This Honolulu architect designs low-cost housing, often for free

But it’s a housing complex along Farrington Highway in Waiʻanae set to open in late March that Wozniak calls his “baby.”

The project allowed Wozniak to refine his take on what many believe to be a key piece of the puzzle in addressing the state’s affordable housing shortage: prefabricated homes much like trailer park units that can be manufactured in bulk at a low cost, shipped to Hawaiʻi and quickly assembled.

“You’ll hear over and over that building costs here are high and any way to bring those down is a helpful part of the solution. Modular housing, prefab housing is a great way to approach that,” said Gavin Thornton, the co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice and longtime advocate for affordable housing.