‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Campus

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Hawaiian language was almost lost. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, it was outlawed from schools and supplanted by the English language. Since the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, a small group of community leaders and educators have been working together to develop an education system, from Preschool to Ph.D., taught entirely in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. This multi-phase project highlights and aligns ceremonial protocol spaces for three new buildings with Hilo Bay and the sacred Mauna Kea.

FOR

The ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Campus was created for the University of Hawai‘i’s Office of the Vice President of Administration through the University of Hawai‘i Community Design Center platform.

HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE ORGANIZATIONS

Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikolani (KH‘UOK, College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo), ‘Aha Pūnana Leo (Hawaiian language preschools), Hale Kuamo‘o (Hawaiian language curriculum development and research), Mokuola Honua (Global Center for Indigenous Language Excellence), ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, and Ke Kula ‘o Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u (Nawahi, Hawaiian language immersion charter school)

Cultural Alignments
& Protocol Spaces

The ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Campus is organized around a series of physical alignments. The first exists at the scale of the site, extending the axis established by Haleʻōlelo, creating a site-line between the waters of Hilo Bay and the sacred mountain Mauna Kea. The second, responds to the scale of the buildings, organizing a system of pikos, or protocol spaces, to the ma uka - ma kai axis. The third alignment occurs at the scale of the individual participating with their community in a piko as they position themselves in relation to the rising and setting sun.

The Hawaiian Star Compass, translated by Native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson, is bound by thirty-two star houses and defined by the location and pathways of astronomical objects. Corporal orientation and navigation, at sea or on land, is complemented by understanding the direction of the winds and ocean waves.

P-25 Hawaiian Indigenous Language Cycle

Kanaka ‘ōiwi, people of Native Hawaiian ancestry, founded and lead all six programs that make up the P-25 HILC. 

Multiple phases of user research, including one-on-one interviews, co-creation workshops, and “talk story” sessions, were held with over fifty Hawaiian language education founders and senior leaders. A similar number of students, parents, program graduates, and community members generously shared their knowledge and experiences during this phase.

Paired Constructs

Two large models were built to socialize proof-of-concept designs for Pūnana Leo, Hale Kuamo‘o, and Graduate Center & Mokuola Honua.

The “Zoom-Out” site model is designed to orient viewers to the overall plan for the mini campus and to illustrate the alignment of the structures with the Hawaiian Star Compass and the axis with the sacred Mauna Kea mountain.

The “Zoom-In” construct is composed of four models on plinths, one for each new building and the quad they form. A series of clip-on foam massings connect to the plinths and express the surrounding context. This assembly allows the individual models to be claimed by their respective owners after the initial exhibition.

Pūnana Leo

Housing the preschool and the Hi‘ipēpē Infant Program, the Pūnana Leo o Hilo structure is home to ‘Aha Pūnana Leo’s main Hilo location. It is composed of classrooms, administrative and meeting spaces, a kitchen, and a laundry facility.

A protected courtyard embraces the central piko. Bounded by the thirty-two houses of the Hawaiian Star Compass, the space serves as a focal point for the entire ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Campus. The courtyard piko aligns the learning process with land, sea, stars, and ancestral knowledge. Marking the origin point of the education journey, the preschool is surrounded and supported by generations of learners and educators

Hale Kuamo‘o

Operating as a teaching practice, students workers will learn alongside professional graphic designers, specialized researchers, curriculum designers, audio/sound/video experts, and language specialists to build the next generation of Hawaiian language education.

Hale Kuamo‘o operates as a connector between the upper and lower campus and as the physical embodiment of the Research-Development-Production-Distribution cycle. The compact, stacked floors open onto one another through a communal exhibition/bookstore/ prototyping lobby and plaza. Each level is visually connected to the surrounding natural landscape and simultaneously provided privacy with a thatch of dynamic sunshades.

Graduate Center
& Mokuola Honua

This structure houses the Graduate and Ph.D programs for the Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, as well as the Mokuola Honua Global Center for Indigenous Language Excellence. It is composed of a visitor center, lanai, kitchen and cafe, learning and research facilities, as well as short and long term housing. 

The design for the Graduate Center & Mokuola Honua follows the current topography and the adjacent Waiākea Stream. A series of decks, parallel to the natural topography, are lifted lightly above the land on prefabricated trusses set on concrete piers. A collection of one-story structures distributed across interconnected decks and protected by photovoltaic canopies.