Hawaii Convention Center
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The Hawai'i Convention Center, located at 1801 Kalakaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawai'i on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu in Waikiki, is the flagship civic exhibition center in the State of Hawai'i. Its unique Hawaiian architectural design encompasses artistic metaphors of Hawaiian culture and natural environment. International Association of Exhibition Management voted it the most beautiful convention center in the world. Featured at the Hawai'i Convention Center are USD $2 million art collection and rooftop tropical gardens.
A controversial project completed in 1997 and opened in 1998, the Hawai'i Convention Center is the largest "design-build" project undertaken by the State of Hawai'i. The bid process for the design began in 1994. LMN Architects was the unanimous choice of technical evaluators and jurors because of their sensitivity towards native Hawaiian culture in the overall design. For 1,007,000 square feet (93,000 m²) of space the project cost over USD $200 million. Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) was chosen to design the interior incorporating historical Hawaiian quilt designs and nature based motifs throughout.
In the TV show Lost, the convention center is used to portray the Sydney Airport.
The Hawai'i Convention Center is owned by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and managed by Philadelphia based SMG.
The Hawai`i Convention Center was used as the host site for the annual JROTC military ball for 2005 and 2006. The rented room for the military ball can hold up to 1,500 guests. The most recent military ball accommodated 1,000 cadets, guests and instructors. The JROTC branches are consisted of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
