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 was chosen to design the interior incorporating historical Hawaiian quilt designs and nature based motifs throughout.
The Hawai'i Convention Center is owned by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and managed by Philadelphia based SMG.