PREPARING OUR LEADERS WHO TRANSFORM OUR PROFESSION
The Hawaii Architectural Foundation believes in supporting students and helping them to achieve their goals of graduating with an Architectural Degree. Since 2013, the Foundation has given out over $30,000 to support architectural students in our state. This support comes in different forms, listed below. Typically, awards range from $1,000-$3,000.
THE HAWAII ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP
Funded by HAF and administered by HAF and AIA Honolulu, this need-based scholarship is open to Hawaii residents enrolled in a NAAB-accredited architecture program. Each recipient is awarded $4,000 to further their studies and future in architecture.
We are now accepting applications.
THE AIA haf uh school of architecture master of architecture (MArch) award
Congratulations to Noah Larson, the 2026 MArch Award of Merit recipient! Check out Noah's presentation, "Fragment and Fold: A Pedestrian Market Park for Lahaina"
Fragment and Fold proposes a resilient mixed-use market and business campus for displaced local vendors following the 2023 Lahaina fires. Located at the former Lahaina Center site along Front Street, the project reimagines the 11-acre property as a walkable, community-focused commercial hub that supports recovery, gathering, and economic growth.
The design is shaped through a process of “fragmentation,” creating greenways, courtyards, and pedestrian-focused pathways that reconnect the urban fabric while improving safety and climate resilience. Above these smaller building forms, a folded mass timber roof canopy unifies the market below, providing shade, flexibility, and environmental performance through rainwater collection, daylighting, and photovoltaic integration.
By combining resilient urban planning with sustainable architecture, Fragment and Fold transforms Lahaina’s historic waterfront edge into a welcoming civic destination that supports long-term community recovery and connection.
Honorable Mention
Recognized with an Honorable Mention in the 2026 MArch Awards, Rebecca Hiller’s project, “Kahua Lua Market: A Resilient Community Hub for Lahaina,” explores a community-centered approach to recovery and climate resilience in the wake of the 2023 Lahaina fires.
THE AIA haf UH school of architecture doctorate of architecture (darch) award
Up to three awards are given each year to students graduating from the Doctoral program (DArch) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture. These awards are judged by current HAF board members during the students’ final presentations. The following awards were given:
Award of Excellence - Logan Shiroma - “Re-Centering Design Process in Observation, Dialogue, and Indigenous-Led Practice: A Framework for Hawaiian-Led Co-Design”
This dissertation explores how Hawaiian knowledge systems can inform an architectural design process grounded in observation, dialogue, and long-term relationships with place. Titled “Re-Centering Design Process in Observation, Dialogue, and Indigenous-Led Practice: A Framework for Hawaiian-Led Co-Design,” the research investigates how traditional Hawaiian methodologies can guide more culturally responsive and community-centered architectural practices.
The study translates the Hawaiian frameworks of kilo (observation), kūkā (dialogue), and Papakū Makawalu (layered analysis) into tools for architectural research and design, including site observation methods, dialogue-based engagement strategies, and comparative evaluation frameworks. These ideas are applied through a collaboration with Hālau Kū Māna, a Native Hawaiian-focused public charter school in Makiki, Oʻahu.
The design application explores campus planning strategies and modular classroom concepts that integrate indoor and outdoor learning, water systems, and spaces for cultural practice. By treating design as an ongoing relationship rather than a single outcome, the project demonstrates how architecture can support education, ecological stewardship, and community connection through Indigenous-led practice.
Award of Merit - Martin Anzellini - “Tropical Vernacular Living Systems”
This project addresses the housing crisis and climate vulnerability affecting informal settlements in tropical and subtropical regions. It proposes an alternative approach to housing design that views vernacular communities as open, adaptive systems capable of evolving over time in response to environmental and social change.
The research develops a practical framework for sustainable habitat design centered on progressive development, user participation, and long-term adaptability. A graphic step-by-step design manual supports housing and landscape development strategies tailored to tropical environments and community needs.
The project explores habitat design across multiple scales, from landscape and infrastructure planning to adaptable housing systems. “Lifestructures” establish foundational networks for stability, circulation, and services, while modular “Lifepods” allow homes to expand, stack, subdivide, and evolve alongside changing family and community needs. The methodology is tested through case studies in the Philippines and Colombia, applying the system across diverse climates, densities, and cultural contexts. By combining ecological thinking with flexible design strategies, the project reimagines sustainable housing as a living system shaped by both people and place.
Award of Merit - Thanh Nguyen - “Design Strategies for Agritourism in Hawai‘i: An Approach for Small Farmers”
This thesis explores how agritourism can support Hawaiʻi’s small farms by reconnecting agriculture, tourism, and cultural stewardship. In response to the environmental impacts of resort-based tourism and Hawaiʻi’s growing dependence on imported food, the project proposes a design-based framework that allows farms to integrate tourism while maintaining agricultural productivity and cultural integrity.
The research develops phased architectural strategies that support hands-on learning, visitor engagement, and incremental farm growth through spatial design. By focusing on small-scale operations with limited resources, the project offers adaptable tools that help farmers diversify income while strengthening local food systems and ecological resilience.
Through case studies, literature review, and design prototypes, the thesis reimagines tourism and agriculture as interconnected systems rather than competing industries. The project demonstrates how Hawaiʻi’s built environment can support more sustainable relationships between land, community, and economy.
THE AIA maui/HAF SCHOLARSHIP
Funded by HAF and AIA Maui and administered by AIA Maui to eligible to Maui County residents. Two scholarships are given out each year, one to a graduating high school senior and one to an architectural college student, both must be enrolled in NAAB-accredited programs.
The AIA Maui has awarded two $5,000 Architectural scholarships in 2025. Lahainaluna High School graduate, Jake McGilI, will begin this fall at Montana State University. Second awardee, Mico Corpuz, also a Lahainaluna graduate will be starting his third year in the University of Hawaii Manoa Architectural program.
AIA Maui Scholarship recipients must be Maui residents and must be enrolled in a School of Architecture. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholastic ability, extra-curricular activities, dedication to the field of Architecture, and need. Scholarship funds were donated by the National AIA Component Services, Hawaii Architectural Foundation, and AIA Maui members.
Congratulations to this year's 2025 AIA Maui Scholarship Recipients, Jake and Mico!
The AIA Honolulu Scholarship
The AIA Honolulu Architecture Scholarship Program began in 2009 and is jointly administered by the University of Hawaii School of Architecture. The scholarship program annually awards grants to two architectural students in support of their studies in architecture.
Congratulations to this years' AIA Honolulu Scholarship recipients, Keala Bowers and Ashlyn Okazaki!
The AIA Honolulu Architecture Scholarship Program began in 2009 and is jointly administered by the University of Hawaii School of Architecture. The scholarship program annually awards grants to two architectural students in support of their studies in architecture.