Re-thinking the Way We Live Sustainable Development and Design Strategies for Communities in

377 Pages·2017·25.91 MB·English

Re-thinking the Way We Live
Sustainable Development and Design Strategies for Communities in Hawai‘i

Case Study Site: Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Cultural Learning Center, Wai‘anae

Shelley L Hoenle
December 2008

Submitted towards the fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Architecture degree.

School of Architecture
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

D Arch Project Committee
Spencer Leineweber, Chairperson
Luciano Minerbi
Dawn Easterday
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project reflects guidance, input and support from many participants who fielded questions,
joined in the discussion and offered comments and suggestions. The following community
contributed continued valuable involvement throughout the course of this project:

Committee Members:
Professor Spencer Leineweber, FAIA
Professor Luciano Minerbi, DArch, MUP
Dawn Easterday, Landscape Architect

Ka‘ala Farms Staff:
Eric Enos
Kilikina Mahi
Lopaka Aiwohi
Jackie Carroll
Butch DeTroy
Bruce Koebele
Jody Pihana
Cheryl Pukahi
Dalani Tanahy

Mahalo for support and assistance from:
Bernie Hoenle
Tanya Davis
Claire Rohlinger
Teresa Colbert
Leslie O’Connor
ABSTRACT
Purpose
As a contribution to the global dialogue on sustainable living practices, this project focuses
on developing local sustainable design strategies. The non-profit, Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. in Wai‘anae
Valley, serves as the project site as well as the entity for educating the larger surrounding
community through their established Cultural Learning Center facility and programs. The
sustainable design concepts of the project are developed with the collaborative participation of
the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. staff and community – a community and agency currently under-served by
the design profession. The product of this project is development of local design strategies and
creation of a conceptual master plan design for Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Cultural Learning Center. The
process of this project requires re-thinking the way we live to cooperatively re-think the way we
design our built environment in order to thrive in a more sustainable local and global
community.
Goals
The DArch project goal is to program and design an area development plan for the Ka‘ala
Farms property supporting their cultural, environmental, and community outreach educational
mission. This design work includes engaging in a community participatory process.
Specifically, the overall goal is to develop a sustainable mid-range concept area development
plan for the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Wai‘anae mauka, mountain, site including both the 97.5-acre
Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) and the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. owned 7.5 acre
property. This plan can be used to guide the future development of the organization as well as
to serve as an educational tool for both the local and global community.
In order to achieve this goal:
- A program for the concept development plan will be created through a participatory
process with the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. staff and the related community network, such as
local case study sites.
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- The facility program will require determining the development program for the Ka‘ala
Farm, Inc. site based on cultural, educational, organizational, and living goals.
- Planning and design will require researching the origins and intentions of the
organization and their partnerships as well as continued consultation in the design
process.
- The plan will require research and mapping in order to understand the physical
resources and capacity of the site.
- The plan will include new/renovated facilities, off-grid utility infrastructure strategies
and include land for agricultural crops according to the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. food
sustainment/independence goals.
- The site will be designed with a minimal footprint to include off-grid utilities,
construction with available economically feasible regional materials, and designed
appropriately within the context of local culture.
- The overall DHHL and Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. site will be analyzed to determine the most
appropriate area(s) for development from resource, program, and design aspects.
- Design strategies and the planning process will be articulated in order to serve as a
transferable prototype generalized for application in other communities.
- Articulation of the site evaluation process and design criteria will assist in evaluation of
other sites for sustainable community use potential.
Methodology
Research of the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. site begins from a historical, organizational, cultural and
physical perspective. Working with Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. in a participatory process generated the
building program for the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Cultural Learning Center property and Visitor
Center. Questions drafted at the onset of this process included:
- What is the historical, archaeological, and cultural background of the site?
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- What is the organizational history of Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. and what is their future vision?
- What are the area development plan program and facility requirements?
- What are the resources of the property?
- What is the carrying capacity of the property?
- What are the current legal land uses of the property?
- What indicators can be used to measure the “sustainability” of development?
These questions were approached by using the following strategies and by conducting research
of the following topics:
- Mapping of the site within context of the ahupua‘a, the land division from uplands to the
ocean, and TMK property boundaries to include understanding available natural
resources such as wind, solar, water, structures, utilities, and vegetation
- Conducting interviews with Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. and partner community organizations
- Recording meetings, site visits etc in order to inform articulation of the design process
- Researching local and global case studies of similar scale or climate
- Researching and determining appropriate building materials and passive energy
strategies
- Identifying sustainability indicators
It is critical to maintain the dichotomy and balance of both structure and flexibility in this
design process in order to respond to the dynamic nature of working with the needs of a
community organization. The approach for the concept development is one of analyzing the
physical aspects of the design site ecology while allowing the more flexible aspects of the
concept such as programming and facility siting to reflect the developing needs of the
organization. This requires continual involvement with Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. staff throughout
benchmark design stages during the process. These benchmarks are:
- Determining the overall site and facility programs
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- Initial facility sizing and overall site development concepts
- Reviewing revised siting and facility development concepts
- Presenting the concept to the Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Board of Directors
- Agreeing on concept site and facility concept
- Reviewing revised siting and development concepts from community input
These are benchmarks rather than predetermined steps, meaning progression can be iterative or
circular rather than linear. Each edited version of the design work, even if revisiting changes in
program or project goals, is a progression in creating amore applicable and appropriate design
solution.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………..iii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….iv
List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………x
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………..xi
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….xx
Background/Field of Study………………………………………………………. xx
Sustainability………………………………………………………………..…..xx
D Arch Project Statement…………………………………………………….….. xxxii
Proposal………………………………………………………………………...xxxii
Chapter 1: Wai‘anae Historical, Cultural, Community Background…………………34
Overview………………………………………………………………………….. 34
Pre-contact Wai‘anae ……………………………………………………………. .37
Post-contact Wai‘anae …………………………………………………………….44
Contemporary Wai‘anae …………………………………………………………..62
Chapter Conclusion………………….…………………………………………….77
Chapter 2: Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Organization………………..…………………………….80
Overview………………………………………………………………………........80
The Organization……………………………………………………………….…82
Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Mission………………………………………………….…...82
Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. History…………………………………………………....….85
Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Management……………………………………...…….…....92
Ka‘ala Farm, Inc. Programs……………………………………………………93
The Site…………………………………………………………………….…...….96
Property……………………………………………………………………........96
Land Use…………………………………………………………………….......99
Facilities…………………………………………………………………….…..111
The Makai Site Facilities…………………….…………………………........111
The Mauka Site Facilities…………………………………….………….….115
Physical Characteristics………………………………………………………..118
Climate………………………………………………………………..……..118
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Land………………………………………………………………………....120
Soils……………………………………………………………….……..120
Forests…………………………………………………………...…..…..122
Water…………………………………………………………………….….123
Chapter Conclusion………………...……………………..………………..….…126
Chapter 3: Sustainable Community Design Strategies………….………..……………127
Introduction…………………………………………………….………….………128
Sustainable Community Design………………………………………………..128
Overview………………………………………………………………….....128
Community………………………………………………………………….131
Design……………………………………………………………………….133
Case Studies………………………………………………………………………..137
Local Case Studies…………………………………………………………...…138
Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha……………………….………………………………..138
Energy………………………………………………………………...…141
Water………………………………………………………………….…143
Food……………………………………………………………………...143
Shelter …………………………………………………………………...145
Waste…………………………………………………………………….146
Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha Summary……………………………………….....146
Mala ‘Ai ’Opio Farm (MA‘O)……………………………………………….147
Energy…………………………………………………………………...150
Water……………………………………………………………………151
Food………………………………………………………………….…..152
Shelter …………………………………………………………….……..153
Waste……………………………………………………………….……153
MA‘O Summary…………………………………………………….....…154
Global Case Studies…………………………………………………………….156
Overview…………………………………………………………………….156
Kibbutz Lotan, Israel ……………………………………………………….157
Kibbutz Overview………………………………………………………..157
Kibbutz Lotan Design Strategies………………………………………..160
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Energy…………………………………………...…………………..162
Water……………………………………...………………….……...162
Food…………………………………………………………………164
Shelter ………………………………………………………………165
Waste………………………………………………………………..166
Kibbutz Lotan Summary………………………………………………166
Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED), UK…………………167
BedZED Design Strategies……………………………………………169
Energy………………………………………………………….…...170
Water……………………………………………………………….172
Food………………………………………………………………...174
Shelter ……………………………………………………………...175
Waste……………………………………………………………….175
Beddington Zero Energy Development Summary…………….…….176
Finca Esperanza Verde, Nicaragua……………………………………….178
Finca Esperanza Design Strategies…………………………….….…179
Energy……………………………………………………………179
Water……………………………………………………………..180
Food………………………………………………………………181
Shelter …………………………………………………………....182
Waste……………………………………………………………..183
Finca Esperanza Verde Summary………………………………...…184
Chapter Conclusion……………………………..…………………………….……185
Chapter 4: Building and Systems Design Strategies………….…..……………………187
Overview…….………………………………………………………..……………188
Energy….………………………………………………………………………188
Solar Energy………………………………………………………………...190
Passive Lighting Design………………………………………………...190
Overview……………………………………………………………...190
Daylighting ……………………………………………………….….191
Sidelighting and Room Design…………………………………...196
Toplighting……………………………………………………….196
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