Project: Restoring Symbiotic Aquaculture
Student: Shun Ishimine, MLA’21
Course: Spring 2021 ARCH 764 Capstone Studio: Research & Design
Capstone committee: Phoebe White (chair), Simon Bussiere

This project investigates shoreline adaptation to upcoming climate and environmental changes. Restoring Symbiotic Aquaculture explores the contemporary ecological design potentials of traditional Hawaiian aquaculture and fishponds. With the steep decline in fishpond numbers, Oahu and the state lost important high performing nature-based infrastructure elements.

In light of ongoing and projected climate and environmental threats, Hawaiian fishpond performance has to be reevaluated from various perspectives. Contemporary interpretations and design applications of traditional Hawaiian aquaculture systems, such as fishponds, have the potential to become catalysts for sea level rise adaptation and restore symbiotic relationships between people and ecology.