“As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.”
– Norman Foster
Researching and demonstrating regenerative design, from locally milled forestry products and breathable wall systems to live-edge woodworking, natural finishes, and low-toxicity construction. Our demonstration structures incorporate custom scribe joinery, ancient stone foundations, and modular tongue-and-groove panels, each one a hands-on research project in local material use.
At S.O.L. Projex, we research and demonstrate how locally sourced forestry products, milled from invasive species such as Albizia on Kauai, can form the basis for healthy, durable building systems suited to the subtropics. Our research structures use timber frame joinery and breathable single-wall construction, eliminating the need for synthetic, imported, off-gassing materials that have been widely documented as contributors to mold and indoor air-quality problems. We are partnering with universities to study and document custom scribe joinery, modular tongue-and-groove panel systems, and natural finishes, sharing findings through education, demonstration, and hands-on training in forestry-product processing and natural building.
Rethinking our approach to building.
It’s time to take a look at why are current system is failing us, and find environmentally conscious solutions for the construction industry.
Building developments account for nearly 40% of global energy consumption and the construction industry accounts for 40% of worldwide energy usage (U.S. Green Building Council). These facts underscore why S.O.L. Projex focuses on researching and demonstrating regenerative alternatives, studying how local materials, invasive-species utilization, and forestry-product processing can reduce construction's environmental footprint while improving indoor health and island resilience. Our goal is to move out of the linear 'Take-Make-Waste' model through education, restoration, research, and demonstration of circular, locally grounded building systems.
At S.O.L. Projex, we research and demonstrate the use of local materials, low-toxicity finishes, and natural forestry products, studying how materials sourced from the land can be processed, tested, and returned to the earth in a regenerative cycle.
