and Pulaski offer strategic and technical consulting, key introductions and access to potential clients and collaborators.
The company has been accepted into Northeastern University’s Roux Institute ClimateTech Incubator in Portland, Maine.
“The built environment accounts for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, and there is enormous opportunity for firms working in this space to establish themselves as sustainability leaders as we address these challenges,” said Hubbard, who transitioned from mentor-in-residence to entrepreneur-in-residence at the Roux Institute ClimateTech incubator. “We’re excited to partner with promising climate-positive companies and support their growth with the relationships and expertise they need to succeed at scale.”
“We believe working across multiple levels in the construction ecosystem — building owners, designers, contractors and product developers — supports innovation, improves project efficiency and increases overall impact,” said Pulaski, who earned a Ph.D. in architectural engineering from Penn State University.
Both Hubbard and Pulaski led sustainability services at Thornton Tomasetti, which acquired Hubbard’s former company Fore Solutions in 2012 to start the sustainability practice for the company. Together, Hubbard and Pulaski have worked together for nearly two decades and partnered on notable projects including Harvard’s LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge Petal certified Science & Engineering Complex, the new Pittsburgh Airport Modernization, the first all-electric tower in Brooklyn and the upcoming 2 and 5 World Trade Center buildings in New York City.
