HPA Breaks Ground on New Play Area

Rendering of HPA’s Village Campus $2 million multi-purpose covered play area. Courtesy image.

Hawai’i Preparatory Academy recently broke ground at the school’s Village Campus, where a 7,667 square-foot multipurpose covered play space for physical education activities and use for other school activities will be built.

An anonymous donor provided the school with $2 million for the structure.

The ground breaking ceremony brought together lower and middle school students, faculty, staff, and parents.

HPAʻs Kumu Kuwalu Anakalea conducted the traditional Hawaiian groundbreaking ceremony, known as ʻEli Honua, with her Hawaiian Studies students.

A student representative from every class, grades K-8, along with school administrators and the project team, participated in the ceremony.

Aaron Spielman of Nanea Studios in Waimea, an HPA alumnus, designed the facility, which will be located behind the fourth and fifth grade classrooms.

Building features include an alcove, covered lanai, office, and storage space.

Spielman also incorporated tennis court-style flooring with an additional coating to provide cushioning, daylighting to reduce the need for artificial light, and motorized louvers to provide natural ventilation. The peak of the roof, designed to be north/south, will optimize weather performance, reducing building “bulk” when viewed from Kawaihae Road.

“Rituals allow us to come together to mark a change,” said Head of School Robert McKendry in his address to the students. “Today we mark an exciting turning point for our school. The multipurpose building will provide you with a place to play, and will shelter you from our kipu‘upu‘u rain. You will occupy this space in new ways, leading to new possibilities for each one of you and for our school.”

Contractor Quality Builders will begin construction in early June. School officials say the building is scheduled to open in April 2017.