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professional entries
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: August 2025
Photo Credit: Matthew Millman
Originally designed by Frank Haines, FAIA, ‘Aumoana carefully restores and expands a Mid-Century Modern residence overlooking Kāneʻohe Bay. The project preserves the home’s architectural character while strengthening connections to landscape, climate, and panoramic views through thoughtful additions and contemporary living spaces.
Project Type: Interior Architecture
Completion Date: April 2026
Photo Credit: Andrea Brizzi
This renovation reimagines a prominent downtown banking branch as an open, welcoming, and community-focused environment. Integrating local materials, artwork, and sustainable design strategies, the project reflects American Savings Bank’s commitment to accessibility, stewardship, and engagement while respecting the building’s original architecture.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: January 2025
Photo Credit: Steven Kothenbeutel, HET Productions, Design Partners Incorporated
DreamHouse Center is a mixed-use community hub that combines retail, business, and educational spaces within a single integrated facility. By uniting economic activity with DreamHouse Charter High School, the project creates a vibrant environment that supports entrepreneurship, leadership development, and community connection.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: 2024
Photo Credit: Matthew Millman / William Jess Laird
Hale Mauʻu is a collection of pavilions delicately woven into a lava-field landscape. Elevated walkways, sheltered courtyards, and village-like forms create a residence that embraces openness, natural ventilation, and a deep connection to the site’s native vegetation and coastal environment.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: January 2025
Photo Credit: Olivier Koning
Set within an agricultural landscape at the base of Mount ʻOlomana, Hale ʻOlomana integrates modern residential living with productive farming. The design emphasizes indoor-outdoor connections, abundant natural light, and stewardship of the land while supporting agricultural operations and community-focused cultivation.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: October 2018 (Substantial Completion Date)
Photo Credit: Aaron Yoshino & Ijfke Ridgley
Haleolaʻiliʻāinapono is Hawaiʻi’s first certified Living Building residence, demonstrating a regenerative approach to housing through net-zero energy, water independence, and material circularity. The project reimagines the role of the home as a resilient, self-sustaining system deeply connected to place and community.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: January 2026
Photo Credit: Andrea Brizzi
The EarlyPhase Clinical Research Center is a tenant improvement within the exising three-story University of Hawai'I Cancer Center building. The project built out space on the ground floor and second floor. The facility provides access to clinical research for patients across multiple disciplines and expands the research capabilities of the only research university in the State of Hawai'i.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: August 2025
Photo Credit: Olivier Koning
Inspired by the school’s historic landscape, the Innovation & Discovery Center blends library, maker space, and flexible learning environments into a nature-integrated educational hub. Shaped as an extension of the land itself, the project fosters creativity, exploration, and hands-on learning for future generations.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: January 2026
Photo Credit: Adam Taylor
The Arrillaga Student Center serves as the social and academic heart of the Iolani School campus. Combining dining, wellness, learning, and gathering spaces beneath a dramatic roof form, the project strengthens connections across grade levels while creating new opportunities for engagement, reflection, and community.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: October 2025
Photo Credit: Ikaika Ohana, Design Partners Incorporated
Kaiāulu o Kūkuʻia provides 200 affordable homes for Maui families within a community-oriented residential village. Complemented by shared amenities, gardens, and Hawaiʻi’s first Bezos Academy preschool, the project supports stability, opportunity, and long-term community well-being.
Project Type: Commercial/Industrial
Completion Date: 2025
Photo Credit: Jason O'Rear
Kona Farm Distillery transforms a former agricultural equipment building into a destination that celebrates Hawaiʻi-grown ingredients and the craft of distillation. Integrated with an active farm, the project connects cultivation, production, and hospitality through transparent views of roasting and spirit-making, creating an immersive visitor experience rooted in agriculture, craftsmanship, and place.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: June 2025
Photo Credit: Matthew Millman
This eight-story adaptive-reuse project transforms a former fitness club into a cultural and innovation center dedicated to Native Hawaiian youth. Organized around education, creativity, wellness, and community, the center celebrates Hawaiian identity while creating an inspiring environment for learning, opportunity, and personal growth.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: 2026
Photo Credit: Adam Taylor/MASON
Luhauola combines affordable housing and neighborhood-serving commercial space within a resilient, energy-efficient mixed-use development. Through renewable energy, battery storage, and durable low-carbon materials, the project advances long-term affordability while promoting sustainability, equity, and community resilience.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: April 2025
Photo Credit: Olivier Koning
Centered around a showcase garage designed for automotive enthusiasts, Luxury Garage House balances high-performance vehicle storage with comfortable contemporary living. Open-plan interiors, seamless indoor-outdoor connections, and carefully articulated spaces create a residence tailored to lifestyle and collection alike.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: June 2025
Photo Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
Designed as a companion to an existing estate, Makena Guesthouse extends the site’s living and entertaining experience while establishing its own relaxed identity. Casual, flexible spaces and a refined connection to the landscape create a welcoming retreat for guests.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: January 2026
Photo Credit: Linny Morris
This project is an accessory dwelling unit, also known as an "Ohana Dwelling Unit", an addition to a main residential property. The goal of the project was to provide a secondary dwelling for the Owner's family to live on the same lot. The design provides this separate structure, allowing family members to have privacy while being close in proximity on the same lot.
Project Type: Institutional
Completion Date: June 2026
Photo Credit: Mariko Reed, Photographer; Hector Diez, Renderer
The Mystical Rose Oratory Pavilion expands the Chaminade / St. Louis campus chapel through a covered open-air gathering space and landscaped amphitheater. Guided by the original chapel’s radial geometry, the project creates a welcoming setting for worship, celebration, and community events while enhancing the campus experience.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: 2025
Photo Credit: Andrea Brizzi/Nordic PCL/AHL
Nāulu Apartments delivers approximately 300 affordable homes within a transit-oriented community near the future Aloha Stadium district. Combining high-density housing with wellness-focused amenities, public art, and shared gathering spaces, the project demonstrates how affordability and quality of life can coexist.
As the first international location of a Michelin-starred NY restaurant, New Torishin creates an immersive dining experience centered on traditional yakitori cooking. Innovative ventilation solutions and carefully coordinated planning allow guests to engage directly with the culinary process while meeting complex technical requirements.
Project Type: Interior Architecture
Completion Date: April 2026
Photo Credit: Adam Taylor
Designed as a symbol of school pride and community identity, the new Roosevelt High School Gymnasium provides a premier venue for athletics, events, and student development. Architectural references to Hawaiian cultural traditions reinforce a strong sense of place while supporting expanded educational and athletic opportunities.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: July 2021
Photo Credit: Travis Rowan
The Minimal House is a quiet retreat designed around simplicity, climate responsiveness, and connection to the Maui landscape. Through restrained architecture, natural ventilation, and carefully selected materials, the home creates a calm environment that celebrates light, views, and place.
Project Type: Residential
Completion Date: September 2025
Photo Credit: Adam Taylor, Micah Roemmling, Design Partners Incorporated
The Park on Keʻeaumoku transforms an entire urban block into a mixed-use residential destination that integrates housing, retail, recreation, and open space. Balancing unprecedented scale with community-focused design, the project creates a vibrant and inclusive neighborhood within Honolulu’s urban core.
Project Type: Commercial/Industrial
Completion Date: 2026
Photo Credit: Olivier Koning/AHL
A resilient research facility within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, the USGS HVO Field Station restores continuous volcanic monitoring lost in the 2018 eruption. Thoughtfully sited to preserve landscape and historic resources, the project integrates advanced laboratories, sustainable systems, and salvaged materials to support scientific discovery and long-term stewardship.
student entries
Undergraduate Submission
Located on Brooklyn’s waterfront, 390 Kent Avenue explores how residential architecture can support wellness through recreation, recovery, and connection to the environment. Integrating housing, fitness, social spaces, and public waterfront amenities, the project promotes healthy urban living while embracing the changing character of coastal conditions.
Undergraduate Submission
Inspired by the growth cycle of the native hāpuʻu fern, this Montessori school redesign creates a nature-based learning environment that supports childhood development through exploration, flexibility, and well-being. Organic forms, sustainable materials, and indoor-outdoor connections foster curiosity, creativity, and lifelong learning.
Undergraduate Submission
Filtering Water explores how architecture and landscape can work together to create a regenerative water cycle. By using recycled greywater to support wetlands, agriculture, and recreation, the project transforms water infrastructure into an educational and ecological system that strengthens both community and environment.
Graduate Submission
Fragment and Fold reimagines Lahaina’s historic waterfront as a climate-resilient commercial and community destination. Designed to support post-fire recovery, the proposal combines pedestrian-focused urban planning, flexible market spaces, and a unifying mass-timber canopy to create a welcoming environment that fosters economic renewal, connectivity, and long-term resilience.
Undergraduate Submission
Hale Nā Kōnāhuanui reimagines high-rise living as a vertical village that supports Native Hawaiian families across generations. Through housing, cultural gathering spaces, wellness amenities, and opportunities for learning, the project fosters belonging, cultural continuity, and the ability for residents to age in place.
Undergraduate Submission
This mixed-use residential tower challenges conventional urban living by bringing the values of Hawaiian community life into a dense urban setting. Abundant green space, gathering areas, healthcare services, and public amenities create a welcoming environment where nature, culture, and social connection remain central.
Graduate Submission
Hoʻōla Kūpuna Center is an active-aging community hub designed to support the physical, mental, and social well-being of Hawaiʻi’s elders. Rooted in cultural continuity and intergenerational exchange, the project creates a flexible environment where kūpuna and keiki can learn, gather, and thrive together.
Undergraduate Submission
Kalākaua Gateway serves as a mixed-use urban connector linking neighborhoods, parks, and commercial districts in central Honolulu. Anchored by public green space, a pedestrian bridge, and community-oriented amenities, the project strengthens connectivity while creating new opportunities for civic life and urban revitalization.
Graduate Submission
Kahua Lua Market proposes a phased community marketplace and business hub for Lahaina’s recovery. Elevated above future flood risks, the project combines retail, support services, community resources, and future housing into a resilient framework that strengthens economic recovery while preparing for environmental change.
Koko Head Kindergarten redefines early childhood education by integrating learning with nature, movement, and discovery. Organized around open-air classrooms, daylight, water features, and existing trees, the design creates an environment where curiosity and exploration become part of everyday learning experiences.
Undergraduate Submission
Developed in response to Lahaina’s housing needs after the 2023 wildfires, this adaptable accessory dwelling unit prioritizes affordability, flexibility, and ease of construction. Designed to accommodate a variety of site conditions with minimal earthwork, the project offers a practical model for resilient rebuilding.
Graduate Submission
Inspired by the ahupuaʻa system, Malu Waimalu creates a wellness-centered environment for aging in place. Organized around a circular community pathway, the project integrates social, physical, and cognitive wellness through accessible architecture, landscape connections, and spaces that encourage movement, independence, and intergenerational interaction.
Undergraduate Submission
Ona ʻAla is an inclusive fragrance boutique that celebrates Hawaiian ingredients, culture, and craftsmanship. Designed around principles of accessibility and universal design, the project creates a welcoming retail experience where visitors of all backgrounds and abilities can explore, learn, and create personalized fragrances.
Undergraduate Submission
The Pacific Seaweed Research Institute is envisioned as a regional center for limu research, education, and environmental stewardship. Combining regenerative design, water conservation strategies, and community engagement, the project strengthens connections between scientific innovation, cultural knowledge, and ecosystem health.
Undergraduate Submission
Pilina Lahaina is a community and ecosystem restoration proposal that supports Lahaina’s recovery through resilient landscape and building strategies. Integrating flood adaptation, wildfire mitigation, flexible architecture, and ecological restoration, the project emphasizes the inseparable relationship between people, place, and environment.
Undergraduate Submission
Temporal Morphology challenges conventional approaches to resilience by embracing impermanence and ecological succession. Conceived as an architecture that transforms through recurring wildfire events, the project explores how buildings can evolve with natural processes, fostering reflection, healing, and a deeper relationship with change.
Undergraduate Submission
Inspired by Lahaina’s historic banyan tree, The BANYAN envisions a community-centered marketplace and cultural hub that grows alongside the town’s recovery. Combining modular spaces, education, commerce, and cultural programming, the project serves as a living framework for resilience, adaptation, and collective renewal.
Graduate Submission
The Hale reinterprets the traditional Hawaiian hale as a contemporary civic gathering space for Kakaʻako Makai. Through its open-air design, mass timber structure, and expansive canopy, the project creates a flexible venue for cultural events, education, and community life while embracing Hawaiʻi’s climate and waterfront setting.
Graduate Submission
Ulana Makai transforms an underutilized urban site into a mixed-use neighborhood centered on housing, culture, and community. By weaving together homes, services, gathering spaces, and Hawaiian cultural programs, the project envisions a vibrant, walkable district where people can live, learn, and connect across generations.
Undergraduate Submission
This design aims to connect community members and building for the betterment of the thriving town of Wailuku, Maui. The concept of Wailuku Apartments is to position the building for optimal privacy yet remain welcoming and open to the public through an inviting business space below the required residential apartments.
Graduate Submission
Urban Lanai reimagines the former Aloha Stadium site through the adaptive reuse of salvaged stadium steel. Inspired by the Hawaiian concept of the lānai, the project creates a network of shaded public spaces, pathways, and gathering places that transform existing materials into a new civic landscape.
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