Medal
Honoring Hawaiʻi's architectural leaders and legacy.
Medal
Recognizing those who shape Hawai‘i’s built environment
The Hawaii Architectural Foundation and AIA Hawaii Medal of Honor is the highest recognition bestowed upon individuals who have made a profound and lasting contribution to Hawai‘i’s architectural landscape. It honors those whose leadership, vision, and dedication have elevated both the profession and the communities it serves.
Core Values
Purpose & Significance
Created to celebrate exemplary service to the built environment, the Medal of Honor recognizes individuals whose work transcends design excellence and advances the profession through mentorship, advocacy, and community impact.
Recipients demonstrate a commitment to Hawai‘i’s unique sense of place and the people who call it home.
Legacy
Community
Leadership
Excellence
Selection Process
How Recipients Are Chosen
The Medal of Honor selection process is led by the past presidents of all AIA chapters in Hawai'i and the past presidents of the AIA Hawaii State Council.
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Nomination
Submitted by past presidents of all AIA Hawai'i chapters and the AIA Hawaii State Council.
/02
Secret Ballot
The same group votes anonymously to determine the recipient based on nominations.
Award Design
Design of the Medal
How does the design of the Medal of Honor use the AIA logo and symbols of Hawai‘i to create regional relevance?
A stylized maile lei drapes the medal, enclosing the Hawaiian Islands, three petroglyph figures, and a mountain form.
What meanings are represented by the stylized maile lei, central mountain form, lava textures, and petroglyph figures in the medal’s design?
The central mountain shape upon which the AIA symbol sits is also an abstraction of the AIA acronym. The mountain form is shaded from a rough, solid form to more polished bands, representing the creation of building materials. The rough texture of the bands of the medal are meant to suggest ‘a’a lawa in contract with the smoother, polished metal, signifying pahoehoe lava. The three petroglyph features represent builders.
"The medal attempts to portray teamwork... It is conveyed through the design, which assembles 'parts' that become a harmonious 'whole.'"
— MOMI CAZIMERO, MEDAL DESIGNER
Instead of a conventional ribbon, the medal is hung from a kukui nut lei. The kukui is the Hawai'i State tree. In ancient Hawai'i, kukui nuts were used for lighting and are used here as a symbol of the enlightenment characteristics of winners of the Medal of Honor.