New Hawaiian Home

In 2011 the Building Industry Association (BIA), Hawaiian Electric Company and the Department of Business Economic Development & Tourism partnered to construct “The New Hawaiian Home.” The home was designed to educate developers, contractors and construction workers how to build using green techniques. All three entities came to the conclusion that it had been difficult for smaller contractors trying to get into sustainable, green building. The New Hawaiian Home was built to serve as a learning tool for BIA contractors to better understand green building concepts. An education curriculum was developed over the course of building the house and will be used in future educational opportunities the BIA engages in. In partnership with other building trade organizations, construction trade unions and major supply dealerships, the BIA will share best practices to lead the industry towards sustainable, green building.

PBR HAWAII not only provided the landscape architectural design for the home, on one day, its employees installed the lawn, native shrubs and other plants. The employees also built and planted an edible garden in the backyard of the home. It was one of many projects where PBR HAWAII has taken the lead in educating developers in sustainable landscape architecture, as well as providing volunteers for community work projects, such as a rain garden at Kaiser High School.