Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

0 sec ago

Here comes the sun: sustainability pros start consultancy in Portland

Two people pose for a photo. Photo / Courtesy Solen Works Gunnar Hubbard and Michael Pulaski launched Solen Works to help architecture and engineering firms develop climate-positive design.
By Laurie Schreiber

Two sustainability professionals whose projects have spanned the world have started a company to help architecture and engineering firms develop climate-positive design and leadership strategies.

Gunnar Hubbard and Michael Pulaski launched Solen Works in Portland.

"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. 

Construction ecosystem

The word "solen" translates to "the sun" in Sweden. Solen, the firm, offers consulting, introductions and access to potential clients and collaborators. The company provides consulting and advisory services. The goal is to guide institutions, owners and developers through evolving certifications and codes and create cost-effective low carbon, healthy and resilient buildings, from portfolio-wide decarbonization strategies to building design support. The partners work with design teams and directly with clients, with an eye toward both environmental and financial returns.

“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.  

Shanghai and Las Vegas

Hubbard and Pulaski have over 50 years of combined experience in sustainability for the built environment, as consultants to major institutions and developers across North America and beyond. 

Originally from Vermont, Hubbard has been a designer and consultant for projects around the world. In 2002, he opened a green consulting firm, Fore Solutions, in Portland. Soon after, he hired Pulaski, who brought a PhD in architectural engineering.

In 2012, Fore Solutions was acquired by Thornton Tomasetti, an engineering consultant headquartered in New York City with an office in Portland, where Hubbard and Pulaski led sustainability services.

Together, they’ve partnered on notable projects including a Pittsburgh International Airport modernization, the first all-electric tower in Brooklyn, 2 and 5 World Trade Center in New York City and some of the first and largest passive house projects in New England. 

A commission for the Stockholm Central Railroad Station included thermal management, smart building technologies, climate-resilient design and new walking and cycling options. For the Shanghai Stock Exchange, they established sustainability benchmarks, navigated complex regulatory requirements and cultural considerations and delivered sustainability solutions such as a high-performance double-skin façade, smart building controls and green roofs and sky gardens.

A project for CityCenter Las Vegas represented the largest private U.S. construction project to achieve LEED Gold certification at the time, managing stakeholder coordination across multiple architects, developers and building types and developing district-scale sustainability strategies for the 16 million-square-foot mixed-use development.

Colby and Hannaford

Maine projects have included the Colby College Alfond Athletics Center, where they created sustainable design standards specifically for athletic facilities, addressing unique challenges of pool environments, gymnasium spaces and fitness facilities. 

In Augusta, they consulted on the development of a 50,000-square-foot Hannaford grocery store, which became the first supermarket to achieve LEED for Retail Platinum certification. At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, they worked on the Bosarge Family Education Center, which achieved LEED Platinum and net zero energy. 

Individual approach

The two decided to strike out on their own as a small firm providing clients with a more individual approach, Hubbard told Mainebiz.

They established an office in the ClimateTech Incubator at Northeastern University's Roux Institute at 100 Fore St. 

“We like seeing the projects through and working face-to-face,” Hubbard told Mainebiz. “It also opens us to be more selective and strategic on what we take and look at different opportunities.”

Hubbard and Pulaski developed a business plan over the summer and launched Solen in early September. Minimal startup costs included building a website. The space at Roux came with resources through Northeastern University.

“We’re focusing on local businesses and helping them improve their sustainability and operational efficiency,” said Pulaski. 

Added Hubbard, “We’ve worked on projects of all scales all over the world, with all types of owners and developers. We want to be able to apply that here in Maine.”

The firm is working to build a client base that so far includes an architecture firm in Chicago. As known entities in the sustainability world, the partners have been networking and attracting attention from previous clients, including an architecture firm in New York that invited them to compete for a university-scale project. 

Innovation lab

Separately, Solen will offer an “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. Focusing on off-site fabrication, electrification, low-carbon and healthy materials, and AI-enabled tools, the company connects climate-positive innovators with compatible clients. 

Asked if a shifting federal stance on sustainability could affect the industry, Hubbard said yes and no. For some developers, interest rates and tariffs are a larger problem, keeping projects from moving forward, he said.

From his perspective, though, “We believe so much in the need for the work we do. We all need to keep going and use this knowhow to make a difference.”

Sign up for Enews

Mainebiz web partners

Most Recent

Most Recent

Related Content

Thumbnail Notable quotables from a dozen 'On the Record' interviews in 2025
Thumbnail Bigelow Lab looks to create 'blue' biotechnology businesses and jobs
Cresting the third dimension: 3D printing sparks new manufacturing wave in Maine
Thumbnail Innovation is a priority with Maine Technology Institute awards

0 Comments

Order a PDF