Summary of Approach

SHAC Consulting is a new branch and practice within the UC Berkeley student organization Sustainable Housing at California (SHAC) that provides internal environmental and social consulting services and guidelines for the successful design and construction of sustainable and equitable affordable housing. The goal of SHAC Consulting is to gather expertise to work toward the creation of a SHAC Playbook which would provide technical and theoretical guidance for future SHAC members as well as a SHAC Handbook which would use lessons learned and examples from SHAC’s Solar Decathlon and THIMBY projects to scale SHAC’s impact beyond the organization. In doing so, SHAC Consulting simultaneously develops a curriculum around sustainable and equitable affordable housing and various frameworks for assessing and improving internal and external projects regarding sustainability and social justice.

Objectives

1. Develop a SHAC Playbook that would allow for future project replicability and development within the organization.
2. Develop a SHAC Handbook for external teams to use for guidance and inspiration.
3. Develop frameworks for assessing and improving sustainability and social justice measures in projects, pulling from SHAC’s DeCal Living Futures: Regenerative Environmental Design, various building certification programs, and social impact assessments.
4. Consolidate deliverables produced into a curriculum and course that can be taught to a wide audience.

Role within SHAC

SHAC Consulting plays a critical role in the development of SHAC as an organization and its two main projects, Solar Decathlon and THIMBY (Tiny House in my Backyard). Through the production of deliverables that synthesize the work done to date by SD and THIMBY, SHAC Consulting serves as the glue that unites the two teams through collaboration toward a common goal. To find out more about SHAC, visit shac.berkeley.edu. As an organization dedicated to sustainable housing, sustainability and equity are at the heart of SHAC’s mission. SHAC Consulting aims to advance SHAC’s values of energy, accessibility, scalability, and education by giving future club members and other people and organizations access to a robust compilation of research, hands-on experience, and guidance surrounding the most effective strategies for designing and constructing sustainable, just homes.

F’22 – S’23 Timeline

August 2022 – Recruitment

September 2022 – Onboarding and Introductions, Preliminary Brainstorming. Construction Documentation.

October 2022 – Brainstorming and Research.  Construction Documentation.

November 2022 – Research and Framework Development.  Construction Documentation.

December 2022 – Analysis of SHAC projects.  Construction Documentation.

January 2023 – Analysis of SHAC projects, Begin SHAC Playbook

February 2023 – SHAC Playbook Development

March 2023 – Begin SHAC Handbook

April 2023 – SHAC Handbook Development, Begin Curriculum Development

May 2023 – Curriculum Development

Team

Directors of Consulting – Swasti Johri & Amanda Tsang

Role: 

• Oversee SHAC Consulting and its role within SHAC, coordinate with SHAC Board and SHAC Project Managers
• Spearhead the development of the SHAC Playbook, SHAC Handbook, and SHAC frameworks
• Lead and run meetings and work sessions, set agendas and timelines
• Coordinate with Lead Consultants to ensure timeline is being met

Lead Consultant

Role:

• Utilize sustainability and justice knowledge and experience to assist in the development of the SHAC Playbook, SHAC Handbook, and SHAC frameworks
• Lead research and writing process, assign tasks and responsibilities
• Coordinate with Directors of Consulting and Project Managers in the development of deliverables

Requirements:

• Passionate about driving sustainability, resilience, health and wellness, and justice in the built environment
• Deep knowledge or background in sustainability, climate science, building design, construction, affordable housing, public health, and/or social and environmental justice
• Strong verbal, written, and graphic skills
• Ability to work effectively in a team and independently as a self-starter
• Attention to detail and highly organized, critical thinking
• Ability to commit to 3-5 hours of work/week

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in consulting, sustainability, green building certifications, building technologies, building and energy analytics, and/or social justice work
• Knowledge of MEP systems and architecture components
• Familiarity with healthy building, including but not limited to air and water quality, thermal comfort, biophilic design, and natural daylighting
• Familiarity with building/zoning codes and city initiatives related to affordable housing and homelessness
• Skills in Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop

Consultant 

Role:

• Assist in the development of the SHAC Playbook, SHAC Handbook, and SHAC frameworks
• Actively engage in the research and writing process

Requirements:

• Passionate about sustainability, resilience, health and wellness, and justice in the built environment
• Knowledge of sustainability, climate science, building design, construction, affordable housing, public health, and/or social and environmental justice
• Strong verbal, written, and graphic skills
• Ability to work effectively in a team and independently as a self-starter
• Attention to detail and highly organized, critical thinking
• Ability to commit to 2-4 hours of work/week