We are faculty, staff, and students, committed to helping Hawaiʻi through design. Led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture, UHCDC supports unique collaborations that address critical issues facing our communities.
Who we are
We are a collective of University of Hawai‘i faculty, staff, and allied professionals across university departments and disciplines, assisted by student interns and recent graduates. UHCDC provides a platform for collaboration on public interest built environment work.
Who we work with
We partner with state, city, and county agencies, the University of Hawai‘i, non-profit organizations, and community groups. Our intergovernmental status allows us to work nimbly with government agencies.
How we work
We build relationships internally by gathering university topic area experts, and externally by engaging project stakeholders, community members, and civic leaders to ensure that diverse perspectives are reflected and integrated into public serving projects.
Who we serve
We are a Hawai’i-serving resource, with the aim of supporting work across all of our islands, understanding the diversity of our communities and the unique challenges affecting our remote island state.
What we do
We provide alignment, engagement, communication, research, planning, and design services that provide stakeholders with data, analysis, prototypes, insights, resources, and visualizations that help to collectively guide and inform next steps.
How we teach
As a teaching practice, similar to a teaching hospital, our work provides applied learning, leadership, and employment opportunities for students and new graduates, connecting their education and kuleana to projects that serve our communities.
We provide proof-of-concept services
Proof of concept involves pre-procurement research, planning, and design services that can include, but is not limited to stakeholder alignment, community engagement, applied research, design investigations, prototyping, and preliminary costing to better define and fund projects ahead of contracting a professional planning and design team.
Our Impact
Public partners
23
Federal, State, and City & County agency and non-profit clients or granting agents worked with our UHCDC ohana.
UH faculty
20+
Faculty members across six university departments applied teaching and research efforts to UHCDC projects.
Courses taught
37
courses at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa were focused on projects related to UHCDC partners .
Students employed
90+
student assistants across departments received over 20,000 hours of paid internship and credit hours applicable to the requirements for architectural licensure.
