Hyphae Design Lab Projects

McGlashan Residence, Mill Valley

This living roof was designed by Brent Bucknum for the McGlaughlin residence in Mill Valley. It features locally collected native species from rocky habitats, and a few alien invaders in the form of the towering echiums. Installation by Nick Gardener and Josiah Cain. The residence was designed by Scott McGlashan architecture.

Private Residence, Berkeley CA

The first rainwater system permitted for indoor non-potable water use in the City of Berkeley and County of Alameda.

Client wanted to be as green and water efficient as possible, but still wanted a lush, green landscape. We combined those seemingly opposite ideals to create graywater system that utilizes a constructed wetland which is integrated into the landscape like a terraced rice patty. After the wetland provides initial filtration, graywater is pumped into the landscape via subsurface drip irrigation that is specifically designed for reclaimed water. We used the largest underground poly tank on the market, at 2,500 gallons it provides a significant amount of water for non-potable indoor re-use, while allowing two feet of soil above it for landscaping

Rainwater: collected from the roof for toilet flushing and laundry Graywater: collected from bathroom sinks and showers, and from the clothes washer for landscape irrigation Constructed Wetland: wetland plants filter graywater before landscape irrigation Landscape Irrigation: efficient drip irrigation system installed

STORAGE CAPACITY: Rainwater: 2,500 gallons Graywater: 100 gallons

PROJECTED WATER SAVINGS/ YEAR: Rainwater: 10,000 gallons Graywater: 58,000 gallons

Lennox Residence, Lafeyette CA

The first rainwater system permitted for indoor non-potable water use in the City of Lafayette and County of Contra Costa.

Architect had inItially designed a 10,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system for landscape irrigation. We calculated we could use graywater for landscape irrigation at a substantially lower cost while providing a smaller rainwater harvesting system to meet indoor non-potable water needs for the entire year. Client has a large family with two teenagers, so we designed a system to have two 1,700 gallon underground tanks to supply the toilets and laundry.

Rainwater: collected from the roof for toilet flushing and laundry Graywater: collected from bathroom sinks and showers and clothes washer Constructed Wetland: Wetland filters graywater before landscape irrigation Landscape Irrigation: Efficient drip irrigation system installed

STORAGE CAPACITY: 3,400 gallons

PROJECTED WATER SAVINGS/ YEAR: Rainwater: 38,000 gallons Graywater: 58,000 gallons

Gottfried Residence, Oakland CA

RAINWATER: Six rainwater HOGs were installed by Hyphae design lab at the Gottfried residence, to capture rainwater for toilet flushing and garden irrigation. The site is a small urban lot with limited space, so two banks of three hogs were placed along the house next to the driveway. An additional HOG collects rainwater from a detached office in the backyard and has a hose bib for hand watering. These HOGs are connected to a pump, cartridge filters, and a UV filter, that treat the rain water to potable levels before delivering it indoors to a low-flush toilet. We estimate this will offset the potable water used for flushing one of two toilets from October to June. This residence received LEED points for the rainwater and greywater harvesting that contributed to it being the highest rated LEED certified home in the country.

GREYWATER: Two HOGs were used to capture and store greywater in a crawl space underneath the house. One HOG acts as initial “surge” capacity, and the other is used to store the filtered greywater that has been run through an attached sand filter. The treated greywater is then pumped to landscape via the drip irrigation system.

(R)urban Bloc, Dallas TX

This was a competition for Re:Vision Dallas where we went far beyond greywater use to define, high density, closed-loop, water independent, nutrient cycling system.

Private Residence, Chicago IL

We designed custom control system, utilizing moisture sensors to control watering based on actual plant water needs. Living wall installed by Hyphae and Intrinsic Landscaping.

Private Residence, Piedmont CA

Client Background: Client wanted to reduce water bills to avoid EDMUD overage charges. He was also noticing significant amounts of water collecting on his pool cover that he was pumping out to his yard. We connected the dots and installed a 2,500 gallon rainwater storage tank to collect his pool cover water, and use it indoors for toilet flushing.

Storage Capacity: 2,500 gallon above ground

Projected Water Savings/yr: Rainwater: 4,380