DHHL & UH Partner to Provide Students Real-World Experience

Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Media Releases
Alapaki Nahale-a, Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, M.R.C. Greenwood, President of the University of Hawai'i, Clark Llewellyn, Dean, UH School of Architecture, and Peter Crouch, Dean, UH College of Engineering, signed an agreement today at Kapolei which marked a partnership which will allow UH students to actually work on Hawaiian Home Lands homes.

Alapaki Nahale-a, Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, M.R.C. Greenwood, President of the University of Hawai’i, Clark Llewellyn, Dean, UH School of Architecture, and Peter Crouch, Dean, UH College of Engineering, signed an agreement today at Kapolei which marked a partnership which will allow UH students to actually work on Hawaiian Home Lands homes.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 30, 2012

DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS & UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI PARTNER TO PROVIDE STUDENTS REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Partnership Agreement Signed Today in Kapolei

KAPOLEI, HAWAIʻI – The State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is teaming up with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) to offer architecture and engineering students the opportunity to use DHHL’s land, homes, and development projects, as a learning laboratory.

Partnership agreements were signed today at a ceremony in Kapolei between DHHL and two UH Mānoa programs – the School of Architecture and the College of Engineering.

“This partnership goes to the heart of our mission of returning Native Hawaiians to the land,” said Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Alapaki Nahale-a, “We are calling on the best our local university has to offer to help us build healthy, sustainable homestead communities and provide diverse homesteading opportunities to our beneficiaries.”

“Real-world experience is key to transitioning our students from the classroom to their first job, and this partnership does exactly that, right here in our own backyard,” said M.R.C. Greenwood, President of the University of Hawaiʻi system. “This collaboration with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands provides our students a very unique and rewarding educational opportunity that they can’t get anywhere else.”

Discussions are underway with the School of Architecture to design 10 homes in 10 years for the DHHL’s Kānehili subdivision in Kapolei. Architecture students would be involved in all aspects of designing affordable, custom-built, “green” homes for qualified Native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust. These homes would employ green building methods and include energy-efficient technology.

This is the latest partnership with the school. Students of the School of Architecture also recently participated in a charette to contribute design ideas toward DHHL’s Kauhale Pilot Project. DHHL is building at least one house on a homestead on Hawai’i Island in the style of kauhale, traditional Hawaiian homesteads that consisted of multiple structures that served specific purposes such as sleeping, eating and cooking.

Meanwhile, the College of Engineering plans on incorporating engineering research and innovation to help DHHL identify any current and long-term infrastructure and maintenance issues on its homes and land. For example, students may take part in assessing rock fall mitigation concerns, drainage and water infiltration problems, or structural concerns with roadways.

This agreement builds upon a foundation set by a similar partnership between the DHHL and the Hawaiʻi Community College (HawCC) Model Home Program in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Over 3,000 students from several of the college’s Applied Technical Education programs have taken part in building 44 homes for homesteaders on the Big Island, since the partnership began in 1965. Hawaiʻi Community College will be celebrating the completion of its 45th home on May 10.

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The School of Architecture at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has developed a reputation for its integration of theory and practice, as well as its strong connections to Hawaiʻi and the Asia-Pacific region. Approximately 380 students are enrolled in the School’s Doctor of Architecture (D.Arch.) program. The School was the first in the nation to offer an accredited professional architecture doctoral degree.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering has launched thousands of successful careers in Hawaiʻi and throughout the world. Graduates occupy key roles with engineering firms, government agencies, defense contractors, and as entrepreneurs. Many of its 9,000 alumni have made significant engineering contributions to the state’s infrastructure and are now set on accomplishing similar tasks abroad. The College’s respect for the Hawaiian culture is reflected in its successful mentoring program for underrepresented science and engineering students. As the College celebrated 100 years of engineering education at Mānoa in 2008, it is focused on becoming a major contributor to Hawaiʻi’s renewable energy and sustainable future.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Crystal Kua
Administrator, Information & Communication Relations Office
Hawaiian Home Lands
808-620-9591
[email protected]

Gregg Takayama
Director, Community & Government Relations
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
808.956.6917
[email protected]

Here are photos from today’s event: