Cathi Ho Schar
MArch, University of California at Berkeley | BA, Stanford University
License: Hawai’i
Cathi Ho Schar is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture, and the inaugural director of the University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (UHCDC). She brings 18 years of professional practice experience in Hawai’i to her role at the university and center. Cathi applies the principles of public interest and public sector practice to all aspects of her teaching and pedagogy, focusing on the integrated design of systems, processes, and environments. Cathi’s work is fundamentally collaborative and inclusive, engaging university and professional colleagues, and government and community partners, in ways that promote student agency, civic engagement, and system-wide benefits. Her work on multi-disciplinary teaching and research teams received the 2020 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award, 2021 ACSA Course Development Prize in Architecture Climate Change and Society, and 2021 ACSA Annual Meeting Best Project Award. In 2021, Cathi’s efforts were recognized with an ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award and elevation to the AIA College of Fellows. Cathi was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She earned her B.A. at Stanford University and M.Arch from the University of California at Berkeley.
Areas of interest:
Public interest/ public sector practice
Collaborative and integrative practice
Community engagement
Inclusive design
Social design
Affordability
Educational outreach and advocacy
UHCDC Principal Investigator for:
UH KCC Housing needs assessment
DAGS Līhuʻe Civic Center
DAGS Wahiawā Civic Center
DPS Cultural Competence Framework for Corrections
UH ARL Applied Research Lab Space Planning
DOE Waianae Middle School 6th Grade Building
HTDC Hilo Innovation and Manufacturing Center
UH: Crosswalks, Transect, Snyder Hall Replacement, East-West Road Parking Structure, Varney Circle Design Tank, Office of Sustainability LEED support, LEED for Campus, Sustainability Signage, ARL Space Planning, Pre-STEM Academy Identity and Space Planning, Krauss Hall Interior Space Planning, IFA 21st Century Library
Hoʻoulu ʻĀina Olo Koa Woodshop
HTDC First Responders Tech park
UHCDC Co-Principal Investigator for:
2021 MICD Design Tank & 2022 Mayor’s Institute
NEA Grants for Arts - Building Voices Climate Change Community Design Toolkits
DPS - Sustainability Proof of Concept Study
OP Waipahu TOD Proof of Concept Study
UHCDC project related courses:
Spring 2021 ARCH 493 “Post COVID TOD” West Loch mixed use affordable housing”
Spring 2021 ARCH 433 “HICORE and HNEI classroom building”
Fall 2020 ARCH 415 “UHM Campus for All”
Fall 2019 ARCH 415 “University Campus Projects”
Spring 2019 ARCH 201 “Kualakaʻi Transit Station”
Fall 2018 ARCH 415 “Next-Gen Neighborhood”
Fall 2018 ARCH 745 “901 River Street”
Fall 2017 "ARCH 415 “New Correctional Models”
Fall 2016 ARCH 415 “Whitmore Food Hub”
Summer 2016 ARCH 750 “Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻO Ānuenue School”