Last August, fires tore through the heart of Lahaina, a town on Maui, HI, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and displacing nearly 6,000 residents. The fires were the deadliest in recent U.S. history, leaving a profound impact on the community. Rebuilding Lahaina has required a coordinated response from community leaders as well as construction and design firms. Much work remains, but a recent milestone has been achieved ahead of the stated 2025 goal—debris has been cleared from all 1,390 residential properties in the impact zone. This means that building permits—in addition to optimism—have been restored.
M+K has been working with WMC Design Build as well as PILI in separate but coordinated efforts to provide structural designs for the rebuild. This is our first effort in Hawaii and one that we are all very proud of being able to contribute to. One of PILI’s contributions is creating pre-designed plans that are being offered to wildfire-affected homeowners, while WMC Design Build has been working on plans that are budget-conscious while still being bespoke and thoughtfully curated.
(Above: WMC Design Build renderings)
“Our work with Mulhern + Kulp has been tremendously impactful; they have provided us and our families with tremendous value through construction savings, peace of mind, cohesive design, among the few that pop to mind. Their flexibility and ability to work within our parameters, in addition to their responsiveness and diligence, has made our collaboration seamless. Their capacity to support our projects with cost-effective and quality design enable us to provide safe, high-quality housing to families in need, aligning with our mission to deliver impactful solutions. By integrating the expertise of Mulhern + Kulp, we aim to rebuild not just homes, but also hope and resilience within the community.” said WMC Design Build Program Manager, Jordan Haylor.
“At PILI, we’ve been fortunate to collaborate closely with Mulhern + Kulp on our fire rebuild projects in Lahaina, Maui. This partnership has been instrumental in allowing us to extend our capacity as a small, Maui-based firm and respond to the significant demand for architectural services following the disaster. M+K’s ability to provide detailed structural engineering plans and calculations ensures that we can confidently submit permit documentation, meeting all requirements, which allows for expedited review and approval. Given their expertise and manpower, M+K can offer faster turnaround times, an invaluable asset in these critical rebuild efforts, especially as smaller local firms are facing an overwhelming workload,” said managing partner Brenda Braun.