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DESIGN STUDIO

PP_web_student_intro_Ko olau_Range_Oahu
Slopes of the Koʻolau Range from Ha‘ikū Valley, O’ahu, Hawai'i.

Photograph by Amir Mirza.

The Plant Potential design studio was an expedition into the imaginary futures of the spaces of Hawaiian ethnobotany. Students each developed a proposal for a center for the contemplation, transformation, and preservation of a culturally and ecologically significant Hawaiian plant. The work unfolded from a detailed botanical study of a selection of significant plants and an ethnobotanical investigation into their traditional transformations and uses. Our aim was to celebrate Hawaiian flora by emphasizing the plant’s existential dependence on the natural ecosystem as well as its significance to the native population dependent on it for both its quotidian and ritual life.

OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Hui Kū Maoli Ola Plant Nursery
The design proposals act as an extension of an existing plant nursery and are all located on the same site in Kāne’ohe, Hawai’i. Hui Kū Maoli Ola is the only nursery in Hawai’i that propagates native and Polynesian-introduced plants (species introduced by the early Polynesian settlers), all of which have ecological and cultural significance. Hui Kū Maoli Ola is a majestic way of saying: “the group (hui) that stands (Kū, with emphasis) for native life (Maoli Ola!)” The nursery was founded in 1999 by two long-time friends, whose passions (respectively for Hawaiian birds and Hawaiian culture) hinged on the health of native Hawaiian ecosystems and, more specifically, on native Hawaiian plant populations. It did not take long for the two friends to realize just how devastated most of Hawai’i’s natural environment had become. One of their objectives has thus been education as a first step to the re-popularization of these vital plants that represent the backbone of Hawai’i’s unique and fragile ecosystems. We were fortunate to learn about Hawaiian plants from one of the founders, Rick Barboza.

GROUND SUPPORT
The students received support from Sean Connelly who also acted as a liaison with the nursery. Connelly is a Pacific-Islander American artist-architect from Honolulu, Hawai’i. He holds a doctorate in architecture from the University of Hawai‘i, and a masters in design studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He directs his work through an independent studio practice, After Oceanic Projects for Architecture, Landscape, Infrastructure, and Art. His work strives to promote justice-advancing futures that address the dynamics of Indigenous geography today and explores the contemporary recovery of Indigenous Hawaiian land systems as the basis for future urbanism.

GIS SUPPORT:
Students also received support from Katharine Shirley, MLA’23 whose GIS tutorials were possible thanks to a research assistantship generously funded by The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture’s Department of Urban Design.

Ha‘iku Agri/Cultural Kalo Center

Justin Perkins
Ken Sneed
Planet Potential SneedPerkins 01 Planet Potential SneedPerkins 02 Planet Potential SneedPerkins 03 Planet Potential SneedPerkins 04 Planet Potential SneedPerkins 05
Distribution of structures
follows the arrangement
of kalo pondfields.

The project leverages the importance of kalo pondfield cultivation for future generations of Hawaiians by providing a research center for the study of the plant, accommodations for farmers conducting long-term research, and guest services for day-visitors curious about traditional cultivation of and uses for this culturally important staple food crop.

Kalo (Colocasia esculenta, commonly known as taro) is a perennial native to South Asia that has been commonly cultivated across the Indo-Pacific region due to centuries of human migration. As kalo production on the Hawaiian islands has significantly decreased, the proposed project creates an environment that encourages the dissemination of ethnobotanical knowledge among farmers and other interested professionals such as chefs and herbalists.

Programmatically, the aim of the project is to provide a high degree of versatility. The system of interconnected and terraced pondfields (lo’i in Hawaiian) allows researchers to arrange cultivations according to a project’s needs. The provided enclosures can act as accommodations or be used as educational facilities for individuals who would like to know more about the lo’i-cultivated kalo during a day visit.

Structurally, the organization of the buildings follows the principles that drive the arrangement of kalo pondfields. As there is a strong foundational wall parallel to the contours of the site in a traditional kalo lo’i, so is the case with the proposed structures that cantilever from a concrete foundation positioned along the central axis of each building. This design offers a sense of lightness and a high degree of permeability for water and air to circulate beneath the buildings.

Lastly, the storm-water flow was carefully analyzed to confirm the feasibility and determine the best arrangement of a kalo lo’i on this site situated within O’ahu’s Ha‘iku Valley. The primary direction of flow to best capture the rainfall from the slopes of the Koʻolau Range was analyzed and on-site sheet flow was mapped to direct water towards the lo’i system through secondary channels. Finally, the roofs were given a sloped form to channel storm water into the lo’i system, creating a tertiary water flow that further binds the structural organization of the built forms to the arrangement of the cultivation fields.

PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_01 Kalo (Colocasia esculenta)
Kalo (Colocasia esculenta)
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_02 Kalo   Traditional Uses
Kalo - Traditional Uses
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_03 Kalo Cultivations on O'ahu
Kalo Cultivations on O'ahu
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_04 Lo'i   Organization Diagram
Lo'i - Organization Diagram
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_05 Rainwater Flow Direction
Rainwater Flow Direction
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_06 Site Forces
Site Forces
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_07 General Site Plan
General Site Plan
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_08 Programmatic Distribution
Programmatic Distribution
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_09 Catalogue of Flora
Catalogue of Flora
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_10 Poi Kitchen and Pool House   Plan
Poi Kitchen and Pool House - Plan
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_11 Pool House   Cross Section
Pool House - Cross Section
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_12 Poi Kitchen
Poi Kitchen
PP web student images_Sneed Perkins_13 View towards the Stairway to Heaven
View towards the Stairway to Heaven

‘Ohi'a Lehua Healing Center

Amaya Lucas
Amir Mirza
Planet Potential Lucas Mirza 01 Planet Potential Lucas Mirza 02 Planet Potential Lucas Mirza 03 Planet Potential Lucas Mirza 04 Planet Potential Lucas Mirza 05
Visitors take care of
themselves by caring
for endangered
plant life.

He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka (Land is the chief, man is its servant.)

The ‘ōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is a critical pioneer species that faces tremendous threat as its forests are decimated by the spread of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, a highly contagious fungal disease. The proposed project is a Hawaiian healing center in which guests come to heal themselves, the land, and the threatened lehua. Three cultivation areas replace the invasive species currently on the site while hosting spaces for modern Hawaiian healing practices: lomilomi (physical massage), laʻau lapaʻau (medicinal herbs) and hoʻoponopono (counseling and remediation).

Through the act of tending to the land and the plant life hosted in the cultivation areas, visitors embark on a unique healing journey; they take care of themselves by caring for endangered plant life.

To truly get to know one’s land requires observing its subtleties and committing its natural cycles to memory. In the Hawaiian culture, this method of achieving integration with the land is called kilo and is traditionally used to inform planting and harvesting practices. In the ‘Ōhiʻa Lehua Healing Center, the act of observation––an integral part of the healing process—is aided by spatial interventions scattered throughout the site and meant to support contemplation and inward reflection.

By recognizing that the health of the land is critical to the health of its people, the project seeks to heal the greater community by tending to the individuals, their relationships, and their environment. Tending to an infected tree heals the forest.

PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_01 'Ohi'a Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
'Ohi'a Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_02 Interspecies Relationships 01
Interspecies Relationships
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_03 Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_04 Terrain Types 01
Terrain Types
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_05 Moisture Zones 01
Moisture Zones
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_06 Critical Habitats 01
Critical Habitats
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_07 Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Sites
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Sites
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_08 Outplanting Healthy ʻŌhiʻa Lehua
Outplanting Healthy ʻŌhiʻa Lehua
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_09 General Site Plan 1
General Site Plan
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_10 Entrance Pavilion   Plan 01
Entrance Pavilion - Plan
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_11 Entry Gateway
Entry Gateway
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_12 Living Units and Apothecary   Site Plan 01
Living Units and Apothecary - Site Plan
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_13 Living Units and Apothecary   Cross Section 01
Living Units and Apothecary - Cross Section
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_14 Observation Area   Site Plan 01
Observation Area - Site Plan
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_15 Celestial Alignments 01
Celestial Alignments
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_16 Observatory trail
Observatory Trail
PP web student images_Lucas Mirza_17 Pleiades
Pleiades

Plant to Plate ‘Ie’ie Kitchen

Nicole Mwei
PP_web_student_key_image_Mwei_0 1_No_Caption PP_web_student_key_image_Mwei_0 2_No_Caption PP_web_student_key_image_Mwei_0 3_No_Caption PP_web_student_key_image_Mwei_0 4_No_Caption
The kitchen’s
daily menu serves
as a site map.

Inspired by early research into Hawaii’s native edible plants—specifically Freycinetia arborea, known in Hawai’i as ‘ie’ie—this proposal for a chef’s-table kitchen and cultivation center provides a dynamic interactive experience where the diner becomes a part of the process from plant to plate. The relationship between humans and plants, specifically in regard to nourishment and health, is explored through architecture where site, soil, and ecology is recognized, honored, and supported. Located on twelve acres nestled within O’ahu’s Ha‘ikū Valley, the design offers spaces for the observation, cultivation, and transformation of plants. The kitchen’s daily menu serves as a site map. Guests can visit for a day and enjoy the gardens and the chef’s table or extend their stay in one of the on-site lodging units to take part in cooking classes, horticulture, and foraging trips.

The architecture, host to both plant and human life, becomes a trellis for the growth of local plants, including ie’ie: a woody climbing epiphyte with many traditional uses such as thatching and cordage, which are explored in this project. The site is punctuated by large truss-frames, which minimize building footprints and soil impact by rooting into the earth to support the spaces suspended above. A hovering path of grated-metal stitches the site together and leads the explorer through a journey of sensory encounters that ultimately culminate in taste; the experience is encapsulated on the dinner plate. Soil, water, root, seed, fungus, leaf, fruit, and sunlight all exist on the plate. To know the earth is to taste the earth. And yet, tasting is just the beginning of another cycle…

PP web student images_Mwei_01 'Ie 'ie (Freycinetia arborea)
'Ie 'ie (Freycinetia arborea)
PP_web_student_images_Mwei_02_Procession_ _Site_Plan_1
Procession - Site Plan
PP web student images_Mwei_03 Dinner Menu   Site Map
Dinner Menu - Site Map
PP web student images_Mwei_04 Wander
"Wander"
PP web student images_Mwei_05 Grow
"Grow"
PP web student images_Mwei_06 Grow Houses   Site Plan
"Grow" Houses - Site Plan
PP_web_student_images_Mwei_07_Grow_Houses_ _Cross_Section_1
"Grow" Houses - Cross Section
PP web student images_Mwei_08 Dine
"Dine"
PP web student images_Mwei_09 Kitchen   Lower Level Plan
Kitchen - Lower Level Plan
PP web student images_Mwei_11 Kitchen   Long Section West
Kitchen - Long Section West
PP web student images_Mwei_12 itchen   Long Section East
Kitchen - Long Section East
PP web student images_Mwei_13 Rest
"Rest"
PP web student images_Mwei_14 Hale (Home)   Plan and Elevations
Hale (Home) - Plan and Elevations
PP web student images_Mwei_15 Hale (Home)   Section looking South at Sunrise
Hale (Home) - Section looking South at Sunrise

Kamau Uhi Distillery

Josiah Chopin
Christopher Gaschen
PP web student key image_Chopin Gaschen_0 1 No Caption 01 PP web student key image_Chopin Gaschen_0 2 No Caption 01 PP web student key image_Chopin Gaschen_0 3 No Caption 01 PP web student key image_Chopin Gaschen_0 4 No Caption 01 PP web student key image_Chopin Gaschen_0 5 Ti Plant Shade House   Cross Section 01
Cultivation areas
drive the organization
of the project.

Though not unique to Hawaiian culture, the uhi plant (Dioscorea alata, also known as purple yam) has a long history of consumption in Hawai’i. New potential uses of this staple crop, common across the world, are currently being explored. The process of distillation promises a low-waste transformation that results in an uhi vodka of an intense purple color. The proposed Kamau Uhi Distillery is located within O’ahu’s Ha‘ikū Valley, a site perfectly suited for uhi cultivation. In addition to the main crop, four culturally important plants—turmeric, ti plant, kava, and lilikoi—will be grown on the site and used to enhance the flavor of the uhi vodka. The project encourages appreciation of these plants through observation: the distillery allows visitors to see the cultivation and transformation of cultivated species and offers lodging units for extended stays.

The arrangement of the cultivation areas drives the organization of the project, but the placement of structures is equally important. The built structures shape the visitor’s experience by framing the landscape. The flattest areas of the site are occupied by open agricultural fields of lilikoi and uhi, two plants that require larger amounts of space and consistent sunlight. The naturally sloping terrain and “blue” roofs are leveraged for collection of rainwater. Pedestrian pathways follow the topography, varying in width and material depending on their use. Finally, the openness of the site offers views of the distillery from every resting point, emphasizing the relationship between various functional areas and the place of transformation of the final product—the uhi vodka.

The site is programmatically divided into four sections, from the most public to the most private. The “walk-up” area leads visitors from the parking lot to the distillery and offices. The “reveal” area wraps around the buildings and opens onto the main cultivation fields. The “exploration” zone—framed by three greenhouses dedicated to turmeric, ti plant, and kava—focuses on uhi cultivation. Finally, nestled into a densely vegetated area is the “hide” section, where long-term visitors can find privacy.

The Kamau Distillery celebrates culturally important plants of Hawai’i and looks to unlock new potential of these plants. Kamau!: cheers!

PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_01 From Uhi to Vodka   Transformations
From Uhi to Vodka - Transformations
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_02 Distillation Process
Distillation Process
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_03 Plants and Their Habitats   Uhi
From Uhi to Vodka - Transformations
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_04 Plants and Their Habitats   Lilikoi
Plants and Their Habitats - Lilikoi
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_05 Plants and Their Habitats   Ti Plant
Plants and Their Habitats - Ti Plant
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_06 Plants and Their Habitats   Turmeric
Plants and Their Habitats - Turmeric
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_07 Plants and Their Habitats   Kava
Plants and Their Habitats - Kava
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_08 Planting Scheme
Planting Scheme
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_09 Lilikoi Field
Lilikoi Field
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_10 Programmatic Breakdown
Programmatic Breakdown
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_11 Reveal   Plan of the Commercial Area
"Reveal" - Plan of the Commercial Area
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_12 Explore   Plan of the Cultivation Zone
"Explore" - Plan of the Cultivation Zone
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_13 Hide   Plan of the Living Area
"Hide" - Plan of the Living Area
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_14 Distillery   Cross Section
Distillery - Cross Section
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_15 Central Cultivation Area   Cross Section 01
Central Cultivation Area - Cross Section
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_16 Ti Plant Shade House   Cross Section
Ti Plant Shade House - Cross Section
PP web student images_Chopin Gaschen_17 Inside the Tumeric Shade House
Inside the Tumeric Shade House

Ko’oko’olau Tea Pavilion

Madison Vincent
Michael West
PP web student key image_Vincent West_0 1 No Caption 1 01 PP web student key image_Vincent West_0 2 No Caption 1 01 PP web student key image_Vincent West_0 3 No Caption 1 01 PP web student key image_Vincent West_0 4 Propagation Area 1 01
With much to be learned from nature...
it is necessary to draw attention
to plants and set the stage for humanity
to reconnect to them.

Plants are necessary to our way of life, but due to a lack of relation to flora over time, humanity has grown plant illiterate. With much to be learned from nature, specifically from that which is local to our surroundings, it is necessary to draw attention to plants and set the stage for humanity to reconnect to them. In studying the Ko’oko’olau plant, it is clear there is a direct connection between humanity and nature on both a bio-botanical and transformational level. Ko’oko’olau in particular is useful in its capabilities to make tea, and this transformation becomes a mechanism for human engagement.

To take advantage of this engagement, the intervention took the form of a tea pavilion. The design aims to reengage people with nature by respecting the current site conditions and creating a new biodiversity of local and foreign flora on the site. The architecture itself takes the form of a series of walls that guide patrons through the site and frame glimpses of surrounding nature. As one moves across the site, they are guided by both these walls and carefully placed water features to facilitate this contemplative progression through the landscape. The tea pavilion itself grows out of this form, framing the Ko’oko’olau plant, reinforcing this connection to the land and rebuilding the relationship that was been lost.

PP web student images_Vincent West_01 Ko’oko’olau (Bidens asymmetrica)
Ko’oko’olau (Bidens asymmetrica)
PP web student images_Vincent West_02 Traditional Uses
Traditional Uses
PP web student images_Vincent West_03 Ko’oko’olau preferred Elevation on O'ahu
Ko’oko’olau-preferred Elevation on O'ahu
PP web student images_Vincent West_04 Ko’oko’olau preferred Soil Types on O'ahu
Ko’oko’olau-preferred Soil Types on O'ahu
PP web student images_Vincent West_05 Ko’oko’olau preferred Moisture Levels on O'ahu
Ko’oko’olau-preferred Moisture Levels on O'ahu
PP web student images_Vincent West_06 Potential Ko’oko’olau Habitat on O'ahu
Potential Ko’oko’olau Habitat on O'ahu
PP web student images_Vincent West_07 General Site Plan
General Site Plan
PP web student images_Vincent West_08 Site Plan   Entrance Area
Entrance Area - Site Plan
PP web student images_Vincent West_09 Site Plan   Approach
Approach - Site Plan
PP web student images_Vincent West_10 Site Plan   Between Tea Pavilion and Living Units
Between Tea Pavilion and Living Units
PP web student images_Vincent West_11 Site Plan   Foraging Area
Foraging Area - Site Plan
PP web student images_Vincent West_12 Tea Pavilion   Cross Section
Tea Pavilion - Cross Section
PP web student images_Vincent West_13 Propagation Area   Cross Section
Propagation Area - Cross Section
PP web student images_Vincent West_15 The Living Wall
The Living Wall
PP web student images_Vincent West_16 Approaching the Living Units
Approaching the Living Units
PP web student images_Vincent West_17 Entering the Tea Pavilion
Entering the Tea Pavilion
PP web student images_Vincent West_18 Cultivation Area
Cultivation Area