The design concept of the Mālama Learning Center was formed during a two-day planning retreat at Palehua, in the hills above Kapolei, led by Mr. Charlie Cannon of the Rhode Island School of Design. Retreat members included representatives from Kapolei High School; The Nature Conservancy; and Kapolei, Hawaiian culture, and art communities. At this retreat, the following vision evolved:

The heart of the Mālama Learning Center will accommodate a multitude of individual and group functions. The new Center will nurture conservation and the arts by housing --

For formal and informal teaching, meetings, and workshops:

• interactive indoor/outdoor wet-lab classrooms
• outdoor plant laboratory classroom spaces
• community meeting spaces

For performances:

• multi-purpose center for performances, lectures, workshops and community-related educational activities
• outdoor staging area for outdoor performances
• exhibit and display spaces to showcase and sell artwork and for model demonstrations

For conservation programs:

• shadehouses to grow native plants
• nursery with native plants for sale
• Native Hawaiian ethnobotanical gardens
• conservation library
• administrative offices

The Mālama Learning Center’s LEED facility will be durably constructed with recycled and sustainable materials, and both the structure and its landscaped grounds will take into account the environmental conditions specific to West O’ahu, the efficient and responsible use of energy and water, and the latest advances in sustainable “green” practices and technologies. 

To learn more, see: Design Competition