InForm Design

We had a wonderful time last week at the Waikiki Lights "Paint the Town" Benefit Gala for the Waikiki Community Center! Our President and Principal, Ann Kutaka, has served on the board of the Waikiki Community Center for 10 years and is super proud to see how the community came together last week to support their mission.

The Waikiki Community Center was founded in 1978 by community members to help ensure the well-being of our keiki, kupuna, and community. Their core mission revolves around meeting the critical needs of low-income seniors and families in need. They provide food and housing assistance, help make preschool affordable for working families, and much much more.

Mahalo to all of our wonderful guests who came and celebrated the evening with us!

- Jodi from JPG Hawaii
- Naomi from The Art Agency
- Kris Goto Art of Goto
- Chad from Blue Stone Management
- Tobie from Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc.

Please join us in welcoming one of our newest staff members, Mymie!

Mymie is our newest Technician here at InForm Design. She has a strong foundation in interpreting architectural drawings and proficiency in 2D and 3D modeling software.

Mymie recently completed her studies and majored in Architectural, Engineering, and Construction Technology at HCC, and we are very excited to have her on board!

To find out more about Mymie, visit our website at: https://inform.design/team/mymie_bayan_inform_design_hawaii/

Montreal is a city filled with great design and buildings. Having the opportunity to learn in a beautiful environment is a designer’s dream.

Big thanks to Schluter-Systems North America for putting on a great workshop and to Malia at Daltile for helping to organize the Hawaii attendees!

At InForm Design, we believe that precise and detailed surveys are the backbone of successful architectural projects. Our team specializes in two key types of survey projects that are essential for both renovations and leasing processes.

1. Renovation Documentation

When a building or space undergoes renovation, documentation is crucial. A simple renovation might only require basic measurements, such as wall locations for a floor plan. However, more complex projects necessitate capturing comprehensive measurements, including windows, doors, lighting, and mechanical systems. This thorough documentation assists in the design, permitting, and construction phases, ensuring the project progresses smoothly and efficiently. Accurate data also helps to avoid potential issues during construction, ultimately saving time and resources.

2. Lease Outline Drawings (LODs)

In the commercial, office, and retail sectors, precise square footage is vital for leasing agreements. Our team collaborates closely with property owners and real estate professionals to measure the space accurately. We provide Lease Outline Drawings (LODs) that detail the exact dimensions and layout of the space. These drawings are instrumental in drafting clear and fair lease agreements, ensuring both landlords and tenants have a precise understanding of the space being leased. LODs also help prevent disputes and facilitate transparent and smooth leasing transactions.

Our commitment to accuracy and detail in survey projects supports the success of every renovation and leasing endeavor. Our expertise ensures that every project we undertake is built on a foundation of precision, clarity, and excellence.

If you have a potential survey project, let’s talk!

We are excited to welcome Cecilia to InForm Design! With 12 years of experience in multi-family, mixed-use, and commercial architecture, Cecilia brings a wealth of expertise and a unique perspective to our team. Her background in architecture and project management allows her to blend creative vision with strategic thinking, delivering exceptional spatial experiences. https://bit.ly/3Wwiagl

This past weekend, a few of our staff members ventured up to the North Shore to tour Kahuku Farms, a private family owned farm with more than 100 years of history.

Behind the location's farm-to-table cafe lies over 140 acres of farmland, which we had a blast touring via golf carts.

We passed under lots of apple banana trees, acai palms, fields and fields of eggplant, papaya trees, cacao, taro, avocado, and even bee hives. To our amazement, this massive farm operation is staffed by only 20 individuals who work year-round to plant, harvest, and cycle the fields in a way which gives the soil time to naturally regenerate and produce more bountiful harvests. Only about 50% of the total acreage is used for farming at a time, this is how they ensure that the soil and fields remain healthy, rich, and fertile.

The mission of Kahuku farms is to feed the people of Hawai'i. They sell their Grade A harvest to local grocery across the state like Safeway, Foodland, and Don Quijote. But of course, not every fruit or piece of produce lives up to the Grade A standard. Rather than waste a perfectly good piece of fruit or produce simply because it might have a bump or bruise, Kahuku farms utilizes these directly in their farm-to-table cafe menu, and you can take our word for it - their food, smoothies and chocolates are truly delicious. They even have take home products for sale like a lilikoi balsamic dressing. lilikoi butter, cacao nibs, hot fudge, honey and more.

Being on this tour and out in the fields learning about how they care for the land filled us all with a sense of joy and appreciation. The abundance and variety of foods growing here was so different than the large, primarily corn-focused monocrop agriculture farms that can be found elsewhere.

Why can't there be more farms like this in Hawai'i? Why can't Hawai'i have food sovereignty, or be food-independent, and grow everything our population needs to eat right here?

Thank you to Kahuku Farms for boldly tackling this initiative to feed Hawai'i, for enlightening us about the importance of this issue, and for giving us a wonderful experience visiting the farm.

As an architecture and interior design firm, experiences like this give us new perspectives which we carry into our work going forward and motivate us to also become a part of the solution.

Last week we had a blast participating in the Hawaii Restaurant Association 16th Annual Golf Tournament at the Hawaii Prince Golf Course! It was an amazing day filled with delicious food and ice cold drinks. Thank you so much to Sheryl Matsuoka, the rest of the amazing HRA team, all the vendors who participated, and all the wonderful volunteers who made this event possible. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

As the state of Hawai’i grows more and more reliant on the internet, AI, and cloud-based storage, the need for Data Centers located within the state will only increase.

Data centers are the backbone our telecommunications and storage infrastructure. They are critical to remote storage, data processing, and large scale data distribution.

InForm Design has had the pleasure to work with Servpac on multiple projects, and proudly employs their technical services within our firm.

We love staff outings at InForm Design, especially those that can educate and inspire us as Architects and Designers.

Shangri La is a one of a kind residence-turned-museum which hosts an amazing collection of Islamic Art collected by the philanthropist, Doris Duke.

The museum and staff do a wonderful job explaining the exhibit, it’s history, and the historical context which makes it relevant and important to the modern day.

We look forward to returning to this beautiful oasis some day soon.

Mahalo nui loa.

Tucked away at the Royal Hawaiian Center is the newest concept by The Kahala Hotel and Resort which brings carefully curated and exclusive gourmet gifts and souvenirs from the world famous resort to Waikiki.

Designed to delight, deliciously coated macadamia nuts, shortbread cookies, pancake mix, fruit jewels, and custom blends of coffee await customers looking to bring home memories of Hawai‘i and the Kahala Life.

InForm Design is remarkably proud to have provided the architectural services for the storefront and store design for this wonderful new concept, and looks forward to continuing our longstanding and rewarding relationship with The Kahala Hotel and Resort on more future projects!

One of our favorite parts about our job is visiting potential sites in which a Client is considering purchasing and helping them envision what it could be.

While on a recent scoping mission to Maui, our team visited an amazing property overlooking Pe’ahi, (also known as Jaws) which was being considered as a potential site for a new family compound.

Pe’ahi is Maui’s biggest surfing break on the North Shore and produces waves between to 30-80 feet.

InForm Design was thrilled to participate in this year’s inaugural Office Pavillion Hawaii's Magis Puppy Design Competition with all proceeds benefiting Hawaii Fido! 🐶🐾

Our “puppy in paradise” was transformed into “PUP-ule.” An off-roading, day-tripping, fun-having tacoma fit for the perfect Hawaiian adventure 🤙🌊🏝️

Our team worked hard to bring the concept to life, and we’re proud to have taken home the award for Most Innovative!

Thank you so much Office Pavillion Hawaii for hosting this amazing event and Hawaii Fido for all the wonderful things you do.

Until next year!

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Catherine Valentine, one of our talented Interior Designers, was featured in this week's Pacific Business News!

We're thrilled to have Catherine on our Interior's team. She has quickly made a big splash since joining our company and has been performing stellar work on various key projects by demonstrating outstanding leadership and creativity.

Check out the full feature to learn more about Catherine's journey and her contributions to InForm Design.

Congratulations, Catherine! 🎉
https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/potmsearch/detail/submission/6545763/Catherine_Valentine?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=potm_bsl&utm_content=HI&j=35422402&senddate=2024-05-17&ana=e_potm_potm

May Day is Lei Day in Hawai’i Nei!

2024 Internships are now available at InForm Design! These hands on opportunities will allow college students or recent college graduates to gain real world experience and practical knowledge in the industry of Architecture and Interior Design.

Internships are available for Summer 2024 and beyond.

Interested in InForm Design? Apply online today!

On Saturday, May 4th, members from our staff will proudly be participating in the 2024 Oahu Visitor Industry Charity Walk!

This amazing event is the largest single day of fundraising by a non-profit organization in the entire state of Hawaii, and every dollar raised goes directly to a charitable organization here on Oahu, immediately benefiting our local community.

Please consider donating to our team page at: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/Oahu/team/InFormDesign to help us reach our fundraising goal, Mahalo!

Visitor Industry Charity Walk Join me in fundraising for Oahu's non-profit organizations through the Charity Walk, which last year raised a record $2.6 million statewide for over 350 of Hawaii's nonprofits. Find out more and donate here: http://igfn.us/vf/Oahu

Our Marketing and Business Development Coordinator, Jakub, was greeted today at the NAIOP Breakfast Forum as one of the newest Hawaii Chapter Members!

NAIOPs mission is to elevate the commercial real estate development industry by providing advocacy, education, research and connections to foster business opportunities.

Be sure to say aloha to Jakub the next time you see him at a NAIOP event!

A breathtaking and magical getaway at the Ossipoff Cabin is what awaited a few members of the InForm Design staff this past weekend for their Lei Po’o making event.

The weekend getaway cabin of Hawaii’s famed architect Vladimir Ossipoff, situated high in the Wai’anae mountains, provided a stunning location for our staff members to weave together their traditional Hawaiian flower crowns.

Thank you so much to Andrew Mau from Island Boy and Courtney Monahan from Pua Hana Flower & Lei and Paiko for putting together this amazing event!

Happy everyone! Who’s counting down the hours until the relaxing weekend?

Designing calm and relaxing atmospheres is one of our favorite things to do. The Hilton Grand Vacations Hokulani Waikiki lobby is a project that aimed to do exactly this, and we are super proud of of how it turned out.

Progress is underway at one of our residential developments on the Big Island! Our awesome Architectural Designer, Valeria, stopped by yesterday and snapped some photos to document how the interior design project is coming along. Stay tuned to see how the final residences will look!

Happy to the women of InForm Design who never fail to bring a splash of color, creativity, and joy to our lives. We appreciate you today and everyday for all the wonderful things that you do!

🌟 We're excited to introduce Ken Martinez!

Ken's passion for creating beautiful spaces and enhancing well-being drives his work as a Designer. Whether he's designing interiors or cooking up delicious meals, he brings creativity and warmth to everything he does.

Welcome to the team, Ken! 🎉

🌟 E Komo Mai Catherine Valentine!

Catherine's journey began with a desire for worldly experiences and knowledge, leading her from a successful career as a U.S. Coast Guard Officer to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Interior Design at Chaminade University.

Her passion for design stems from a deep understanding of its impact on daily life. With over five years of experience, she strives to create spaces that enhance overall health and well-being. Welcome to the team, Catherine!

🌟 Celebrating Excellence! InForm Design President Ann Kutaka recently with PRP 2024 Outstanding Union Builder of the Year Glen Kaneshige, President of PCL Construction. 🛠️🏆

Our interior design studio recently brainstormed exterior water wall concepts that captured the essence of Hawai‘i for their Georgia-based restaurant project, ‘Ohana’. The design was inspired by the colors of Hawai‘i’s lush forests and the Weeping Walls of Kauai to create a photo-worthy backdrop.