University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center

Kobayashi Group (“KG”) was selected by the University of Hawai‘i in a competitive process to be the project manager for this new facility located on the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Kaka‘ako campus. The cancer research facility is 162,640 gross square feet of innovative wet and dry laboratories, laboratory support spaces and facility services. The building’s five-story Ewa wing contains primarily wet labs and the seven-story Diamond Head wing contains dry labs. The two wings are connected by a breezeway with planned collaborative space to encourage interaction and a fostering of new ideas. Open floor plans and glass walls between the labs and offices provided a feeling of openness and interaction. When the initial phase was completed $17 million under the $119 million construction budget and 4 months ahead of schedule, the University of Hawai’i added another 36,000 square feet of shell space to the project. The building achieved a U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating. KG was able to convince the State to incorporate an energy-efficient chilled beam system to handle the stringent air conditioning requirements of a medical research facility. The projected result was a 30% decrease in electricity billings.