University of Hawaii’s new Administration & Allied Health Building nears completion

The University of Hawaii West Oahu campus is nearing the completion of its newest building, the 43,000-sf Administration and Allied Health Building.

The new $36 million facility consolidates office space for campus leadership into a single location and also provides general purpose classrooms and wet/dry teaching laboratories for microbiology, cellular/molecular, anatomy/physiology, and organic chemistry.

Designed by Perkins+Will’s LA Studio in collaboration with KYA Design Group, the building design was inspired by the gable roof form of historic sugar mills common to the area. The building enclosure utilizes CMU (concrete masonry unit) as a monolithic skin with its texture and pattern inspired by traditional Hawaiian kapa (cloth).

Courtesy of Perkins+Will's LA Studio.

On the southern facade, deep, open-air lanais (balconies) connect the interior and outdoor circulation. The lanais act as a natural gathering space, an extension of the classroom, and are connected visually and physically to the Great Lawn. 

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“The challenge was how to best consolidate the distinct functions of teaching labs and classrooms within the same building as office space for the campus administration,” says Mark Tagawa, Associate Principal at Perkins+Will’s LA Studio, in a release. “We wanted to create a facility that interacted with the landscape in a sympathetic way, through water management, landscaping, and materiality. Cultural and ecological appropriateness was our filter for all design decisions.”

Courtesy of Perkins+Will's LA Studio.

The campus is located on former sugar cane land with a legacy of over 100 years of agriculture. Sustained tilling has left the topsoil depleted of organic matter, which decreases the ability to retain water and support new plant life. The project seeks to rectify this issue by restoring, healing, and rebuilding the topsoil via nitrogen fixing planting, implementing onsite ecological water and nutrient management, and regenerating and reviving native landscaping.

The Administration & Allied Health Building will open to students in spring 2019.

Courtesy of Perkins+Will's LA Studio.