Letter
Dear Secretary Djou:
In its public meeting of 15 June conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the proposed final design for a new interpretive center at the Honolulu Memorial, located within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Commission approved the final design, conditional upon the submission of documentation that addresses the following comments.
The Commission members expressed appreciation for the responsiveness to their previous comments, and they reiterated their support for the proposal to add ancillary structures to each side of the memorial for interpretive and support functions. They endorsed the simplification of the entrance portals and the side and rear facades, but they questioned the emphasis on and detailing of the newly proposed projecting stone scuppers and downspouts; they requested revised details that would minimize these elements, encouraging a more subtle expression for the facades. Regarding the landscape, they discouraged the introduction of liriope, instead recommending the selection of a native Hawaiian plant if possible as an alternative groundcover.
The Commission looks forward to the review of a forthcoming proposal for entrance gates to be designed by an artist and to the completion of this enhancement to the Honolulu Memorial. For the final documentation of the design to be completed in response to these comments, please coordinate with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Charles K. Djou, Secretary
American Battle Monuments Commission
2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 500
Arlington, VA 22201
cc: Mary Kay Lanzillotta, Hartman-Cox
Architects Louis Fung, FAI Architects