Lowell Manalo

Most building occupants might not think about the complex piping that makes a hospital or laboratory run, but Lowell does. In designing specialty plumbing systems, “I get to be a generalist and a specialist,” he says, blending quality design with efficiency, waterborne disease prevention, water conservation, code requirements, delivery deadlines and new technologies. “As designers, it is our responsibility to explore the unknown and hopefully influence the future for the better,” remarks Lowell, who shares his expertise as a regular columnist and contributor to trade magazines. Lowell seems almost destined for a career devoted to water: He is a Navy man (“the core values of honor, commitment and courage are the pillars of my design-making,” he says) and once worked as a yacht technician.