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ʻAʻala Park community engagement event.

Projects promoting sustainability, resilience and innovation in Hawaiʻi garnered multiple professional awards for the University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (UHCDC) landscape architecture team. Led by School of Architecture Professor Judith Stilgenbauer, the two award-winning projects—Waikīkī Resilience and SLR Adaptation Project (WRAP) and ʻAʻala Park—showcase innovative approaches to sustainable landscape architecture while addressing community needs.

“These professional design awards give our work broader exposure beyond the academy and help get our programs’ names out,” Stilgenbauer said. “They are a celebration of faculty, staff, and student success.”

Waikīkī Resilience and SLR Adaptation Project (WRAP)

people looking at renderings
WRAP community engagement event.

WRAP, developed in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and project partners from UH Sea Grant, earned a 2024 Merit Award in Analysis and Planning from the Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). The project focuses on long-term climate resilience in urban environments by integrating community input with design and visualization of sea-level rise adaptation strategies, including nature-based solutions.

WRAP demonstrates the power of applied design research to address critical ecological challenges,” said Stilgenbauer. “This work directly supports UH’s mission to serve the people and places of Hawaiʻi.

ʻAʻala Park

UHCDC and The Trust for Public Land’s ʻAʻala Park project earned two awards, including a 2024 Honor Award in Communication by the Hawaiʻi Chapter of ASLA, and the 2024 Community-Based Planning Award by the Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Planning Association. Through collaboration with local residents, the project reimagined this historic park as a vibrant and inclusive public space. The design prioritized connectivity and the needs of surrounding residents while emphasizing the community’s vision.

ʻAʻala Park reflects how sustainability is not just about the environment but also about fostering social resilience,” said Stilgenbauer. “It exemplifies how landscape architecture can connect people and place.”

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