Kanu o ka 'Aina Learning 'Ohana

Design Patterns

Welcoming Entry: The entry to the Community Resource Center is a large lanai (Hawaiian for exterior porch). This is both symbolic and practical. A lanai provides a sheltered areas for guests arriving to the building as well as for students waiting to be picked up. It is also symbolic gesture which communicates “welcome” to guests and visitors. The lanai is a traditional feature for a home and gathering place before entering.

Art, Music, Performance: Built into the design is an outdoor courtyard area for program participants to practice cultural protocol including 'oli (chant) hula (dance) and mele (song). On a regular day these activities occur in the morning to open the day and in the afternoon to end the day. However, at anytime participants can utilize this space to welcome new members of the learning 'ohana (family). This space was oriented to the largest and culturally significant natural landmark, Mauna Kea (White Mountain). There is deep cultural significance in practice of cultural protocol and reminds the participants of their responsiblilty to ther 'aina (land). Waimea is known for it's cool temperatures, strong winds and rain. The space is also designed to block the prevailing wind and rain.

Casual Eating Areas: Within the Community Resource Center a cafe will provide Hawaiian beverages and foods for users. Teas and food products will be grown onsite and will be prepared by participants in a catering business supported by our social entreprenuer program. The intent of the cafe is to take the best practices of business like Starbucks and replicate them with a Hawaiian perspective. Our vision for the eating areas is to provide a variety of seating arrangements. There will be café style tables and chairs (with backs) which can be gathered for groups of 3-4. These can be interior or exterior in the courtyard. The reading room will also provide residential style seating settings where food is allowed.

Interior and Exterior Vistas: Up to this point our learning has predominately occurred in the environment. Students take part in an integrated curriculum based on issues and topics that are relevant to their place. This means they have learned about stream ecosystems in the streams. They have learned about geography and geology on the land. They have learned about astronomy the under the stars. These are the places that our students are successful. So our biggest challenge was to not create spaces that would draw them back inside. Every space has the ability to enter into outdoor space and to view the outdoor space. The intent was to provide a comfortable indoor space that makes you feel outdoors (lots of windows and daylight).

Dispersed Technology: Halau Hoolako Community Resource Center will provide access to technology in an effort to increase academic and job skills and facilitate the building of community and learning networks. Hälau Ho’olako will strengthen the entire community. It will reach those who are isolated, enhance knowledge and opportunities and establish a locus for the perpetuation and advancement of culture and education. It will enhance learning opportunities for those interested in perpetuating Hawaiian culture, values and traditions utilizing the use of computers and other technological tools. It will serve as a technology resource in the community; helping students, parents, families and community organizations use technology to strengthen their endeavors. Halau Hoolako will provide a needed community asset and provide individuals a resource to increase their self-sufficiency. Halau Hoolako will allow community members to study and then apply their learning to provide services to the community including: Video/CISCO-related equipment and software, technology resource personnel, high speed online service, teleconferencing center, community meeting and learning spaces, computers and other technology tools, including software. Plans are to include social enterprise ventures, such as a café run by local entrepreneurs and shops to make and sell local wares, to help sustain the center. Halau Hoolako will include two multipurpose labs, a video editing lab, reading room/small collection, sound room, teleconference room, network hub, café, office and staff room. Halau Hoolako will be a total of 8584 square feet integrating “green” technology to increase energy efficiency and reduce waste.

Indoor-Outdoor Connection: Learning in our programs begins outdoors and then goes indoors. This was switch in design thinking to make the transition from outdoor to indoor seamless and comfortable. This has been done with many and large windows and access to indoors for every room. The building’s organic massing connects it occupants to the surrounding natural environments with a variety of perspectives. Occupants will have different views from different portions of the facility. They will be able to interact with landscaping, gardens and mountain vistas.

Furniture: Soft Seating: The project furnishing will be selected to provide ergonomic seating. There will also be a variety of styles and types dependent on the room. The multi-media labs need to have furnishings that are moble allowing individual, small group or large group working space. The reading will have residential style furnishings.

Flexible Spaces: In each space careful thought went into creating spaces that could handle small, medium and large group configurations. For example, the multimedia room is a big room with electrical plugs in the floor, along the walls and on the ceiling to promote a variety of group configurations. The labs can be combined into a larger assembly space which could accommodate 150 people. Most of our learning is accomplished in teams, moveable furniture is a must. Desks, chairs and storage must be able to move to meet the variety of needs of our participants. However, if we wanted to conduct an acitivity utilizing lecture seating that would also be an option.

Campfire Space: Hawaiian culture prior to western contact was an oral culture. This tradition continues till today. Within the reading room there will be a fireplace and a gathering space for comfortable family-style storytelling. The intent is to have intergeneartional sharing through storytelling. The design provides for numerous spaces which support this type of activity. The reading room which have a variety of residential type furniture settings which can be arranged for storytelling in small and large groups. The courtyard will provide opportunities for small groups to gather, particular in the afternoon when the sun can warm this space. The multi-media labs provide a flexible gathering space for assemblies of 20-150.

Cave Space: The Reading room was designed to be more akin to a large den in a house than a traditional library. It space is surrounded by windows with view of Mauna Kea and Hualalai mountains. Bookshelves will be low casework under the windows and in freestanding shelving disbursed amongst a variety of residential style furnishings. There will be a variety of settings and areas for study, reflection and solitude. Furthermore, on the west side is an exterior landscaped courtyard which provides a 270 degree landscaped view for the reading room. This area also offers another space for gatherings and reflection especially in the afternoons when the sunlight will warm this area.

Daylight and Solar Energy: Natural daylighting, solar energy and natural ventilation will all by utilized. It just does not make sense to not take advantage of the sun, in Hawai'i. As such the building incorporates daylighting strategies throughout. In the entry vestibule, we have provided a clerestory with south and west facing glazing. Sunlight will be reflected on the ceiling and amongst exposed heavy timber trusses from an interior light shelf to create a spectacular atmosphere. The reading room is surrounded by high performance windows which bring in daylight to the space on 3 sides. There is also a ceiling decorative skylight which utilizes light pipes to transfer daylight to the space. The multi-media labs will have a south facing facade for which we have provided a light shelf to block direct heat gain as well as reflect daylight onto the ceiling. Furthermore, we have provided roof light pipes which transfer daylight to a ceiling grid with decorative plexiglass panels. We are currently projecting that these strategies will result in a 25% savings on the facility energy bill.

Natural Ventilation: The only space in the Community Resource Center that will be airconditioned will be the the Server Room and adjoining office. This is to preserve the network from overheating. The rest of the facility will be naturally ventilated. It just makes sense given our environment.

Full Spectrum Lighting: As previously stated, the building has been designed with daylighting in mind. Educational spaces throughout have windows which provide views to the surrounding landscape and in many cases to spectacular mountain vistas. We are incorporating T-5 high efficiency lighting in most educational spaces. These lamps provide the highest lumens per watt with a warm color.

Sustainable Elements and Building as 3-D Text: The Community Resource Center will be a model for teaching sustainability. We have targeted LEED-NC Gold. The wetland wastewater treatment at the entry of the campus is a significant statement of the environmental philosophy of this organization. Kanu o Ka Aina will plant this wetland with native Hawaiian plant they propogate. They will maintain the wetland and utilize its effluent to irrigate landscape areas used to grow flowers for cultural programs integral to the school. The use of daylighting will be featured in the educational spaces. The school will provide educational tours and workshops on how daylighting has been incorporated to save energy and create a dynamic academic environment. The community resources center will be a model for the entire Waimea community on how to design and build “Green”.

Local Signature: The first step our organization took in designing these facilities was to meet with our kupuna (elders) to determine the values, needs and direction. This included the determination that the design needed to reflect the place and culture of the community. The building's roof line echos the mountain peaks that define the community. The building is oriented to the main mountain, Mauna Kea. The roofline is at three heights to mimic the surrounding mountains. This orientation includes inside views and outdoor/indoor spaces. The rock trim on the outside of the building replicates traditional Hawaiian architecture and building materials. The outside columns will utilize native woods. The lanscaping around the building will be native plants to this mountain community.

Connected to the Community: While the entire site will house programs that serve students from womb-to-tomb, our intent with this first building is to show our commitment to community. Currently, much of our student body have tents, overseas shipping containers and modular units as classrooms. Our need to create suitable facilities for our student's is foremost on our minds. However, instead of building a traditional classroom we have decided to construct a community building first. During the day students will utilize some of the space for learning, community will be invited to utilize the facility as well. Our site is located within the heart of our target community. It is surrounded by Hawaiian Home Lands and is a community of families. Our community is also a rural community, with many young families and college age students needing the leave the community in order to seek out better paying jobs and affordable housing. The Community Resource Center will provide access to technology in an effort to increase academic and job skills and facilitate the building of community and learning networks. the Community Resource Center will strengthen the entire community. It will reach those who are isolated, enhance knowledge and opportunities and establish a locus for the perpetuation and advancement of culture and education. It will enhance learning opportunities for those interested in perpetuating Hawaiian culture, values and traditions utilizing the use of computers and other technological tools. It will serve as a technology resource in the community; helping students, parents, families and community organizations use technology to strengthen their endeavors. The Community Resource Center will provide a needed community asset and provide individuals a resource to increase their self-sufficiency. The Community Resource Center will allow community members to study and then apply their learning to provide services to the community including: Video/CISCO-related equipment and software, technology resource personnel, high speed online service, teleconferencing center, community meeting and learning spaces, computers and other technology tools, including software.

Bringing It All Together: As its very names suggests, the Halau Hoolako Community Resource Center is a integral part of the school community as well as larger Waimea community. The designers needed to be aware of the needs of both. The multi-media labs will be used for computer instruction but they also can be combined into a single large assembly room for approximately 150 people . This space could accommodate the school community as well as a community meeting. The labs themselves were envisioned to provide evening and weekend adult courses. Therefore large storage areas were provided to secure school equipment after hours as well as provide storage for extra chairs and tables. The reading room provides a library function for the school but it also doubles as a resource for the larger community to use. The conference room has a educational function as a meeting space which can be rented to businesses or other non-profit organizations.

Small Learning Community: Education with Aloha is our model of education. It is a feeling of aloha that permeates our programs and has been identified by the participants as the defining factor for their sudden significant successes in education. This feeling of aloha is based on the development of relationships built on trust, interdependance and defined roles. This can is accomplished with a student small population, caring adults and connectiveness to home and community. Because an entire learning ‘ohana or family of learners cares about them, students begin to care not just about themselves and their future, but also about the things around them. They begin to care about their families and communities, their native culture and the environment.