It’s no coincidence that the walls between classrooms in the Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Community for Grades 2 – 5 can effortlessly slide open to create larger, more flexible learning spaces. Or that the furniture and classroom infrastructure in the Omidyar K – 1 Neighborhood are thoughtfully scaled to accommodate our youngest K – 1 students. Or, for that matter, that Case Middle School offers an array of cement benches and gathering spots, encouraging students to collaborate on projects.

Far from being left to serendipity, every design element in Punahou’s modern spaces is the direct result of intentional collaboration, crafted to serve the needs of our most important end-users: the students and the programs that foster their learning.

None of this would have been possible without the work that went into creating the Mamiya Science Center, which has served as an architectural blueprint for School projects since its opening in 1999. To call Mamiya a groundbreaking moment for Punahou would be an understatement. The building rewrote the script for what a learning environment could be.

This article explores how the collaborative process unfolded, featuring firsthand accounts from architect John Hara ’57 and other stakeholders who laid the foundation for a transformative approach known as design assist. Collectively, they brought to life Punahou’s modern spaces, which promote creativity, collaboration and connection to this day.

We also explore the significant contributions that Hara, his father and other marquee architects, such as Charles W. Dickey, Bertram Goodhue and Vladimir Ossipoff, and landscape designers have made to our campus through the years. 

No discussion of design at Punahou would be complete without highlighting the next exciting chapter in the School’s architectural evolution – the transformation of Cooke Library into the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons. This project, too, is a product of collaboration and advances the legacy of innovative design that has defined our campus for decades.