The showcased its $32–million campus addition during the grand opening for the new Administration and Health Science building on December 12. The event drew approximately 150 people.

Legislators and others who assisted in bringing the project to fruition were thanked for their work and support. “A state project like this does not come easily,” said UH System Vice President Kalbert Young. “It takes a lot of commitment.”

Speakers included Ryan Bradley Domingo, a pre-med student who is pursuing dual degree concentrations in and . “As a student who will conduct research and have several classes here this coming January, I am filled with a strong sense of pride and promise,” Domingo said. “I have pride in becoming the first of my peers to walk these halls and classrooms, holding on to the promise of following the footsteps of many others who have graduated from this wonderful place of learning.”

First new structure since 2012

The nearly 44,000-square-foot building is the first structure added to the campus since the move to its current Kapolei location in 2012. The building adds much-needed teaching and office space to UH West Oʻahu, which for the past two years has been identified as the fastest-growing school of its type in the nation by the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual almanac.

“Our newest building, with its beautiful landscaping and innovative design (homage to our mountains and place), welcomes back to campus our administrative teams, which have lived off campus for several years.” said UH West Oʻahu Chancellor .

“We also celebrate the new home for our signature health sciences program to a building designed to engage students, faculty and professionals in epic thinking and collaboration! They will benefit greatly from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary engagement in our state-of-the-art classrooms and research laboratories. I have no doubt that these new learning and teaching spaces will have tremendous impact on the quality of students and graduates!”

Classes in the new structure begin with the spring 2019 semester. The building was completed approximately two years after the groundbreaking in November 2016.

Besides providing a home to administrative functions, the building also houses classrooms for health sciences and laboratories for the teaching of anatomy, cellular biology and microbiology. The building features 10 classrooms (one of which is a computer lab), three labs and two support labs along with offices for the faculty and instructional staff.

The Administration and Health Science building also was designed with sustainability features that include greywater, air conditioning condensate and rain catchment collection systems for landscaping irrigation; selection of nitrogen-fixing plants to restore soil nutrients; and solar hot water. Additionally, there are plans to install a 100-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic system.

• , December 11, 2018
• , December 10, 2018

Distinct architecture

The Administration and Health Science building features a distinctive design in keeping with its designation as a “landmark” structure standing at the entrance to the campus. Honolulu-based and the Los Angeles studio of took cues from the site’s history in coming up with an unusual roofline and exterior. The gable roof style draws upon the architecture of sugar mills that once dotted Oʻahu, while the exterior masonry incorporates angular patterns that recall those on kapa, or traditional Hawaiian bark cloth.

The building’s unusual look has attracted attention from several architectural publications, which have featured renderings and photos of the structure. This includes write-ups in , , , and . The project won a from AIA Honolulu.

—By Greg Wiles

The new Administration and Allied Health Building at the is about five months away from its scheduled completion, yet is attracting attention worldwide, most recently in .

The online journal published a 700-word article accompanied by five images of the distinctively designed building in its “Top stories this week” section under the heading “Perkins + Will create new ‘landmark’ for Â鶹´«Ã½.” The U.K.-based World Architecture News describes itself as the leading supplier of news to the global architecture community with more than 10.8 million page views per month and a weekly e-newsletter distributed to more than 150,000.

The new building will be the sixth on the Kapolei campus, which opened in 2012. The World Architecture News article said the building, with an unusual roof line, angles and patterns on exterior walls, was intended to be a dynamic addition to the campus. The building was designed by ’s Los Angeles studio in collaboration with Honolulu-based .

The design is distinct compared to the five other buildings, with architects drawing inspiration from the area’s history, culture and intended use. The gable roof of sugar mills that once dotted Oʻahu have been employed, while the exterior masonry incorporates patterns that are similar to those on kapa, traditional Hawaiian bark cloth.

Mark Tagawa, associate principal at Perkins + Will’s Los Angeles Studio, told World Architecture, “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 designs decisions.”

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—By Greg Wiles

The commemorated the impending arrival of its newest building by welcoming the community to share in the groundbreaking ceremony for its Allied Health/Administration building—the highlight in a yearlong series of events celebrating the campus’ 40th anniversary.

A guest list including Governor David Ige, University of Oʻahu President David Lassner, state legislators, members of the Board of Regents, students, faculty, and staff witnessed a traditional blessing ceremony performed by Kahu Sherman Thompson.

The $36 million Allied Health/Administration building will house the allied health, community health, health information management, long term care and biology programs and will contain administrative offices, faculty offices, classrooms, and lab spaces. The two-story, 43,000-square foot building has an anticipated completion date of 2018.

“We’re thrilled to take this symbolic and exciting step,” Interim Chancellor Doris Ching said. “The Allied Health/Administration building will provide our campus with much-needed space that will help us service our community with their health related needs. We pride ourselves with being innovative and responsive to the community’s needs, and this carefully-designed building features a combination of classroom and laboratory space, offices, and conference rooms that will enable us to do just that.”

The allied health programs address the anticipated workforce need for more trained professionals to assist with Â鶹´«Ã½’s aging population. The programs are continually being developed with community and industry partners to ensure that they meet the needs of the community while providing career opportunities for UH West Oʻahu’s students.