Allied Works was selected as one of three firms to create a vision for the University of Hawaii’s bid for the Obama Presidential Library, and to establish a local base of operations for the President’s Foundation. Collectively, the Center would combine library, archive and curatorial functions with space for events, exhibitions and a leadership academy.
With views from Pearl Harbor to Diamond Head, the design for the Center interprets the character and climate of this powerful site to form spaces of protection and connection. A continuous roof—symbolic of unity and diversity—creates variations of form, structure and light, providing shelter for a chain of interior spaces and covered landscape courts. These elements weave the Center into the surrounding city and park, and welcome an audience comprised of community residents, scholars, visitors and students. The functions of the center are housed in a series of transparent volumes focused on adjacent, terraced landscape courts. Each may be tailored to the specific needs of conservation, education and advocacy, and will offer varied opportunities for learning and dialogue.