“Our college is guided by a deep commitment to integrate agriculture, cultural heritage, community outreach, and sustainability, with insights to the future,” says Thomas Lim of CTAHR’s Office of Planning and Management Systems. “And this omnibus philosophy is what informed our vision to create a CTAHR-owned space – one where public teaching moments are not just theoretical but tangible and interactive.”
So without further ado, presenting… the Mānoa Agricultural Innovation and Learning Exchange. The outreach and research lab’s conceptual design recently won an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects. Congrats Thomas!
MAILE’s architectural themes start with sustainability, he explains, in order to experientially communicate CTAHR’s stewardship of the natural world. These features, which might be hidden beneath your feet or incorporated into an immersive theater, perform crucial functions such as flood management, with bioswales below and rain-catchment systems above. The linear arrangement of classrooms and labs will both minimize the structure’s depth and maximize daylight and visibility, emphasizing the connection between CTAHR research inside and gardens outside.
But MAILE’s design also has hidden gems of intention, he adds. With a nod to cathedral glory and Disneyland wonderment, the center will include augmented reality screens that wrap around the space and high ceilings overhead.
Together, these tecchie features will offer “insights to a transformative future, to help visitors comprehend key inflection points to cultural and higher education paradigms by virtual lens of the development of Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, ChatGPTs, and the digital future as it unfolds,” he says.
The CTAHR ‘ohana, UH, and community will be intimately invited to engage with the building environment as tranquil teaching moments, Thomas adds, taking their seats on thoughtfully designed landscape features that become, in fact, a self-discovered educational experience.
“This design initiative also aims to restore the public’s institutional trust,” Thomas hopes, “by demystifying complex topics like climate crisis and technological advancements, much like revealing the curtain in The Wizard of Oz.”
He adds, “It will be a bold effort to build consensus and empower our community with knowledge and understanding. Ultimately, it is my aspiration that MAILE will help address cognitive dissonance to facing the facts and realities that globally challenge us, especially the climate crisis and digital misinformation.”