 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 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 arts 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.
The design concept became the foundation of the Design Competition
The Award-Winning Design
MLC’s unique design is the result of an international architectural competition that was funded by both a major grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and matching grants from local businesses, foundations, and individuals. The conceptual design has been refined by Honolulu-based architectural and design firm, 8 inc , to a simple yet elegant design that was entered in the 2009 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain. There were 272 shortlisted entrants from over 60 countries in 40 different categories. MLC won First Place in the Future Education category. Simply put, this project was judged by peers to be the best unbuilt education project in the world at this time.
Here are the latest images of the design of the future Mālama Learning Center.
   
   
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