In June 2019, the university convened a “Charlot House Summit,” inviting planners, architects, art historians, archivists, scholars, students, and preservationists to discuss options and formulate short- and long-term use, maintenance, management, and operational parameters for this critically important historic structure. Summit participants aimed to define alternative strategies that would comply with the purpose and legal obligations of the easement and at the same time further the educational, environmental, and community goals of the University, providing financial and other resources for appropriately sustaining and stewarding the property.

Work on a new framework plan for Charlot House began over the summer of 2020 through a pilot partnership between Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and the University of Hawai‘i Community Design Center (UHCDC) at the School of Architecture in Mānoa. The proposal includes novel, revenue generating programming scenarios with steps for incremental implementation over the next five years.

This Charlot House Report recommends that UH establish a comprehensive management approach built around the intrinsic values of the property, emphasizing both the importance of the whole and the interdependence of the parts. It outlines strategies in the areas of land use and easement compliance, academic outreach, financial opportunities, cultural enrichment, and management structure.

Client: Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation
Project Supervisor: Daniel Friedman FAIA
Student Team: Nicole Bowman