Housing
The wildfire destroyed approximately 2,200 homes, displacing thousands of residents. The housing crisis is compounded by the water shortage — new meters can’t be issued, so new homes can’t be built. The thesis proposes a redensification strategy that concentrates housing along a new boulevard, using fire-resistant mass timber construction and a modular building system rooted in Hawaiian hale traditions.
Sections
Community Anchors - Node-Based Urbanism
How distributing essential functions across multiple nodes prevents simultaneous loss and serves both daily life and crisis response.
Design Interventions
Key sites including the elementary school, Banyan Tree civic space, and coastal promenade.
Three District Typologies
Boulevard District, Riparian Edge District, and Coastal Edge District, how housing character varies across the recovery zone.
Disaster Gentrification & Equitable Recovery
How post-disaster recovery can displace the communities it's meant to serve, and policy mechanisms to prevent it in Lahaina.
Community Hub Operations
How the three community hubs function daily and convert to emergency facilities, program details, accessibility, and dual-use design.
Module Assembly & Aggregation
How the 26x26-foot module connects, clusters, and grows, the architectural grammar of recovery.
The Module System
A 26x26-foot building module using Hawaiian construction traditions, water capture, and solar response.
Redensification & Community Hubs
A plan for 2,200 new housing units within a walkable core, anchored by three community hubs.
Elementary School - Architecture & Program
The mat-building precedents, program requirements, floor plan logic, and emergency conversion design for the Lahaina elementary school.
Zoning & Land Use
How Lahaina's land use patterns concentrated vulnerability and complicate recovery.
Drawings
Coast to Peri-Urban Plan
Full transect plan showing the relationship between coastal buffer, urban core, and peri-urban edge
Sections - Proposed Recovery
Cross-sections showing the proposed recovery transect from the coastal promenade to the peri-urban edge
Integrated Framework Plan
Integrated plan linking buffers, circulation, the school, redensification, and the peri-urban park in one framework
Design Principles
Core design principles including residential rebuilding rights, public access, buffer edges, multi-functional spaces, and cultural preservation
Displacement & Redensification
Map showing 6,000-7,000 displaced residents and the scale of the proposed redensification response
Hale Foundation Detail
Cross-section showing kumu pohaku (base rock) foundation with pou kama (buried post) and dimensions table for foundation types at different hale sizes
Hale Halawai Framing Schematic
Structural framing diagram of a Hale Halawai showing labeled parts: pou kaha (wall post), lohelau (wall plate), o'a (rafters), kauhunu (main ridge pole), kua'iole (upper ridge pole), pouomanu (corner post), kalapau (mid collar beam)
Hale Halawai Hip Alternate and Dimensions
Hip roof alternate framing schematic for Hale Halawai with dimensions table showing minimum member sizes for structures from 12x20 to 30x60 feet
Hale Ka'a Framing Schematic
Gable roof framing schematic for Hale Ka'a showing kua'iole (upper ridge pole), kauhunu (main ridge pole), kupong (gable ridge pole), kukuna li'i (upper wall post), kalapau (gable end tie), and holo (diagonal brace)
Housing Typologies
Matrix of proposed housing types including townhomes, stacked apartments, and mixed-use buildings
Community Hub Network
Three community hub locations positioned within walkable distance of all residential areas
Community Space - Interior View
Interior and community renderings showing classroom courtyards, covered circulation, and shared gathering space
Community Hub Typology Matrix
Matrix comparing the three community hub types, their daily uses, emergency roles, and spatial distribution
Module Assembly
Module aggregation, runoff contribution, and repair scenarios showing how the kit of parts grows and adapts over time
Module - Baseline Section
Baseline section through three connected modules showing the core spatial profile before performance overlays
Module Connection Details
Technical drawings showing roof connections, gutter details, and wall-column joinery
The Module - Core Principles
Core design principles of the 26x26-foot module shown with the base Hawaiian-inspired building unit
Module - Design Breakdown
Exploded isometric breakdown of the module showing roof, frame, columns, gutters, and wall assembly
Module - Solar Response
Section showing solar exposure and shading response for Lahaina's intense west-facing conditions
Module - Water Capture
Section showing rainwater collection through sloped roofs and shared gutters between modules
Design Principles - Overall & Urban
Diagram showing overall recovery principles and their spatial translation into Lahaina's urban section
Redensification Plan
Proposed high-density housing plan showing 2,200 units centered on the new boulevard with typology breakdown
St. Xavier's Primary School, Ahmedabad
Ground floor and first floor plans of St. Xavier's Primary School in Ahmedabad by Charles Correa, showing mat typology organization of classrooms, courtyards, and circulation
Sources
Aldo van Eyck: The Shape of Relativity
Strauven, Francis — Van Eyck's configurative discipline and Amsterdam Orphanage; primary precedent for the mat-building approach in the school design
American Community Survey, Lahaina Census-Designated Place
U.S. Census Bureau — Demographic and housing data for Lahaina pre-fire; baseline for understanding displacement and recovery needs
Charles Correa
Correa, Charles — Correa's approach to climate-responsive architecture in tropical contexts; precedent for the module system design
Coming Home to New Orleans: Neighborhood Rebuilding After Katrina
Seidman, Karl F. — Neighborhood-level recovery strategies post-Katrina; community-driven vs. top-down rebuilding approaches
Disaster, Inc.: Privatization and Post-Katrina Rebuilding in New Orleans
Gotham, Kevin Fox — Privatization dynamics in post-disaster rebuilding; warnings about disaster capitalism in recovery
Rules Pertaining to Indigenous Hawaiian Architecture Structures
County of Maui Department of Public Works — Regulatory framework for building using traditional Hawaiian architectural methods; informs the module system's cultural legitimacy
Charles Correa (Frampton Critical Analysis)
Frampton, Kenneth — Critical analysis of Correa's tropical architecture; informs climate-responsive design strategies for the Lahaina module
How to Recognise and Read Mat-Building
Smithson, Alison — Theoretical framework for mat-building typology; the organizational logic behind the school and housing module system
New Architecture on Indigenous Lands
Malnar, Joy M. & Vodvarka, Frank — Cultural identity in contemporary architecture; models for Hawaiian cultural linkage in new construction
Zoning Breakdown for Post-Fire Lahaina
Singh, Akhil — Analysis of all 17 zoning types: identifying promising versus problematic zones for rebuild
Rule by Aesthetics: World-Class City Making in Delhi
Ghertner, D. Asher — How aesthetic governance displaces communities; relevant to disaster gentrification and equitable recovery
Space and Learning: Lessons in Architecture 3
Hertzberger, Herman — School design as community infrastructure; Hertzberger's approach to flexible, humane educational spaces informs the elementary school design
Under a Maui Roof
Holmes, Kristin — Evolution of Maui's architectural styles from vernacular to modern
Steps Toward a Configurative Discipline
Van Eyck, Aldo — Van Eyck's theoretical framework for creating architecture that mediates between individual and collective; informs the module aggregation logic
West Maui Community Plan
County of Maui Planning Department — Community-adopted land use plan for West Maui including transportation, housing, and environmental policies
Terms
Disaster Gentrification
The process by which post-disaster recovery disproportionately benefits external actors, displacing existing communities. Common patterns include land speculation, rising property values during reconstruction, and prioritization of tourism infrastructure over resident housing.
Hale
Traditional Hawaiian house. The module's structural hierarchy directly maps to traditional hale construction as defined in Maui County's Indigenous Hawaiian Architecture regulations.
Node-Based Planning
An urban design strategy creating interconnected spaces serving as catalysts for community cohesion. Nodes in Lahaina's recovery include water infrastructure, housing clusters, schools, health facilities, and cultural hubs distributed across the rebuilt town.
Resilient Housing
Housing designed to withstand environmental stressors and adapt to future risks, including fire-resistant construction, elevated foundations in flood-prone zones, and modular designs addressing both immediate displacement and long-term sustainability.