BUS3093 - Architects of Hawai`i
Course Description
Join us in this panel discussion with the Architect Hawai?i Ltd. president and CEO, Bettina Mehnert, and senior associate and historic architect, Katie Stephens as they discuss the history of the 75-year-old progressive architecture firm that birthed in a Waikiki garage, stories behind some of the firm’s landmark buildings, current and future projects, and a discussion about sustainability and what the city of Honolulu may look like in the future.
Speaker Bio:
A respected visionary and leader, AHL’s president and chief executive officer, Bettina Mehnert, FAIA, LEED AP, is an indomitable force in the evolution and innovation in Hawaii’s architectural sector. Her novel philosophy of practice blends IT solutions, firm culture, client cultivation, and community service as inseparable filaments of professional leadership, keeping her 75-year-old firm firmly faced towards the future.
Taking community service beyond the annual donation and fundraiser template, Mehnert instituted a 1% pro bono program, by which the firm annually donates 1% of its billable hours to a worthy project. Each year AHL selects a nonprofit that has a building or planning project that would benefit the greater community by an increase in the number of people served or the addition of new services. This leadership has inspired the constellation of service providers surrounding AHL to chip in with their pro bono or discounted services. The results have touched the lives of countless Hawai‘i residents.
In recognition of her management style and leadership, Mehnert has been honored with numerous awards and in 2016 was named a Fellow in the American Institute of Architecture (AIA), a prestigious honor held only by 53 architects in Hawai‘i since 1948. She was named CEO of the Year by Hawai‘i Business Magazine in 2019.
In 2018, Mehnert was appointed to the new five-member Honolulu Climate Change Commission. She uses her background in architecture and engineering and her expertise in the built environment to advocate for strong resiliency policies.
A licensed architect in her native Germany and in Hawai‘i and Guam, she is an active member of AIA Honolulu and International Chapters and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) where she serves on ULI’s National Council on Responsible Property Investment and Advisory Services Panel. She is a director of the Blue Planet Foundation, a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Hawai‘i Energy and a member of Hawai‘i Green Growth’s Sustainability Business Forum. Mehnert also serves on the board of Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Hawai‘i and as a trustee of St. Andrew’s Schools. Most recently, she participated on a United Nations Global Compact panel of Hawaii’s thought leaders on “Regenerative Global Futures” during the UN’s annual general assembly.
With 28 years of experience in historic preservation projects, Ms. Katie Stephens brings a wealth of knowledge in restoration, adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of historic structures, historic documentation (HABS and HAER), overview surveys, cultural resource management plans, determination of eligibility projects, historic register nominations and master planning documents. Katie has served as the historic architect for projects ranging from historic military, government building rehabilitation projects and EA/EIS evaluation and other architectural projects.
Contributing substantially to numerous CRMP and ICRMP reports for military installations in Hawai’i, Japan, Korea and CNMI, Ms. Stephens has also worked closely with the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) to coordinate HRS Chapter 6E and Section 106 requirements for historic structure projects. Her passion for historic architecture has led to her involvement with the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, the Association of Preservation Technology (APT), DOCOMOMO International, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Hawaii Foundation.
Learner Outcomes
By the end of the webinar, participants will:
1). Learn about sustainability as it relates to the future for the City of Honolulu.
2). Learn about the history of a Honolulu-based architect firm and their current and future projects.