Windward Community College’s Library Learning Commons received the People’s Choice Award at the 2013 American Institute of Architects Honolulu Design Awards’ Shaping Hawaiʻi Through Design Excellence gala and celebration on Wednesday, July 24.
The AIA Honolulu People’s Choice Award gives the public an opportunity to view AIA distinguished entrants and determine a winner by popular choice.
Architects Hawaiʻi, principal Terry McFarland, accepted the award. “We used an integrated design process in which students, teachers and administrators were involved to help establish a design program and design direction,” said McFarland.
As the first green library in Hawaiʻi, Windward’s Library Learning Commons is an example of how architecture can contribute to the advancement of education and technology in the 21st century.
The Library Learning Commons features elements beyond a regular library including a media center, classrooms and a coffee shop. Open common areas, including the three-story atrium, bring in natural daylight creating a collaborative and efficient learning environment. As a focal point within the Windward campus, the library maintains the campus aesthetic of Spanish Mission Revival Architecture.
Along with state-of-the-art technology, unique features include its furniture made of recycled materials from the previously demolished building. The library is in the process of receiving the LEED Silver Certification.
More on the Library Learning Commons
Other Library Learning Commons awards
- Building Industry Association, Renaissance Overall Grand Award for New Commercial project–2013
- Building Industry Association, Renaissance Grand Award, Hawaiʻi Built Green Division, National Green Standard Commercial project–2013
- American School and University Educational Interiors Showcase, Outstanding Designs and Citation Winner–2013
- Masonry Institute of Hawaiʻi, Project of the Year–2011
Videos featuring the Library Learning Commons
Windward celebrates library grand opening
Time capsule sealed in Windward’s new library
Additional UH AIA People’s Choice entries
Four UH facilities were up for this year’s AIA Honolulu People’s Choice Awards—Windward CC’s Library Learning Commons, UH Maui College’s ʻIke Leʻa Science Building, UH West Oʻahu and the UH Cancer Center. Read more about it.
