Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 6, 1 June 2014 — Books venture reaps rewards [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Books venture reaps rewards

Mo'o Studio, the publishing arm of WCIT whieh launched in April, won two honorable mentions for Children's Hawaiian Culture and Children's Literature at the Ka Palapala Po'okela Awards for its first puhlieation, 'A'amaNui, Guardian Warrior Chief of Lalakea. The Historic Hawai'i Foundation also awarded the book its Preservation Honor Award for New Construction Design in a Cultural Context, recognizing that the story documents a plaee of historical value. Available in both English and 'ōlelo Hawai'i, A'ama Nui is the first volume in a series intended to inspire and educate keiki about creativity, design and architecture. It tells of a legendary crab that protects the ponds of Lalakea in Keaukaha. Dr. Pualani Kanahele and Iopa partnered to write the mo'o of the book: the mo'okū'auhau, the

lineage of generations of knowledge ; the mo'olelo, the lineage of generations of tales; the mo'oka'i, the lineage of generations of journeys; and themo'owaiwai, the lineage of generations of valued practices. Through illustrationsand architectural renderings, the book connects the mo'olelo to a design for a home that Iopa will build along the shores of Lalakea. His hale design, whieh won an award in 2012 from the American Institute of Architects. will

incorporate the shape of the body of 'A'ama Nui and Nā Koa 'A'ama, who help to protect the plaee. "Through this book and others that will follow, WCIT will show how we use Hawaiian history, traditions and practices to guide, inform and inspire our design," says Iopa. "These mo'o are not necessarily for children. They are to educate adults as well to how history and culture ean inform and inHuenee creative thinking. Architecture is an artistic interpretation not unlike what we see in music or hula." ■

Rob lopa holds a copy of his hook, 'A'ama Hui, as he sits in front of a graphic that is a prototype of the graphic designs his firm is working on that will go around the pillars at eaeh rail stop in the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, about 22 in all, eaeh telling a story of the ahupua'a in whieh it is located. - Phoio: Helson Gaspar