Located along O'ahu’s Ala Moana Beach Park, next to Kewalo Basin, the Ho’okupu Center is a setting to foster the programs of Kupu. We sought to create a modern “Hawaiian” place, not a building. The facility design focuses on the great location and providing flexible space for education and functions. This blurred the separation of interior and exterior spaces with low-cost semi-transparent exterior garage roll-up doors and interior sliding glass panels. The water shed is essentially one great room with net inspired art installations over the trusses, and natural, cool toned finishes throughout. The finishes used throughout speak to the Hawaiian sense of place with the exposed wood panels, monkeypod countertops, and rich green accent walls. Integrating the net inspired installation reflected the prior cultural use of the site, and symbolically tied the program and spaces to the ocean. It also blurs the delineation of building over place, further emphasizing this modern “Hawaiian Sense of Place”.

Awards: AIA Honolulu, Hawai‘i Energy Award for Excellence in Energy-Efficient Design Award, 2023; AIA Honolulu, Community Impact Award, 2023; IIDA Hawai‘i Pacific, Serve Award, 2019