Biocultural Design is a Hawai‘i-based landscape and environmental design studio. We offer master planning and landscape design services for residential, community, and conservation projects across the Hawaiian Islands. We specialize in place-based, ecologically-driven design that responds to site conditions, community context, and long-term land stewardship.
Our Mission
Biocultural Design works to reconnect people, place, and the living systems that sustain them. We work from the understanding that sustainable, resilient places emerge when natural systems and cultural values are designed in relationship, not in isolation. Our landscapes are under growing strain. Climate change, overdevelopment, and ecological loss are unraveling the connections that once held land and community together. As our landscapes face imminent and increasing pressures, we see design as a powerful tool to restore balance. We integrate native plants, traditional building methods, and site-specific strategies with climate adaptation, biodiversity, food and water security, and long-term resource management in mind. From backyard gardens to multi-acre landscapes, we see each project as an opportunity to contribute to healthier ecosystems and stronger communities over time.
Biocultural Design
5-5226 Kuhio Hwy, #733
Hanalei, HI 96714
+1 (808) 482-9898
studio@biocultural.design
︎︎
Our Mission
Biocultural Design works to reconnect people, place, and the living systems that sustain them. We work from the understanding that sustainable, resilient places emerge when natural systems and cultural values are designed in relationship, not in isolation. Our landscapes are under growing strain. Climate change, overdevelopment, and ecological loss are unraveling the connections that once held land and community together. As our landscapes face imminent and increasing pressures, we see design as a powerful tool to restore balance. We integrate native plants, traditional building methods, and site-specific strategies with climate adaptation, biodiversity, food and water security, and long-term resource management in mind. From backyard gardens to multi-acre landscapes, we see each project as an opportunity to contribute to healthier ecosystems and stronger communities over time.
Biocultural Design
5-5226 Kuhio Hwy, #733
Hanalei, HI 96714
+1 (808) 482-9898
studio@biocultural.design
︎︎
Meet Our Team
Joshua Diem
Principal Landscape DesignerJoshua Diem is a landscape designer, builder, and craftsman. Having received his formal training as a Landscape Architect from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Joshua comes from years of field experience with Limahuli Botanical Garden & Preserve. There he has worked to recover significant archeologic sites within the preserve and employ schematic spatial thinking to the valley as a traditional Ahupua’a System. Knowledgeable in Hawaiian plants, traditional land systems and building techniques, Joshua practices with a design approach that integrates the knowledge and resiliency of Hawaii’s ancestral planters with a forward-thinking vision for Hawaii’s contemporary landscapes and the landscapes of our Islands future. Outside of his primary research and design work, Joshua together with his wife Claire, steward the land of their home in Ha’ena, caring for their mala (garden).
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Claire Ragozzino Diem
Project ManagerClaire Ragozzino is a writer, educator, and holistic health practitioner. With a degree in International Development and Sociocultural Anthropology from George Washington University, her work explores the intersections of food, culture, and our relationship to nature. For over 15 years, she has taught yoga, Ayurveda, and integrative health, blending ancestral knowledge with practical tools for contemporary living. She is the author of two books on Ayurveda published by Shambhala Publications, drawing on seasonal rhythms and the therapeutic power of food to support mindful, regenerative lifestyles.
As co-founder and project manager of Biocultural Design, Claire draws on her background in holistic health, systems-based thinking, and years of entrepreneurial experience to support thoughtful and organized project execution. She brings clarity, structure, and heart to multidisciplinary projects that bridge cultural integrity with ecological design.
Meet Our Partners
