
The full research project, including presentations and reports, is on the Sea Grant website.
April 1, 2022 – Low-Rise & High-Rise Residential Buildings
Waikīkī is the economic hub of Hawai‘i’s tourism industry and is threatened by flooding from sea level rise, king tides, high wave events, rainfall and storm drain backflow, groundwater inundation, and overflow of the Ala Wai canal. This research merges science with design to create conceptual architectural design renderings to visualize sea level rise adaptation strategies over time for buildings, utilities, transportation, and open space. The interdisciplinary design research team from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) School of Architecture (SOA)’s Environmental Research and Design Laboratory (ERDL); the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST)’s Climate Resilience Collaborative (CRC); and Sea Grant College Program’s Center for Smart Building and Community Design (CSBCD) includes graduate research assistants, faculty, and staff from architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, climate science, geology, and Sea Grant. The goal is for these renderings to compel discussion, contribute to design guides, pilot projects, and new policies that prepare for future flooding. This project demonstrates the potential for academia’s role in addressing climate change with notable project engagement of over 700 people in professional, business, governmental, and academic settings. Participant feedback published into online reports, highlight the need for district-scale planning and building-scale guidelines informed by future flooding predictions. This academic research project’s methods and products can inform future local policy development as a resource to future design teams and policy makers.
June 22, 2023 – Beachfront High-Rise Mixed-Use Commercial and Residential Building
The Beachfront Sea Level Rise Adaptation Project was completed by the interdisciplinary team from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Architecture, Environmental Research and Design Laboratory; Hawai‘i Sea Grant, Center for Smart Building and Community Design; School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Climate Resilience Collaborative. This academic design research merges science with design to create conceptual architectural design renderings to visualize sea level rise adaptation strategies over time for buildings, utilities, transportation, and open space. The goal of these renderings are to foster discussion and contribute to design guides, pilot projects, and new policies that prepare for future flooding. The design proposals were shared through a public webinar presentation with over 220 participants and discussion with a panel of guest experts.
Awards:
- 2024 Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) National Design Award, Honor Award
- 2024 American Institute of Architects Honolulu Design Awards, Merit Award (Unbuilt)
- 2023 American Planning Association (APA) Hawaii Chapter, Honorable Mention, Urban Design Category
- 2023 American Institute of Architects Honolulu Design Awards, Mayor’s Choice Award (Unbuilt)
- 2022 American Institute of Architects Honolulu Design Awards, Distinguished Entrant, (Non-Commissioned Theoretical Work) – Unbuilt Category
- 2022 Northwest and Pacific American Institute of Architects Honors and Design Awards, honorable mention, Unbuilt Category
Publications:
- Lander, M. S. F., Meguro, W., Briones, J. I., Castillo, I. R., & Fletcher, C. H. 2024. “Envisioning In-Situ Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Coastal Cities”. Technology | Architecture + Design, 8(2), 298–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/24751448.2024.2405409.
- Meguro, W. 2024. “Co-Innovating for Integrated Research, Teaching, and Outreach in Sea Level Rise Adaptation”. Technology | Architecture + Design, 8(1), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/24751448.2024.2322918.
- Meguro, W., C.H. Fletcher, J. Briones, E. Teeples, and G. Casey. 2024. “A Visionary Approach to Advancing Sea Level Rise Adaptation in an Urban Coastal Community, Waikīkī, Hawai‘i”. Oceanography 37(1):122–123, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2024.223.
- Meguro, W., Briones, J., Failano, G., Fletcher, C.H. 2024. “A Science and Community-Driven Approach to Illustrating Urban Adaptation to Coastal Flooding to Inform Management Plans”. Sustainability, 16, 2849. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072849.
- 2023 Envisioning Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Waikīkī, HI (conference poster), the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) 2023 International Conference: The Research-Design Interface proceedings, page 839.
Press:
- 2024, UH News, “Waikīkī sea-level rise adaptation project earns national recognition”
- 2024, KHON Empowered Hawaii, Featured in episode: “Forecasting our Future | Empowered Hawaii Severe Weather”
- 2024, Hawaiʻi News Now, “How could Waikiki respond to sea level rise? These researchers have some ideas”
- 2024, UH News, “UH-led Waikīkī sea-level rise adaptations to elevate infrastructure, utilities”
- 2024 UH News, “Waikīkī sea-level rise adaptation renderings, community outreach earn award”
- 2023 UH News, “Waikīkī sea-level rise adaptation project earns honorable mention”
- 2023 UH News, “Waikīkī sea-level rise adaptation strategy earns Mayor’s Choice Award”
- 2022 UH News, “Designing for future Waikīkī with sea-level rise earns honors”