‘Imiloa Astronomy Center serves as a locus of public education about the world-class astronomy research that takes place on the Island of Hawaii, as well as the island’s rich history of astronomical and oceangoing navigation. Media5 designed this premier facility as a distillation and abstraction of the mountain form. The educational complex consists of three conical shapes that depict the mountainous landscape while reflecting the sky above. The center includes more than 300 exhibits, a world-class planetarium, cafe, gift shop and offices.

As one measure in achieving LEED certification, Media5 proposed the use of titanium roofing: although relatively expensive, the material is waste-free during construction, is 100% recyclable, and is virtually unaffected by Hilo’s highly acidic rain providing a very long-lived roofing solution. To address the subsequently reduced construction budget, Media5 minimized the costs for the remainder of the facility without impacting the durability of construction. The solution was to utilize tilt-up concrete panels with cast decorative patterns to enclose the bulk of the floor space. Together, these strategies enabled achievement of the certification and completion of the facility on schedule and within the reduced budget.

Client Quote:

“It has been my pleasure to work with Media5 Architecture over the past 10 years on several Design-Build projects... The Imiloa project was a LEED DB competition. It was Mel Choy’s vision and Media5 Architecture’s innovative design that won us the project... Media5 Architecture will always provide proactive, pragmatic and elegant solutions to any Design-Build team.”
- Benett J. Bolek, Vice President, Taisei Construction Corp.

Additional information:

'Imiloa website