Keeping rainwater out of subterranean spaces of the state Capitol has been a big undertaking that now is within sight of completion by September after some unexpected extra effort.
Meanwhile, an elaborate related project to replace water that had long filled two reflecting pools outside the building with painted glass tiles created in part by around 2,000 Hawaii residents led by a renown Native Hawaiian artist won’t likely be completely finished before 2027.
The leak repair work, pool conversion and other related exterior refurbishments promise to be a long-lasting improvement to the 56-year-old building, which was designed to symbolize physical natural attributes of the island state but has been largely walled off since 2020 by decorated construction barriers.
Overall, the three-phase project budgeted for close to $50 million is about 50% done.
All the work is intended to keep several symbolic design features of the historic building — parts representing the ocean (pool basins), volcanoes (House and Senate chamber walls) and palm trees (columns) — in good shape for at least another half century.
“None of the other 49 states have a Capitol like this,” Gordon Wood, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting and General Services, said during a Tuesday tour of the site.
“In our job, we do a lot of fairly mundane work — replacing (air conditioning) chillers, replacing roofs,” Wood said. “And the opportunity to be able to do something like this that’s not only really repairing the state Capitol but making it even better, how often do we get to do that?”
Waterproofing
An initial phase of work to re-waterproof the more heavily degraded pool basin on the Diamond Head side of the building began in May 2023 to stop foul water from infiltrating basement offices, hallways, the parking garage and even the Senate Chamber after heavy rain.
This phase took about seven months to finish, and included repairs to structural and electrical system damage that had been an issue even after the pools were emptied in 2020.
Work on the Capitol’s Ewa pool basin began in mid-2024 and wrapped up around January, but represented only part of a larger second phase of waterproofing work.
Second-phase work also involves stopping rainwater from penetrating the building through cracked concrete entryways to the Capitol rotunda.
To fix these areas, which include steps and ramps on the mauka and makai sides of the building, four inches of concrete have to be removed to reach a layer of waterproofing needing replacement.
Restoring the entryways was complicated by a need to have concrete exactly match two existing shades, and replicating different-sized groove patterns to the satisfaction of the State Historic Preservation Division.
“We don’t want people to really know (that) they redid this,” Wood said. “It should all look the same.”
Work on the Ewa half of each entryway began between July and August, and is slated to be finished in about two weeks. Then the job will be repeated on the Diamond Head halves of each entryway and should take about two to three months to finish.
A third phase of work has yet to begin, and includes removing and reattaching black concrete tiles on exterior walls of the House and Senate chambers designed to symbolize volcanoes, and repainting columns around the building that also need some fixes to spalling damage. Some of the black tiles are loose or have fallen off.
Wood said the need for these repairs to such a large building that extends underground is not unusual because of impacts from heat, wind and occasional earth shaking.
“That does wear out things and cause things to separate and crack,” he said. “We think of buildings as stationary, but buildings are always moving.”
The Capitol also has been plagued, since it opened in 1969, by the design of its reflecting pools, which originally were part of the building’s air-conditioning system.
Pool changes
Cold water from a brackish well was pumped through air-conditioning chillers that returned warmed water to the pools for temperature acclimation before discharge into storm drains in a cycle that was supposed to keep pool water circulating and clean.
Yet complaints about unpleasant odors from dying algae in the pools arose soon after the building opened, and the air-conditioning system was disconnected due to corrosion issues.
Many unsatisfactory attempts were made over decades to address unexpected costly pool maintenance, including the use of chemicals, fish, fountains and prisoner labor.
More recently, DAGS explored and then pursued the idea to replace the pool water with an artistic representation of water as part of the pool repair project, and in early 2024 board members of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts selected Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos for the job from among 122 applicants.
There has been some criticism of the pool conversion plan degrading the character of the Capitol, which is on the Hawaii and National Registers of Historic Places.
Such criticism has come from the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and William Chapman, dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture, among others. However, the State Historic Preservation Division, which is part of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, signed off on the plan.
Enos, operating out of Capitol Modern, the state art museum next to the Capitol building, enlisted the public to add tiny textural details to an underlying painting he made to convey an abstract vision of waters surrounding islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The resulting composite mural will be drastically enlarged and sealed between layers of glass forming about 6,300 tiles, each measuring about 3 feet by 3 feet, that will be set in the pool basins to create two symbolic lanai spaces for public and special-event use.
Night lighting
DAGS created a mock-up of tiles around part of one column with lighting below, and Wood said it was impressive especially at night.
“When you see this lit up at night, oh my God … . It was so beautiful,” he said.
Enos said that lighting initially did not seem like it would be feasible in part based on tests that resulted in glare. “All it was doing was removing art,” he said. “You couldn’t see the art.”
But then, a mix of light arrangements and angling resulted in what Enos described as a “holy smokes” moment. “This is like light filtering through the ocean during dawn and a sunrise,” he said.
Enos said care will be taken to avoid light pollution, and that he sees potential to host music festivals and other events on Capitol grounds at night. “It’s super exciting,” he said.
Tile installation, which is part of the third phase of the pool and plaza entryway overhaul project, is expected mainly next year after fabrication in Paderborn, Germany, begins later this year.
Tiles will be at a level similar to the prior water level, and ramps from the basin perimeter will allow people to walk down onto the glass.
Other pieces of the pool conversion include adding benches around column bases for seating, widening the concrete terrace around the basins to create a promenade and adding glass railings in some places.
Earlier, DAGS had a goal to finish the entire project in time for the January 2027 inauguration of Hawaii’s next governor. But Wood said that now looks too ambitious. However, Wood anticipates that one side of the pool conversion should be ready by then and could serve as a backdrop for the event.
