Ruhl Walker Architects

We are proud members of the 1%, but before anyone gets upset, we are not talking about vast, personal wealth (au contraire!), but about the program founded in 2005 by Public Architecture with support from a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Public Architecture is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in San Francisco, and The 1% program encourages pro bono service within the architecture and design professions, and helps connect architects and non-profits.  Their inspiration is that “if every architecture professional in the US committed 1% of their time to pro bono service, it would add up to 5,000,000 hours annually – the equivalent of a 2,500-person firm, working full time for the public.”  We renew our commitment to meet our part of this goal annually.

As we have shared in earlier posts, we’ve provided the bulk of our pro-bono support over the past four years to the Hawai’i Wildlife Center on the Big Island of Hawai’i. (See previous posts from November, August, May, and March).  We have proudly contributed over 2,000 hours of our time – a true labor of love / aloha! – not to mention all the time donated by our affiliated architectural and engineering partners in Hawaii.  How did our efforts help this non-profit?  Our early design digital modeling and renderings allowed this under-funded non-profit to leverage its fundraising position by illustrating a serious, well designed facility, attracting substantial public and private support without the aid of a professional fund-raising team, and in the midst a deep recession. With those early funds, the HWC was able to build the building shell and landscaping, and the building itself – the physical embodiment and symbol of the center – became a compelling fund raising tool, its image and the progress giving additional donors the confidence that the HWC was worthy of their support, allowing the HWC to raise additional funds for the labs and interior finishes, fittings and equipment.  In a very real sense, the donated architectural services made the mission of this non-profit possible, not just affordable.

As our fellow professionals in medicine and law work for health and justice for the underserved, we believe that architects have an obligation to ensure that a well designed, sustainable environment should not be a privilege reserved only for the wealthy (the other 1%!).  As we complete our work in Hawaii, we’re actively looking for another great fit for our interests and abilities.  We’d love to have you recommend any New England organizations that could use our design help to further their mission! Please do let us know if you have any non-profits near and dear to you that you think could benefit from our efforts by commenting below.

Last Saturday, November 19^th, our Hawai‘i Wildlife Center had its official opening, and Will Ruhl and Sandra Baron were fortunate to be able to be in Kapa‘au to represent Ruhl Walker Architects in paradise. We were joined by our Associate Architects and great friends Rhoady Lee and Aaron Spielman of Rhoady Lee Architecture + Design, our landscape architects Jason Umemoto and Nancy Cassandro of Umemoto Cassandro Design, the rest of our talented (and pro bono) design and engineering team, the general contractor and many of his incredibly generous sub-contractors (many if not most of whom had donated or discounted their time and material costs), and hundreds of neighbors, family, and friends.

The celebration began with a quietly beautiful and poetic blessing of the Center by Kumu Hula Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiaea, and also included some other visiting dignitaries who publicly declared their support, like John Buckstead of Governor Abercrombie’s office in Honolulu, who spoke on behalf of the Governor, who declared November 19^th, 2011 as the official day of the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center. In between the speeches, entertainment was provided by students of the nearby Kohala Middle School, as well as the Kohala Hula group, Halau Kalaniumi Aliloa O Hawai‘i Nei, and topped off by the Grammy Award winning slack key guitarist John Keawe. There is always an element of bittersweet sadness at the end of a project, for clients and architects alike, but the focus of the day was on the path that led us to this point, and on the new beginning of the HWC’s important efforts to protect and rehabilitate the native flora and fauna of this magical place.

Though the project has a (small) punch list still to complete, the Certificate of Occupancy is in hand and “all” that is left to do is construct the pens and pools in the fenced-in rehabilitation yard for the expected endangered native species, build the custom pens for the recovery rooms, connect the custom hoses for the wash-rinse room (for handling any future oil-soaked animals in the event of an oil spill), install the rooftop solar photovoltaic array and the water-collection catchment system, deliver the triage room furniture, install building signage and educational displays, hire staff, and … raise some money for operations! We hope you will consider joining us in donating online to this wonderful and critically important environmental organization; just click here! Mahalo!

For additional information on the opening of the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center, see:

Hawai‘i Tribune Herald

Big Island Video News (great video, if you have time!)

Hawai‘i Wildlife Center Facebook

Ethan Tweedie’s online photo album

For additional information on the HWC architecture, see:

Ruhl Walker Architects

images courtesy of Ethan Tweedie.

Check out some of our recently published work, featured in several online design blogs and magazines!

The Hawai'i Wildlife Center

The Hawai’i Wildlife Center in Dezeen

The Hawai’i Wildlife Center in AECCafe

The Hawai’i Wildlife Center in Archello

Urban Living XXL

Urban Living XXL on AECCafe

Bridge House

Truro Dune House

eBay House

eBay House in AECCafe

The Hawai’i Wildlife Center, designed by Ruhl Walker Architects, was featured in ArchDaily on August 20^th.  ArchDaily is one of the leading and most influential architecture website in the world, and gets over two million visits and eighteen million page impressions per month according to Google Analytics.

Please visit our portfolio website for additional information on the design of the HWC, and join us in supporting this critically important environmental cause by visiting the HWC’s online donation page!

The exterior of the HWC has been completed, and the interiors will be finished in November, in time for a grand opening celebration on November 19th.

Ruhl Walker Architects is providing pro bono design services for several affordable / sustainable house prototypes to be built in the Summer of 2012 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, as part of “Blitz Build”, an annual event undertaken at different locations around the country by Blitz Home Builders, an international group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers that have organized annual Blitz Builds since 1996.

The Blitz Build will take place from September 12-22, 2012, in Kailua-Kona on the west (dry) side of the Big Island.  The West Hawai’i affiliate of Habitat for Humanity hopes to build up to five houses in this 10-day span! These homes will be similar to the Habitat homes built on the mainland, but will have some unique design features suitable for the heavenly Hawaiian climate. Please visit the Hawaii ’12 page on Blitz Home Builder’s website for additional information.

Ruhl Walker has begun preliminary design work on two prototypes that will be presented to Habitat West Hawaii’s Building Committee later this year. The plan features a covered deck or lanai, an open living / dining / kitchen with sliding glass doors leading to the lanai, and a screened porch / hallway leading to 2 bedrooms and a shared bath. The proportions of the house — 16’-0” wide by 60’-0” long — allow for simple wood framing and ample cross ventilation; the covered lanai and screened hallway further enhance natural cross ventilation.  One side of the house has fewer / smaller windows and would be oriented towards the prevailing trade winds, and the other sides would have larger windows and generous overhangs and be oriented towards the sea (“makai”). The screened hallway would have painted studs 24” on center and horizontal battens 12” on center, and the resulting grid would read as a large window.  Materials under consideration are composite siding and trim on the makai side of the house as well as the end elevations, and corrugated metal siding on the windward side. 

The images below are very preliminary.  We look forward to posting updates as our design work – and ultimately construction – continues.

The prototype floor plan, with lanai on the far right, main living space in the middle, and screened hallway, two bedrooms, and shared bath on the left.	One option for the exterior, with separate volumes for the living and sleeping spaces, separated by the screened hallway.
A second option for the exterior of the West Hawai’i Habitat prototype, with a more linear expression.	The windward side of the house will have smaller windows and corrugated metal siding.

The new native species gardens are growing in nicely at the new facility Ruhl Walker Architects designed for the Hawai’i Wildlife Center on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and the construction team at TDI is making great progress towards the official opening in November. Rough plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work are installed and ready for the interior finish work.  

Our partners at Rhoady Lee Architecture and Design are managing the day to day construction administration process which is great except it means for Will there is no longer a regular excuse to visit the islands, unlike the last few years… It’s been great collaborating with Rhoady and Aaron; they’ve been helping us on the HWC, and we’ve in turn collaborated with them on several residential projects, including a recently completed house at the Hualalai Resort, home to the fabulous Four Seasons.  In fact, our senior associate, Sandra Baron, spent 6 weeks working in their office in Waimea during the detailing push for that house, 3 weeks each on two separate occasions.  Aaron, when are you coming to Boston?!

The outpouring of community support for the HWC continues to be amazing. On June 15^th, a contingent of Marines – members of Wing Support Squadron 171, stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, but currently training at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island – joined Linda Elliott and others to assemble enormous lava rock slabs into benches and tables within the interpretive courtyard. The slabs had been donated by Ryan Associates.

November can’t come soon enough!

Please join us in supporting the Hawai’i Wildlife Center by donating online here!

Exterior view of the main façade of the HWC, seen from the parking area, towards the lanai and open-air education pavilion.	Exterior view of the main entrance to the HWC, with the staging porch (open air triage space) on the left.
A vibrantly painted blue planar wall continues from the entrance lanai into the reception area.	The members of Wing Support Squadron 171, stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, but currently training at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, ready to assemble the lava rock slabs into benches and tables for the interpretative courtyard.
The ventilation system will not only cool the injured endangered species being cared for, but also will provide the required air exchanges that will improve their healing more quickly; air conditioning will be minimal despite the tropical climate, due to excellent cross ventilation and reliable tradewinds.	The elaborate plumbing systems will be able to handle major oil spills as well as day to day rehabilitation needs.

We see a well designed and well built home as not a privilege but an obligation, and have dedicated our efforts in various ways over the years to Habitat for Humanity.  In the summer of 2012 there will be an intensive 7-10 day “blitz-build” in Hawai’i where 100 volunteers from all over the US will come together and build 3 to 5 houses designed by Ruhl Walker Architects for Habitat West Hawai’i. We are in the early stages of designing several house prototypes specific to the unique climate of Hawai’i. We’re proud to be involved and excited to get started!

The challenge of synthesizing affordability and innovation is a passion we’re constantly exploring. With our entry into a competition sponsored by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in 2003, the goal was to transform a standard and uninspiring Habitat for Humanity housing model into a more ambitious and sustainable prototype.  Our entry, shown below, achieves simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility by turning the typical program upside down; a primary loft-like living space is on the upper level, while more private spaces are nestled into the site to feel more protected and benefit from the thermal protections of the earth.

At least one member of the Ruhl Walker team has also gotten her hands (very) dirty for the Habitat for Humanity cause.  Sandra Baron has made it a routine to travel someplace new with Habitat’s Global Village program every couple of years, beginning with a trip in 2007 to the small wine-producing town of Tarija, Bolivia.  The high-altitude vineyards (elevation 6,100ft) of this area were founded at the time of the Spanish missionaries.

Costumed dancers participating in one of many Carnival parades.

The view of Tarija Valley from one of the earliest wine-producing monasteries.

Over a period of ten days the twelve volunteers assisted in the building of a 3 bedroom home for a family of two parents and seven children, all of whom participated in different aspects of the build.  The structure was composed of clay bricks, framed by posts and beams of laboriously hand-mixed concrete and hand-formed rebar.  To top it off, each team member took turns “in the hole” and completed a hand-dug 6’ diameter by 10’ deep pit for the home’s septic system.

One of two shacks the family previously lived in.	The new home under construction.
The forming or rebar to reinforce the concrete parts of the structure.	Reaching for more mortar – not for those who are afraid of heights.
Preparing formwork for a concrete pier at the home’s outside corner.	The team climbs in the “pit” for a photo op.

Just last year, Sandra joined another team of twelve volunteers from all over the world who this time built an entire house in 10 days for a family in rural Ghana.  The small village of Bodaa sits on Ghana’s border with its western neighbor, Cote D’Ivoire, and relies primarily on cashew farming for income.  While they received electricity approximately four years ago, the residents still rely on a couple of hand-pumped wells for all their water needs.

The chief and village elders welcome the Habitat team to Bodaa.

The women’s league leads a singing procession to welcome the Habitat volunteers.

The very simple Habitat home was built for a young family of farmers.  It included two sleeping/living rooms, a toilet room, shower stall, and cooking space. Made of clay brick and mortar with concrete floors and a corrugated metal roof to top it off, the finished product was presented to an eternally grateful new homeowner at the end of the volunteers’ stay.

Many of the homes in the village are little more than thatch roof shacks.	A woman carries her supplies past a completed Habitat home.
Concrete blocks act as a foundation and outline the rooms of the house.	Cleaning and shaping the mortar joints proves to be a difficult art form.
Taking a break for a walk through town with a curious new friend.	Framing members are installed in preparation for corrugated metal roofing.

During the two week stay, the team stayed with host families in Habitat-built homes.  The village as a whole made sure that the volunteers got a good taste of life in Bodaa with ceremonies, drumming and dance events, football matches, and other activities scheduled for nearly every evening.

The women are pulled into the circle to try out their dance moves.

A monkey is happy to receive a small bit of banana.

Chasing goats out of the toilet stall, sleeping under mosquito nets, and enduring 117 degree heat may sound like an odd way to spend one’s vacation, but the amazing cultural exchange and the joy of providing adequate housing to very deserving families has Sandra counting down the months until her next Global Village trip! And this international volunteer design and construction experience, though it doesn’t translate directly to our domestic clients, has proven invaluable in opening our eyes to the myriad unique ways humans have found to live sustainably.

As part of our commitment to annually contribute a minimum of 1% of our time to pro bono causes, Ruhl Walker Architects has been working with the Hawai’i Wildlife Center since 2006 on Hawai’i's first and only native wildlife recovery, rehabilitation, and education center. The HWC is located in Halaula, Hawai’i, on the Big Island of Hawai’i. 

It is difficult to think about problems of any kind amidst the overwhelming natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, but the sad truth is that the Islands are host to more threatened and endangered native species per square mile than any other place in the world. A report from 2010 on Climate Change states that 93% of Hawaiian birds are at medium to high vulnerability. In February 2007, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) declared that the forests of the Hawaiian Islands are the most threatened bird habitat in the United States. The ABC stated that “most (native species) are dependent on vigilant conservation measures to survive at all.” Having seen many of the Big Island’s native birds on a recent trip sponsored by HWC founder and director, Linda Elliott, and renowned wildlife biologist and widely published photographer, Jack Jeffry, project architect Will Ruhl has an even more profound feeling of the urgency for this facility. The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is all the proof one needs that tragedy can occur even in paradise.

This continues to be a labor of love as we progress with fund raising to complete the interiors of the HWC; needless to say, fund raising has been particularly difficult due to the Great Recession! But we are proud to be part of an amazing team of architects from Boston and Waimea, engineers from California and Hawai’i, a landscape architect from Oahu who grew up near the HWC site, construction managers from Hawi, and many local contractors and subcontractors who have contributed so much of their time and donated materials. The spirit of aloha is alive and well!

The interiors of the HWC are framed and roughed, but the good news is that the exterior shell and rough landscape, grading, and parking is now substantially complete.

The Hawai'i Wildlife Center from Lighthouse Road.	The HWC with, from left to right, staging porch, entrance to rehabilitation facility, central public lanai, and open air classroom.
The front facade of the HWC is composed of fiber cement siding that alternates from solid lap siding to slats spaced apart at different intervals to allow natural ventilation into the education pavilion and staging porch.	The entrance to the HWC treatment facility is defined by planes of vibrant color set within an otherwise monochromatic composition the HWC's lanai will eventually lead to a native species garden, currently being propogated by a local school group, and will house educational displays focusing on native endangered species.
The front wall of the staging porch -- essentially the emergency room entrance for delivering injured birds -- is sheathed with composite siding held apart to allow natural ventilation, a new take on an old agricultural building tradition.	The side walls of the education pavilion are sheathed with clear corrugated polycarbonate paneling, allowing natural illumination into the space while also keeping out the prevalent rain and mist that North Kohala is known for.
Entry to the open air education pavilion is through the central lanai.	Closeup view of the slatted front plane of the education pavilion seen through the corrugated polycarbonate paneling.
The HWC will host talks to local school groups, educational outreach on environmental issues to locals, and talks geared towards vacationers.	By varying the size of the composite slats as well as the openings between slats, a virtual "window" was created in the front facade of the education pavilion.