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.
Awards:
In September 2022, Envisioning Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategies in Waikīkī, HI was recognized as a “honorable mention” at the Northwest and Pacific American Institute of Architects Honors and Design Awards category “Unbuilt” and as a “distinguished entrant” at the American Institute of Architects Honolulu Honors and Awards category “Non-Commissioned Theoretical Work – Unbuilt.”
Read more from the articles linked below:
2022 Northwest & Pacific AIA: Design Award Winners
AIA Honolulu: Design Awards 2022
Read on UH News
Publications:
In April 2023, the poster, “Envisioning Adaptation to Sea Level Rise In Waikīkī, HI” was presented at and published in the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) 2023 International Conference: The Research-Design Interface proceedings, HERE on page 839.
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:
In July 2023, The Beachfront Sea Level Rise Adaptation Project, was recognized for the 2023 Mayor’s Choice Award in the Honors and Design Awards category “Unbuilt”
Read more from the article linked below:
https://www.aiahonolulu.org/2023-design-award-winners/
Read on: UH News
In September 2023, The Envisioning Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Waikiki, Hawai’i, was recognized for the Honorable Mention in the Urban Design Category of their Chapter Awards.
Read on: UH News
Publications:
In March 2024, the article titled, “A Science and Community-Driven Approach to Illustrating Urban Adaptation to Coastal Flooding to Inform Management Plans,” authored by Associate Professor Wendy Meguro, Climate Adaptation Specialist Josephine Briones, Graduate Research Assistant Gerry Failano, and Dr. Charles H. Fletcher, was published in the journal Sustainability special issue: Sea Level Rise—Coastal Vulnerability & Adaptation Management. The research demonstrates the role academia and research plays in visualizing potential flood adaptation strategies. This also informs future policy at the state and county government levels to craft adaptation plans in anticipation of sea level rise.
Please see the full citation and published journal article link (below):
Meguro, W.; Briones, J.; Failano, G.; Fletcher, C.H. “A Science and Community-Driven Approach to Illustrating Urban Adaptation to Coastal Flooding to Inform Management Plans”. Sustainability 2024, 16, 2849. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072849.
In April 2024, article titled, “A Visionary Approach to Advancing Sea Level Rise Adaptation in an Urban Coastal Community, Waikīkī, Hawai‘i,” authored by Associate Professor Wendy Meguro, Climate Adaptation Specialist Josephine Briones, Graduate Research Assistant Gerry Failano, and Dr. Charles H. Fletcher, was published in the journal Oceanography special issue: Sea Grant: Science Serving America’s Coastlines and People. The article highlights site-specific flood adaptation strategies for buildings, open space, transportation, and utilities in 2050 and 2100 that are relevant to Wakīkī, Hawaiʻi. Engaging with over 700 participants through workshops, surveys, and public presentations. The research reinforces the need for a methodology to determine future building design flood elevations that account for sea level rise.
Please see the full citation and published journal article link (below):
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.”
Read on: UH News
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