DXA Studio’s modular homes for Lahaina wildfire survivors prove that emergency housing can deliver dignity, beauty, and permanence—not just shelter.

Nate Traylor
October 24, 2025

When the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century tore through Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2023, housing survivors became the state’s most urgent design brief.

Today, nearly 170 factory-made housing units offer shelter to the displaced with more units to yet to come. They’re situated along a stretch of Maui coastline—small, bright colored dwellings that look permanent and communal. That’s by design.

New York-based DXA Studio launched Liv-Connected with the goal of deploying disaster-relief housing that doesn’t sacrifice design, health, or durability. In Maui, the result is FEMA’s first prefabricated, modular temporary homes built to the International Building Code and local amendments. One-, two-, and three-bedroom units meet Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), are fully furnished on delivery, and can serve as either interim or permanent housing.

https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/architecture-at-the-speed-of-disaster