Registration for this event is now CLOSED!
A COTE Speaker Series / GMM Presentation
Resources and Resourcefulness: Building in Hawaii
Earth Day April 22
Ka Nohona: Reviving a Hawaiian worldview for sustainability, social justice, and inter-generational equity
The AIA Honolulu Committee on the Environment (COTE) works for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We strive to advance, involve, and educate the building community and the public on best design practices and their effects on the environment. We seek to foster community and connections among all in the building sector interested in sustainable design for a healthier more resilient Hawaii.
With our Resources and Resourcefulness: Building in Hawaii speaker series, AIA Honolulu COTE has been exploring alternatives to business-as-usual building materials and systems, seeking solutions that are regenerative, healthy and carbon-sequestering. For our final event, in partnership with UH Manoa School of Architecture and APA Hawaii, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Konia Freitas, Director of Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawiian Studies at UH Manoa and Kawika McKeague, Principal at G70 Architects, as we widen our lens to the foundational worlds of planning and resource management.
Ka nohona, the way of living and relating, is a key concept in the Hawaiian worldview that reflects the genealogical connections between people and their environment. These connections shaped the Hawaiian patterns of settlement, land use, and resource management by ʻohana, who recognized the spiritual and ecological dimensions of their relationship with ʻāina and kai. This Kanaka ʻŌiwi perspective on place challenges the foreign values and practices that have transformed Hawai‘i through resource extraction, plantation agriculture, urban development, militarization, tourism, and global economic and climatic forces. By exploring ka nohona, we highlight the importance of reviving the foundational principles of the Hawaiian worldview to restore sustainability, foster social justice, and ensure inter-generational equity.
In this presentation, Dr. Freitas will share how our Oceanic genealogy and moʻolelo Hawaiʻi informed the Hawaiian ways of living and relating on ʻāina and kai by ʻohana. Mr. McKeague, Principal, Group 70 International will exemplify these ways through his discussion of Princess Kaiulani’s estate in ʻĀinahau, a wahi pana in the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī in the Kona district of Oʻahu island. The conversation will be moderated by Kapua Pimentel, an architectural designer and cultural connector at Ferraro Choi Architects.
- 5:00pm Pau Hana: Join us in person for some delicious pizza and to connect with new and old friends as we build our community of sustainability leaders.
- 6:00pm Hybrid Presentation: Session and discussion begin. This is when our friends on Zoom will join us too.
Pizza generously provided by UH School of Architecture.
Cost: FREE but please register below so we have enough food and drink.
AIA CEU: Qualifies for 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW). AIA Honolulu is the registered provider.
APA CEU: Qualifies for 1 APA CEU. APA Hawaii is the registered provider.
