COTE SPEAKER SERIES (HYBRID)

COTE Speaker Series

Resources and Resourcefulness: Building in Hawaii

January 17, 2024

Invasive Trees and a Regenerative Supply Chain for Hawaii (HSW)

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 is exploring alternatives to business-as-usual building materials and systems, seeking solutions that are regenerative, healthy and carbon sequestering.  Anyone who has done the math on shipping or struggled with supply-chain problems can quickly see the many advantages of locally produced goods.  These include resilience to global shocks, opportunities for workforce development, GHG emissions reductions, healthy living environments, and more.  Yet, in this most remote place on earth known as Hawai’i, a place graced with a temperate climate, abundant sunshine and rain, so little of what we build with is truly local, let alone sustainable.  We’re asking:  What would it take?

Join us for the next AIA Honolulu COTE Resources and Resourcefulness: Building in Hawaii speaker series event:

Invasive Trees and a Regenerative Supply Chain for Hawaii

• 5:00pm Pau Hana: Join us in person to connect with friends new and old as we build our community of sustainability leaders.
  Mahalo to Cosentino Hawaiʻi for sponsoring refreshments for the meeting.
• 5:30pm Hybrid Presentation: Session and discussion begin. This is when our friends on Zoom will join us too.

With the increasing awareness around the high carbon impact of our building industry, now is more important than ever to rethink the current paradigm. We are at a critical juncture in defining the ways in which we must build for future generations. Albizia is proving to be a viable alternative to imported materials in many applications. The Albizia Project and partnering organizations are integrating regenerative systems to demonstrate that Hawaii is more than capable of restructuring its supply chain to support an ‘āina-based approach, where the forest ecosystem benefits from using its resources and building materials can begin to have a net positive impact in Hawaii.

Join us Wednesday, January 17 as Joey Valenti, co-founder and principal designer of Albizia Project, Wahiawa Design Lab, Bizia Surf & Coffee Bar, and partner at Atelier5 Design Firm discusses creating a regenerative local supply chain for wood building materials using invasive Albizia. After his presentation, Joey will be joined by Mark Tagawa, AIA, LEED AP, Principal at G70, for Q&A and conversation.

FREE but please register below so we have enough food and drink.

Earn 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW)!