Expanding Understanding Through Design –

Informed by the intermixing of knowledge, cultures, and experiences, design thrives on diversity. We live in an exciting moment where voices that would have previously been diminished are being heard, and projects that might have been overlooked are being uplifted. However, we must be cautious with the appearance of diversity. Diversity calls for depth and breadth, for plurality in discourse, leadership, and production. Diversity needs to be considered beyond subject and explored through execution. Diversity is influenced by the topics we decide to tackle, the processes we undertake, and the people we elevate or invite to participate. Diversity is complex and layered.

This document offers an action-based framework to expand understanding through design from the perspective of a minority, first-generation immigrant operating as a guest in an underrepresented context, working between teaching, practice, research, and leadership.

The framework presents fourteen actions for thinking/making architecture that strive to increase the diversity of participants, perspectives, processes, and outputs in architectural education and practice. 

Each action is supported by a premise, offers a set of driving questions, and is exemplified by a tangible design effort, further described through notes and figures that include images, drawings, diagrams, documents, testimonials, and frameworks.  

Efforts are described in three categories based on individual experiences, creative collaborations, and pedagogical projects. Works in the portfolio were conducted between 2016 and 2024 with paid students, experts, and community members within the academic settings of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, an indigenous-serving public institution.

This project is based on a body of work and way of thinking developed from first-hand experiences that began in 2003 and continues to be a work in progress.

AWARD

2025 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Diversity Achievement Award. The ACSA Diversity Achievement Award is a recognition honoring initiatives that advance equity, inclusion, and cultural richness in architectural education.