PROJECTS

Design Framework for Hawai‘i’s Built Environment

Quadruple bottom line approach to multiply project impact

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Design Framework for Hawai‘i’s Built Environment is a tool that addresses multiple topic areas and sustainability lenses specific to the Hawaiian context.

Hybrid solutions are encouraged through the combination of five topic areas in relationship to a Quadruple Bottom Line, comprised of four sustainability lenses: Social, Ecological, Economic, and Indigenous Culture, which defines the inclusion of measures taken to support and multiply the voice of Hawai‘i’s indigenous culture, identity, and heritage.

CREATED FOR

The Inaugural Building Voices Design Competition as part of the Building Voices Design Festival organized by the University of Hawai‘i Community Design Center and the UHM SoA.

IMPACT

Presented at: The 2017 World Design Summit in Montreal, Canada.

Ongoing: Sierralta and Strawn continue to utilize the DFHBE for research and design projects in Hawai‘i.

TOPIC AREAS

A series of listening sessions asked a broad section of the design community three critical questions:

  • What are the main challenges and opportunities facing Hawai‘i today?

  • What solutions or expertise have we developed in Hawai‘i that we can share with the rest of the world?

  • What are your hopes for Hawai‘i in 50 years?

Answers to these questions resulted in the development of five topic areas for focus. This framework proposes tackling multiple topic areas with singular designs.

1. HOUSING FOR ALL 
How will we house middle and lower income citizens when the cost of construction requires a salary of 2 times the median household income?

2. FOOD AUTONOMY
How might food production and technology be a driver for a 21st century economy in Hawai‘i?

3. RESOURCE INDEPENDENCE
What advances in resource autonomy can we forward with an economy driven with 100% renewable energy production?

4. COMMUNITY CENTERED MOBILITY
How can we innovate walkable communities for existing, dense urban fabric?

5. HEALTHY CITIZENS
How might we further reduce spending on health care, while increasing access and wellness rates for indigenous and aging populations?

A QUADRUPLE BOTTOM LINE

The term “TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE”, coined by John Elkington in 1998, argues that sustainable business strategies should address three different, yet complementary measures: the traditional profit and loss account, social awareness and how responsible the operations of an organization are to the environment. This concept, first applied to business, is often used to describe measures of sustainability in the built environment.

THE USGBC DEFINES THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE AS A CONCEPT THAT “incorporates a long-term view for assessing potential effects and best practices for three kinds of resources:

  • PEOPLE (SOCIAL CAPITAL) All the costs and benefits to the people who design, construct, live in, work in, and constitute the local community and are influenced, directly or indirectly, by a project.

  • PLANET (NATURAL CAPITAL) All the costs and benefits of a project on the natural environment, locally and globally.

  • PROFIT (ECONOMIC CAPITAL) All the economic costs and benefits of a project for all the stakeholders (not just the project owner).

The goal of the triple bottom line, in terms of the built environment, is to ensure that buildings and communities create value for all stakeholders, not just a restricted few. A commitment to the triple bottom line means a commitment to look beyond the status quo. It requires consideration of whole communities and whole systems, both at home and around the world. Research is needed to determine the impacts of a given project and find new solutions that are truly sustainable. New tools and processes are required to help projects arrive at integrative, synergistic, sustainable solutions.”

A “QUADRUPLE BOTTOM LINE” is defined by the addition of measures taken to support, benefit and multiply the voice of Hawai‘i’s indigenous culture, identity and heritage.

  • SOCIAL

  • ECOLOGICAL

  • ECONOMIC

  • INDIGENOUS CULTURE

TEAM

Design & Research: Karla Sierralta, Brian Strawn

Special Thanks to: Zack Ikaika Bantolina, Helaoha Johnston and all listening session participants at AIAS, AIA Honolulu, and SoA.

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