Celebrate Architecture Month in April with These Free Honolulu Events

Take a sketching class, go on a guided walking tour of Punahou School, meet local architects and more.

By Jayna Omaye

This post was originally published online on April 5, 2018. It was updated on March 26, 2019.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Vincent Architects

Every April for the past 12 years, AIA Honolulu, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has celebrated the history and evolution of architecture in the Islands with tours and free events that highlight the power of good design. This year’s lineup includes the popular architectural firm crawl on Friday, April 5—an open house at about 15 local architecture businesses—and a walking tour of Punahou School on Saturday, April 20. (Past neighborhood tours have included Kaka‘ako, Chinatown, Waikīkī and UH Mānoa.)

SEE ALSO: The Importance of Sustainable Design is the Focus of Architecture Month 2019

Photo: Courtesy of AIA Honolulu

Families can also spend Sunday, April 21, at the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House for free, where they can create and decorate their own treehouses out of cardboard and other supplies. Other events throughout April include film screenings, a sketching workshop hosted by Urban Sketchers O‘ahu and a photography class. (AIA Honolulu also offers historic downtown walking tours twice a month on Saturdays.)

SEE ALSO: 6 Walking Tours That Explore O‘ahu’s Rich History and Culture

Photo: Lisa Delong

“Architecture Month is a chance for us to share what goes into creating buildings and spaces, remind everyone the importance of sustainability, and focus on both cutting-edge and historic design and its place in Hawai‘i,” says Joe Ferraro, AIA Honolulu president. “Our built environment shapes our lives and experiences every single day, many times without us realizing it.”

A sampling of events:

Design firm crawl: April 5 from 5 to 8 p.m., downtown Honolulu and Kaka‘ako, free (register online here).

Film screening: April 18 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Center for Architecture, 828 Fort St. Mall, Suite 100, free (donation requested). Made in Ilima, a one-hour film about the endangered ecosystem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the area’s ongoing development, will be screened.

Film screening: April 26 from 6 to 8 p.m., Center for Architecture, 828 Fort St. Mall, Suite 100, free (donation requested). Jens Jensen The Living Green, a documentary about a landscape architect’s work in 1880s Chicago, will be screened.

Sketch workshop: April 20 from 10 a.m. to noon, Punahou School, free.

Architecture walking tour: April 20 from 8 a.m. to noon, Punahou School, $15 (register online here).

Family Sunday at the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House: April 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2411 Makiki Heights Drive, free.

Photography workshop: April 27 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Center for Architecture, 828 Fort St. Mall, Suite 100, $75 for AIA members, $105 for nonmembers and $55 for students (register online here).

For more information and a listing of all events in April, visit aiahonolulu.org.