This project reframes King Kalākaua’s (1836–1891) artistry and contributions to architecture by rethinking his contributions to statecraft as a visionary patron of design. By revisiting how his role as a Native architect and geographer—exemplified by ‘Iolani Palace and the secret society Hale Nauā—strategically attempted to assert Hawaiian sovereignty amid the foreign imperial pressures of his time, the research illuminates his innovative use of architecture, technology, and mapping as tools of resistance and statecraft. Using a decolonial research methodology and approach combining architectural analysis, archival research, and critical geography, this study offers new insights into the intersections of Indigenous knowledge systems, technological innovation, and global diplomacy often overlooked in architectural history. By challenging American narratives in architectural history, this research highlights Indigenous agency in shaping the built environment and cites Kalākaua’s significant contributions to the history and philosophy of design.

Sean Connelly (Pacific Islander American / Ilocano) is a Hawai'i artist and designer working with sculpture, film, architecture, and cartography. Connelly’s work organizes collaborative decolonial projects that support Native liberation in place. Actively engaged within a larger creative, familial, and grassroots social practice of cultural bearers, creative practitioners, experts, and scholars, his work challenges today’s condition of built environments to advance the transformation of oceanic intellect into Native futures, promoting healing, wellbeing, and belonging. Connelly is founding director of After Oceanic Built Environments Lab and the grassroots nonprofit Hawai‘i Nonlinear, which was cofounded to champion the recovery and advancement of ‘Āina [Land/That Which Feeds]using art and architecture. Connelly is a governor-appointed member of the Board of Commissioners for the Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, and has designed and taught courses at Harvard University, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Columbia University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.