Design Charrette, May 16-18th, 2009

For 3 days in May, the Kona community came together to produce a plan for the future of Kailua Park, also known as the Old “A” or Maka’eo Park.  The design charrette, organized by Kimura International, involved more than 75 members of the community representing the many active recreational groups that use the park on a daily basis.  Also in attendance were representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of the Senator Daniel Inouye, Office of the Mayor Billy Kenoi, the Queen Liliuokalani Trust (QLT), and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), as well as District 8 Councilmember Kelly Greenwell.

Glenn Miura of CDS International describes the green architectural vision for the park.

During the charrette, the audience was presented with a wealth of information regarding the history of the site, previous planning efforts and the current issues facing the park. However, presentations were very informal, and dialogue between all involved was highly encouraged. In this way, all opinions were heard and ideas considered.

The charrette participants were also treated to a tour, where individuals with ties to specific areas of the park were encouraged to share their knowledge with the entire group. The participants were thus offered a new perspective on the park, further enabling them to produce a plan that would benefit everyone in the community.

To ensure that all voices were heard, the participants were encouraged to break into small groups to discuss what they would like to see included in the master plan. At the end of the session, the groups reconvened and shared their visions with the general audience.

Preferred Plan

The charrette provided the community with an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas for the park, and to see those ideas be put to paper and formulated into a master plan.  Compromises were made, and the community worked together to come to a consensus on what was best for the people of Hawai`i Island.  The results of their efforts are shown here, on what is now known as the Preliminary Preferred Plan for Kailua Park (aka Old Airport Park/Maka’eo). Click on the image below for a printable pdf version of the plan.

The preliminary preferred plan will now undergo its final revisions before being presented to the County and the Mayor.

Reporters for the West Hawaii Today were present for each day of the charrette. Please follow these links to view their articles:

click here to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader