LThe Walter Dods Jr. Rise Center was equipped on the flagship university of Hawaii on the Mānoa campus and recently awarded Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold from the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The six-story facility, which is for Hawai'i for the first time for Hawai'i, integrates an innovation and entrepreneurship with living space for 374 students. The result of a public-private partnership is a collaborative learning environment in which students of all disciplines examine their passions, solve complex problems, build up prototypes, test their ideas and access them on resources.
“The performance of Leed Gold marks an important milestone for the Rise Center,” said Project Manager Mike Lam, Senior Vice President of Hunt Companies Hawai'i. “The creation of a sustainable facility reflects the vision of the public-private partnership team, which has decided to develop a facility of the 21st century with a reduced CO2 footprint that offers a healthy inner environment for students, educators and community members who use every day. “”
The University of Hawai'i (UH), UH Foundation and Hunt Companies Hawai'i developed a state-of-the-art project through the design of a Leed gold standards:
- Over 30% reduces energy consumption by installing LED lighting, efficient HLK (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and devices, a 104-kilowatt photovoltaic system and a solar water heating system that measures 60 square meters;
- Over 30% of the reduction in water consumption indoors due to low-flow fittings and other water-efficient technologies;
- Over 75% of the construction waste was redirected by aggressive recycling and reusing landfill; And
- Low-emission and/or non-toxic materials used throughout the entire construction and construction process.
The LEED Gold Certification process required a comprehensive review of the RISE Center project of third-party providers, in which it was evaluated to nine elements, including environmental quality, water efficiency, sustainability of the location, transport, energy and atmosphere as well as materials and resources.
“The Leed Gold Certification of Rise shows an enormous leadership qualities of the green building,” said Peter Templeton, President and CEO of USGBC. “Leed was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize our buildings and communities by giving every access to healthy, green and powerful buildings. Rise is a main example of how the innovative work of project teams can create local solutions that make a global difference. “
The 70 million dollar-Learn-Work Rise Center was opened in August 2023 for its first UH students. It was the first new UH student dormitory for 15 years and successfully converted the landmark from the 1930s, the Charles Atherton House Building into a modern modern institutional facility, which was flanked by two new six-story student wings.
“This Leed Gold Certification underlines our commitment to environmental compatibility,” said John Han, Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer at the UH Foundation. “Ascent was developed with the intention of having a lower ecological footprint by reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency and protecting the health and surrounding area of the project.”
The Rise Center has received local and national awards since the first opening. These include the renovation of the year by the Costar Group in his Hawai'i 2024 program, the Hawai'i section of the Grand winner of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Best Groß Naiop Hawai'is 27th annual Kukulu Public /Government Project Award.
In 2019, Hunt Companies Hawai'i, UH and the UH Foundation made a public-private partnership for designing, building and financial funds Center-a presside for the university. It is fully financed with private money without taxes.