Hō‘ikeākea Gallery at Leeward Community College
With the purpose of showcasing the works of students, faculty, local Hawaiian artists, and beyond, Leeward Community College built and opened the Hō‘ikeākea gallery. Leeward Community College, part of the University of Hawaii, offers many programs and strives to create a diverse community with a spirit of collaboration and respect for its students and local community.
With the gallery supporting local artists, the College felt it was essential to use local design firms for the project and selected Bowers + Kubota Consulting and Noborikawa & Associates to create the gallery.
One of the primary design considerations was to have a dynamic lighting system to quickly and easily adapt to changing exhibits. In addition to accent lighting for the artwork, the system also needed to provide ambient illumination for the gallery, all with a high CRI for accurate color rendition.
Pacific Lighting Sales aided the designers by presenting them with Fabbian’s Freeline Collection. Freeline’s modularity enables site-specific designs, and its lighting capabilities could serve the gallery’s ambient and accent lighting needs. Using Freeline’s lighted bar, with embedded linear lighting elements, as the foundational structure would deliver the ambient lighting needs. Freeline’s head selection would provide adjustable aiming, focusing choices, and easy repositioning. The 24V system is also compatible with various control systems.
Freeline was just the right solution! The designers suspended the lighted bars in grid patterns from the exposed ceiling, complementing the overall design form and creating high CRI ambient illumination. They then placed adjustable spotlights along the bars to create customized accent illumination for the artwork. The spotlights’ fastening joints enable the heads to be easily moved and adjusted according to each exhibit’s needs.
Freeline’s modularity and ability to perform on the x,y,&z axis enable designers to create the right fit and function with standard products!
See KHON2’s news report about the gallery opening here.
Design: Bowers + Kubota Consulting
Architect: Noborikawa & Associates, LLC
Photographs: Leeward Community College, Fabbian
Local Fabbian Representative: Pacific Electrical Sales Agency, Inc.
