Project Type
Venue. This eight-story, 165,237 GSF adaptive-reuse project transforms a 1980s private fitness club at a prominent urban intersection in Honolulu into a cultural and innovation center dedicated to Native Hawaiian kamaliʻi (youth).
Project Name
Lili'uokalani Center
The Lili'uokalani Trust set out to create a trusted refuge for kamaliʻi at the geographic, cultural, and social center of Honolulu — a building that would advance their mission of education, economic opportunity, and social equity for the Native Hawaiian community. The site was selected for its visibility: a prominent intersection within the Kaka'ako arts district, or Kukuluāeʻo during precolonial times. Once hosting an exclusive private club, now reclaimed as a place of welcome, the completed Center inverts the building's prior social meaning. Where membership once defined who belonged, free access now opens culinary, dance, music recording, theater, maker spaces, textiles, e-gaming, fitness, and a rooftop gymnasium to the youth and families the Trust serves. For the Trust, the Center introduces a re-envisioned Youth Opportunity program. For kamaliʻi, the Center's passionate staff and professional-grade tools — maker and fabrication, recording studios, post-production suites, performance spaces — empower them to gather, create, learn, and imagine their future. For Honolulu, it reads from the street as a welcoming community offering generous civic gesture rather than a guarded one.
Design Criteria
Function – Spaces were desired that easily transform to serve multiple functions – classes, lectures, art installations, rehearsals, and performances can all occur in any of the performance spaces.
Future occupants – Spaces were to be flexible to allow them to be reconfigured/ adapted to many styles and types of performance, which avoids hamstringing future users with an inflexible facility.
Energy - All lighting systems are LED based and therefore reduces typical power use by 2/3.
Material – Durable surface materials were to be used throughout the spaces that are robust and can stand up to the sometimes rough uses of performance spaces
Change – All systems were the most up to date available equipment. A variety of theatrical systems – rigging, lighting, seating, flooring – were required to provide training opportunities from the most basic to the most sophisticated equipment
Discovery - Design of the space began with the involvement of LT staff as well as constituents, teachers, community members and prospective members. Charettes were held with all of these stakeholders and the design team in order to explore in detail their aspirations, priorities and capabilities, including operational and staffing expectations.
The output of these sessions was run through 50 years of experience of operating theaters, producing and presenting work in venues around the world, and designing dozens of performance spaces.
Project Description
The existing post-tensioned concrete structure is revealed rather than replaced: portions of the inherited fabric are stripped away, and forms inspired by pōhaku (stone) infill the grid to celebrate Hawaiian heritage. Program is layered vertically to support the Youth Opportunity pathways: welcome and congregation below; makerspaces, creative media, and performing arts in the middle; and athletics and wellness on top. Views of the mountains open from the glazed elevator as visitors move between floors. Inside, a mural of Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last reigning monarch, greets arriving visitors. The Innovation Lounge acts as a central gathering space, anchored by a large LED video wall that celebrates youth achievements. Landscape extends the architectural program: an Innovation Lānai opens directly off the Innovation Commons through a unified paving system, and a central pōhaku composition anchors a covered garden, evoking the concept of a kīpuka as both geological form and cultural reference to the Trust's engagement centers.
This project is the simultaneous integration of three design commitments: civic purpose, health + wellness performance, and cultural specificity. Reuse of an existing concrete structure not only reduces the embodied-carbon footprint of the building, it is also a cost-saving measure which helped expand the programmatic capacity and capability for the kamaliʻi, the primary purpose. Performance choices — daylight-studied envelope, air quality measures, efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures, and acoustic treatments — all address occupant physical well-being and sustainability stewardship. Increased glazing allowed for daylighting, security through visibility, and connection to the island with views to the mountains. Cultural references — the composition of the building comes from the cultural representation of pōhaku (stone). The existing structural frame is infilled with a series of Pōhaku Hoʻokele (Navigational Stones), to help the kamaliʻi navigate opportunities to realize their greatest potential. The Kūkaniloko (birthing stones) are also culturally significant as the Piko (center) of Oʻahu. These shapes also inspired the forms of the building. Polynesian craft guides the aesthetics of the project, from the composition of the planting and palettes, to landscaping and building details, to the integrated murals by local artists throughout the building
Challenges and Solutions
Adapting an original design based on new construction to an existing columned, post tensioned building, while maintaining the program and functionality was the first challenge. Due to existing conditions, locations of new structural elements and penetrations were limited to avoid interfering with the tension cabling and columns wherever possible.
Providing a range of spaces and equipment of a professional level that could also be used to train the youthful users in a safe environment was at times challenging. Clear information on structural and operational limits and uses of equipment was provided as well as appropriate staff training.
Well-being also depends on comfort, clarity, and emotional safety. CENSEO’s acoustical design addressed speech intelligibility, noise control, and room sound quality throughout the facility, from counseling and wellness rooms requiring privacy and calm, to performance spaces needing energy and warmth. Overcoming a significant challenge of the lack of sound insulation between the existing floors was achieved through the use of both floating floor and floating ceiling assemblies. These high performance assemblies allow for ultimate flexibility of use of the facility for sporting activities and musical performances to take place simultaneously.
Photo credits: Photos by Matthew Millman & Chris Buckley
Equipment
Theatrical Lighting:
Given that there are 5 spaces (including the innovation lounge) that accommodate theatrical lighting, it was important that equipment was portable and easily transferred between spaces. It was also important to anticipate future equipment needs and to create an inventory that would cover the majority of these needs to avoid rental costs as well as the labor expense of handling such rentals.
Providing a wide variety of equipment, including film/video lighting gear, was important for training purposes.
Stagecraft Industries provided ETC sensor relay racks (and 1 small sensor dimmer rack) to serve the four primary performance/production spaces. Circuits, dmx, and ETC net are distributed throughout the spaces.
Kaihonua Entertainment provided ETC Ion and Element control consoles as well as fixture, cable, and accessory package (primarily ETC Equipment)
Commissioning of the lighting systems by Hawaii Stage Lighting.
Seating
The theater and music spaces were designed to accommodate performance, rehearsal, classroom, and event uses. Performance seating needed to removable; therefore, both these spaces have telescoping seating systems provided by the Jezet Company of Belgium.
For the dance space and gym, a set of portable aluminum bleachers has been provided that both spaces can share. Storage is provided at the gym.
Rigging:
In order to provide the broadest level of training, the various spaces were provided rigging systems that represented common industry solutions as far as practicable. They also had to be designed to be safely operated by teens and young adults.
Pipe Grids have been provided in all performance spaces. At the theater a tension grid was installed under the pipe grid and over the FOH area, while 12 ETC EXO Prodigy Linesets were provided over the stage. Various fixed pipe positions were also installed, as well as a pin rail to facilitate hemp rigging training.
The Music space was also provided with a roll down projection screen and associated roll down masking as well as pipe grid and side positions
The Dance space and Film/Video space both have standard pipe grids
Additionally, the gym and Dance space are fitted with strong points to facilitate rigging for acrobatics.
Rigging: F&I by Stagecraft Industries, Inc.
AV:
Across the multi-level Liliʻuokalani Center, the integrated technology and planning, with the intent of creating intuitive spaces that remove barriers to participation while fostering confidence, embraced both the challenge and the goal.
Collaboration rooms, wellness spaces, classrooms, lounges, and conference areas are designed with user-friendly AV systems including interactive displays, wireless presentation tools, room scheduling touch panels, and simple control interfaces that allow staff and youth to engage technology without intimidation.
Digital signage and wayfinding systems, including a large direct-view LED video wall in the lobby/Innovation Lounge, help visitors navigate the building while celebrating youth achievements, cultural programming, and community events.
Creative expression is central to Liliʻuokalani Center's purpose, and the upper floors were designed as a professional-grade media and performing arts ecosystem. By placing advanced technology directly in the hands of youth, the Center creates pathways into storytelling, media, arts, and future careers.
Dedicated theater, dance, music, recording, post-production, e-gaming, and film production spaces provide youth with access to tools typically found only in higher education or commercial studios. Networked audio and video systems allow performances, rehearsals, livestreams, and collaborative productions to move seamlessly between spaces, while flexible control systems support both instruction and real-world creative workflows. Assistive listening technologies and accessible control systems ensure that programming remains inclusive for all users and abilities.
Team
Design:
Architecture: Flansburgh Architects –
David Croteau, Principal-in-Charge; Joseph Marshall, Managing Principal; Christina Schaller, Project Architect; Naomi Levine, Project Designer; Bill Beatrice, Construction Administration
Theater Consultant: P&PFC, Inc – Christopher Buckley
Acoustic/AV/Technology Consultant: CENSEO AV+Acoustics – Todd Beiler, Patrick Durham, Dana Dorsch, Devin Clausen
Structural: SSFM International
Landscape Studio Kīpuka (formerly Ki Concepts)
Interior Architect: LAB [3.2] Architecture
Food Service: George M Matsumoto and Assoc.
Code: Hastings Consulting, Inc.
Construction:
CM: Kiewit
Theatrical Lighting/ Rigging – Stagecraft Industries, Inc.
Theatrical Lighting fixtures – KaiHonua Entertainment
Theatrical Lighting Commissioning – Hawaii Stage Lighting
Seating Systems - Jezet