History

Locally Owned and Operated 

Allen Kajioka, KYA's founder, first became inspired to pursue architecture in high school when he watched a top draftsman work on drawings with just one arm. After attending the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and working for a large Honolulu firm, Allen decided to create his own company in 1972. KYA started out with three employees: Allen, his classmate and a secretary. Allen shares, "our first client was Duty Free Shopping (DFS) way back when the airport was on the other side of the freeway." Since then, KYA has grown and evolved into a full-service design consultation firm with just under fifty employees. Despite being in business for over 40 years, Allen is proud that the KYA organizational culture and work ethic hasn't changed.