Research
The Holistic Housing Lab investigates housing through design-centered research focused on people, place, and the interconnected systems that shape how we live.
Research provides a foundation for developing new ways to understand, visualize, discuss, and design housing. The Lab brings together multiple forms of inquiry and perspectives across disciplines to explore housing at different scales, from the experiences of residents and the spaces of everyday life to the larger systems that shape housing.
REPORT SERIES
Reimagining the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority
The Reimagining HPHA Series brought together researchers from architecture, sociology, and urban and regional planning to examine public housing through complementary perspectives.
Developed in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority, the research examined the experiences and aspirations of residents, public housing policy and development, and the design and density of housing. The three reports below bring these perspectives together to inform new approaches to public housing in Hawai‘i.
DESIGN PERSPECTIVE
Future of Hawai‘i’s Housing
Exploring Housing for All
Principal Investigators:
Karla Sierralta, AIA
Brian Strawn, AIA
DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE
Public Housing Authorities and the Affordable Housing Crisis
Principal Investigator:
Philip Garboden, Ph.D.
Prepared by:
Sara Doermann, MURP
SOCIOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
Public Housing in Hawai‘i
Assessing the Needs of Public Housing Residents
Principal Investigators:
Jennifer Darrah-Okike, Ph.D.
Philip Garboden, Ph.D.
Principal Report Author:
Nathalie Rita, Ph.D. Candidate
MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Expert Perspectives
Housing is shaped by knowledge and expertise that extend beyond any single discipline.
Research is informed by conversations with architects, designers, researchers, policymakers, developers, and other subject-matter experts working across housing and related fields, both within and beyond the University. These perspectives help identify emerging challenges, opportunities, and new approaches to housing.
Allison Arieff
Allison Arieff is an architecture and design writer and editor. She has served as Editorial Director of Print at MIT Technology Review and as Editorial Director of SPUR, a San Francisco–based nonprofit focused on urban planning, policy, and research. She was the founding editor of Dwell and a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times.
In 2019, we invited Allison to Honolulu to deliver the Sakamaki Extraordinary Lecture, “Density Done Right,” and she collaborated with HHL on the Future of Hawai‘i’s Housing project.
“Designing for density doesn’t have to be ugly, or scary and yet the popular conception is that it must be.”
David BakerFAIA, LEED AP
David Baker founded David Baker Architects in 1982, and in 1996 was selected as Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
He has guided and overseen the design of more than 13,000 apartment and condo units, 6,000 of which are affordable, including a pipeline of more than 1,500 modular units. In 2009 he received the Hearthstone Builders Humanitarian Award, honoring the 30 most influential people in the housing industry of the past 30 years.
In 2019 the HHL team invited David to discuss his ideas for the Future of Hawai‘i’s Housing.
“Good design shouldn’t be sacrificed because everything is so much more expensive in Hawai’i.”
Philip M.E. Garboden, Ph.D.
Philip M.E. Garboden is the HCRC Professor in Affordable Housing Economics, Policy, and Planning at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
HHL’s team has been consulting with Dr. Garboden on both the Future of Hawai‘i’s Housing project and the development of the Holistic Housing Toolkit.
“Public Housing Authorities in general, and HPHA in particular are in a uniquely powerful position when it comes to the affordable housing crisis.”
Marsha Maytum FAIA, LEED AP
Marsha Maytum is a founding Principal at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects in San Francisco.
Her work has received over 90 regional, national and international design awards and has been recognized by organizations including the American Institute of Architects, Urban Land Institute, National Trust for Historic Preservation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Green Building Council, and the 2014 ICC National Leadership in Sustainability Award.
In 2019 the HHL team sat down to discuss her thoughts on the Future of Hawai‘i’s Housing.