For dreams.
For creativity.
For change.
For everyone.
Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons
We are children of Ka Punahou, the new spring.
From under the hala tree, we weave a mat that seats many,
The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons repurposes our current Cooke Library with a design that features multiple entrances from the Academy Quad. The new grand entrance from Rice (Middle) Field creates a fluid connection from the Junior School through the Academy campus.
The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is envisioned as a gathering space designed to foster engagement, collaboration and connection.
The building will feature extensive outdoor, covered gathering spaces, charging stations and generous lānais on four sides. Students and faculty will enjoy covered outdoor seating for studying, collaborating and socializing, protected from the sun and rain.
The Cooke Library Collection of books and resources will be housed in a bright and modern open space to maximize natural light and inspire creativity and connection.
Increased indoor study space will provide ample areas for Academy students to work. The new layout will create more inviting spaces for collaborative group gatherings and individual study and research.
Enclosed space will include technology-rich rooms that will allow for silent study as well as formal and informal gatherings by student government, clubs, faculty, and the larger Punahou community.
A new café space with indoor and outdoor seating will offer students a dynamic, creative environment where they can eat, study and socialize.
A light-filled overlook will include a view into the café below. This upper level will provide room for student meetings, study areas or gallery exhibitions.
An eight stove-top food design lab and teaching kitchen will support interdisciplinary learning for K – 12 students.
Located in the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons café, a grab-and-go kiosk will offer fresh, healthy and convenient food options for busy Academy students and faculty.
The building will house our digital and traditional Archives, imaging rooms, vault space and student and faculty archival teaching spaces.
Two new design labs paired with an additional classroom space will provide an excellent education in traditional design theories and practices, along with creating pathways that will empower Punahou students as leaders in the new virtual and augmented reality worlds that are rapidly emerging.
Our home to dream and discover our purpose and kuleana to Hawai‘i and the world.
How can we transform a space to inspire wonder?
The first phase of this undertaking, the Junior School Learning Commons (kindergarten – grade 8), has been inspiring students since it opened in 2019. The second and final phase, the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons (grades 9 – 12), will structurally repurpose the School’s current Cooke Library. The new LEED certified design reconnects grades 9 – 12 to the center of campus, creates collaborative new spaces for learning and innovation, enhances project-based learning and sparks imagination at a time when the world has been transformed by an innovation-driven economy.
“Mary Kawena Pukui was a transformative and compelling voice in the study of Hawaiian culture in the 20th Century. Her work continues to speak to us today, calling us to embrace our unique heritage and guiding the way toward a future of hope and community. The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons will be a dynamic and welcoming space where our students, faculty, and staff will share ideas, create memories and grow together.”
President Mike Latham ’86
“The new Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons will be a welcoming, vibrant and lively space that offers our students and our community a deep sense of belonging.”
Vice President for Institutional Advancement Noelehua Lyons ’91 Archambault
“The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is set to be a transformative space at Punahou School, inviting students to immerse themselves in emergent technologies like AI, VR and AR. Here, they will delve into coding, animation and video production, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. The space is designed to enhance the performing arts, graphic design and interaction across labs, supporting a broad spectrum of classes in science, math and engineering.”
Academy Principal Gustavo Carrera
“The cafe, grab and go kiosk, and food design lab are central to the design of the new Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons. Food is an integral and necessary part of education, and these new spaces will give us the proper equipment and setting to explore multidisciplinary, aina-based lessons.”
Food Curriculum Specialist Mark Noguchi ’93
For information about leadership giving opportunities to support this project, please contact Punahou’s Senior Director of Development, Wendy Chang, at wmchang@punahou.edu or 808.943.3626. Contact information for additional Advancement staff can be found here.
The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is being planned and designed by Honolulu-based WhiteSpace Architects, which was founded by Pip White ’66 and is now led by current parent Laura Ayers.
Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. is the general contractor for the project.
Estimated completion: 2026
Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons
We invite you to learn more about the future Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons:
Educating for the Future
We invite you to learn more about the educational programming and events supported by the future Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons through these recent articles:
