An Investigative Study of the University of Hawai'I System-wide Aquaculture Program: Designing for Future Development

Abstract

Over the past decade, the aquaculture industry has grown significantly around the world. With an estimated 80 percent growth projected for the Asia Pacific Region, the University of Hawaii is positioned to become a supreme resource of education, training and technical expertise. With the increasing trends of aquaculture around the world, our responsibility is to find a balance between social and economic development while preserving of our natural environment. The Island’s unique location, along with its rich cultural setting, presents the University of Hawaii with the opportunity to become an international leader in the aquaculture industry. The goal of my D.Arch project is to provide program and site recommendations for the University of Hawaii System-wide Aquaculture Program. The proposed Aquaculture program exemplifies a unique and cohesive System-wide aquaculture program which includes four components: Academic, Research, Outreach, and an added Commercial component. The proposed Aquaculture program from the University of Hawaii Aquaculture Business Plan shall be the groundwork in developing a conceptual Aquaculture Program that will then be transformed and customized to fit various site schemes. ii The final product shall be a combination of two parts, extensive research followed by a conceptual design response. A combined methodology of qualitative research and case study methods shall be used to conduct the research portion of the project. The research component shall include a holistic overview of the existing and proposed Aquaculture Business Plan for a System-wide Aquaculture Program at the University of Hawaii. Further research, shall incorporate a comparative analysis of Hawaii based aquaculture facilities, as well as internationally recognized undergraduate and graduate Aquaculture Programs. The second half of the project shall be an analytic response that addresses the development of a System-wide program, including a customized program that may be applied to various site options. An exploration of both Existing and New Facilities will be conducted while choosing an appropriate site for the proposed System-wide program for the University of Hawaii. The key issues that are addressed in this project are identifying the needs for the University of Hawaii, and developing an architectural solution for the System-wide Aquaculture program.