Build Different, Build Better, Build Pono

This presentation is for the AEC community. However, it also targets owners and developers to think more about our future and the types of residential and light commercial construction designs that incorporate sustainable materials and materials that are being made here, or could be made here, in Hawai‘i.

Construction systems that will be discussed are currently not being built or manufactured in Hawai‘i, but should be; these methods need to be part of our sustainable future. The recent global weather events should be enough to tell everyone that Hawai‘i has been very lucky and has only limited localized disasters. We are well overdue for a hurricane and tsunami, and the state is currently experiencing the worst drought conditions in decades as all islands now deal with wildfires. For these reasons we need to have disaster-resistant options, and why not if they are also sustainable. So, let’s build to exceed current local building codes and give Hawai‘i better, more secure, more disaster-resistant and sustainable structures for our future.