Park Building Projects

Sensitive to the unique features of the site, Mason Architects has designed park buildings that blend with the natural surroundings; use building materials appropriate to the location; conserve energy through the use of natural ventilation, solar power, and water recycling systems; and provide shelter in extreme or changeable climates.

Pu'ukohola Visitor Center
The new Visitor Center at the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site blends into the dry, windswept environment. Its large exterior viewing area looks out onto the heiau and ocean yet its low profile is minimally visible from the heiau. Behind the viewing area are open and enclosed spaces for exhibits, information, administration, and storage.

Pu'uhonua Administration Building
The new Administration Building at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park is built four feet above the pahoehoe lava surface to have minimal impact on the environment and the many petroglyphs and other artifacts in the area, which is revered in Hawaiian culture as a place of refuge.

Kalama Beach Park
On four acres of beachfront in Kailua, Oahu, the beach park includes a 1937 house designed by Vladimir Ossipoff. Mason Architects prepared a master plan for the restoration of the house and improvements to the grounds and is currently engaged in the third phase of construction to attain these goals.

Volcanoes National Park Entrance Station
The entrance station is finished in lava rock and wood siding to match the historic Kilauea Visitor Center, and its double-pitched roof and heated collection booths provide shelter to Park personnel from the cold and rain.

Haleakala Comfort Station
The comfort station, built in an arid environment at a 9,740-foot elevation, incorporated stone walls from a 1952 structure for the Men's Room and constructed a new Women's Room next to it, replacing a half dozen temporary toilets added over the years. Consistent with the design intent of minimizing impact to view sheds, natural habitats, and water supplies, the facility uses a new wastewater system, the first of its kind in Hawaii, to recycle water to a level pure enough to flush toilets.

Kipahulu Comfort Station
Mason Architects redesigned the restrooms near Seven Sacred Pools in the Haleakala National Park, Maui, in a vernacular style incorporating a photovoltaic power system to supply all electrical power for the facility. New parking lots were also important parts of the design.

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Visitor Center
Located at Halawa Gate in the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex, the new Visitor Center houses exhibits, theaters, and exterior viewing and staging areas to help visitors gain a better understanding of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The design team, which is led by Portico Group, is pursuing LEED credits that will achieve a Silver level of accreditation.