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AIA Centennial Club News! |
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Welcome to the March edition of our Centennial Club news!
Your update on special events, stories, and member spotlights.
Celebrating 100 years of our shared legacy. |
It's Out! AIA Hawaii in HONOLULU Magazine |
We’re excited to share that AIA Hawaii’s Centennial Celebration is featured in the March issue of HONOLULU Magazine! This special edition honors the legacy, impact, and future of architecture across our islands.
Mahalo to all featured architects and ad sponsors who partnered with us! This commemorative section wouldn’t have been possible without your support.
Be sure to pick up a copy. A true celebration of design in Hawaii! |
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Vote for Hawaii's Favorite Building until June 30th! |
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Our special Centennial section also features a friendly competition
inviting the public to vote for their favorite building in Hawai‘i.
Cast your vote and help us spread the word! Share the voting link and our posts on social media to celebrate 100 years of architecture and spotlight the remarkable buildings that shape our islands. |
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March is Women's History Month |
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In honor of Women’s History Month, we proudly recognize three trailblazing women whose leadership shaped AIA Hawaii’s past and future.
Rossie Moodie Frost, AIA
Member 1949 - 1997
1st AIA Hawaii Female Member Rossie Moodie Frost, AIA, was AIA Hawaii’s first female member who joined us in 1949. Together with her husband, H. Lockwood Frost, she operated a Kapahulu-based firm, Frost & Frost. One of their projects, a restoration report for Aliiolani Hale, earned the Civic Enrichment Award at the AIA Hawaii Design Awards in 1982.Rossie further contributed to society as a member of the Hawaii Handweaver’s Hui and a prolific author of Hawaii history.Read more about Rossie in this article she wrote for the December 1982 issue of Hawaii Architect. |
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Dr. Carol Sakata, FAIA Member: 1974 - Present 1st AIA Hawaii Female President, 1989 |
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Next up is Dr. Carol Sakata, FAIA, AIA Hawaii’s first female President in 1989 and the recipient of our 2023 Medal of Honor.
Carol served as chapter Secretary and Treasurer before playing a pivotal role as the planning chair for the 1982 AIA National Convention which took place in Honolulu. |
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She chaired the National AIA Women in Architecture Committee in 1988 and produced the exhibit “That Exceptional One: Women in American Architecture 1888–1988.” Read an article about a “Women in Architecture” session during the 1987 convention Carol led. During her presidency, she led the transition to the chapter structure that AIA Hawaii uses today, solidifying her legacy as a transformational leader. Read her first President Message in Hawaii Architect from 1989. |
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Sheryl Seaman, AIA ME Member: 1979 - Present 2026 AIA Honolulu Vice President |
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Sheryl served as AIA Honolulu Vice President in 1994, and now, more than three decades later, returns. She is the first woman to hold this position twice. She joined G70 in 1978 and became vice chair and principal‑in‑charge of its Interior Design division. In 1991, she was named President and Chief Operating Officer, a milestone that, according to AIA National, made G70 the largest female led architectural firm in the country. |
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From 1929 to 1978 our chapter only had 15 female members.
Today we have over 220, and many in leadership positions.
Top: 1969 Hawaii Chapter AIA Student Banquet
Bottom: 2024 Women's Luncheon in honor of AIA President Kim Dowdell's visit. |
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While the profession continues to work toward greater equity and representation, this progress is meaningful and worth celebrating. Each achievement builds on the last, creating more space for the next generation of women in architecture to lead, innovate, and redefine what our profession can be. |
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Newly Licensed Architects |
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Kauahi Ching, AIA Member since 2025
Favorite building: Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia. It is designed by Renzo Piano, because of its deep personal and cultural significance.
My parents first visited it in 2000 as part of the Hawaiʻi delegation to the 8th Festival of Pacific Arts with ‘Anakala Eddie Kaʻanana. They were guided by their Kanak host, Eric Gaue, who guided them through the carefully designed pathway, the ceremonial “Walk of the Ancestors”.
In 2015, while I was in architecture school, I took the same journey as my parents and was guided by the same Eric along the same path. Experiencing Tjibaou in this way shaped my understanding of architecture as more than form.
It was the first place I studied tradition, modernity, hegemony, and independence at the intersection of architecture and Pacific culture. |
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Ronald Ribao, AIA Member since 2016
Favorite building: Disney Concert Hall by Gehry Partners, Los Angeles. My formative design influences as an architect are rooted in my high school years as a graffiti-writer. The Disney Concert Hall felt like a bridge between architecture and graffiti. It's unfamiliar, free flowing forms were reminiscent of the evolution of wildstyle of Los Angeles crews like MSK. That gave me inspiration and a path forward in my design approach during my time at UH at Manoa School of Architecture.
Favorite Book? Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. A short yet complex children's book that celebrates imagination and challenges the fixed labels we assign to objects. By reframing a simple box as something limitless, the book reinforces the value of seeing beyond immediate definitions. As designers, feel this mindset is essential; questioning assumptions then re-imagining constraints as opportunities for creative and innovation. |
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CONGRATULATIONS to Last Week's Winners |
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Purnima McCutcheon, AIA Wayne Goo, AIA Reid Mizue, AIA
Come pick up your socks at the Center for Architecture. Email Jess before to make sure they are ready to go. |
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Guess Who? Name 3 AIA Members and Score AIA Centennial Socks! |
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Attend AIA Hawaii Book Club Q1 |
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Read with AIA & Attend Our Presentation & Discussion (2 LUs) RSVP Here | Saturday, Mar 28 | 12-2pm | Hawai‘i Plantation Village |
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STEP 3: Join us Saturday, March 28 from 12-2pm at the Hawai'i Plantation Village to discuss the book and learn Hawaii history. |
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STEP 1: Purchase independently or stop by the Center for Architecture to pick up a copy of our Q1 book: Nature Behind Barbed Wire by Connie Chang for $25. Centennial Sponsors get a free copy.
STEP 2: Read at your own pace! Again, you don't have to read the book before the event, there won't be a quiz ;) |
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The AIA Hawai'i Centennial Club represents an extraordinary community of supporters who recognize the value of architecture in every part of life — from our urban places to our rural communities, from innovation in practice to mentorship of future professionals. Mahalo nui loa for your support. |
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