8.7.2020 | DIGS.NET 29
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
U
R
E
+
D
E
S
I
G
N
"Given the nature of NOAA and its work—
chiefly environmental protection and marine
stewardship—the LEED Gold Inouye Regional
Center is a model of sustainable design."
crucial Pacific Tsunami Warning Center,
are housed. Equally vast as the facility
and its functions is its population—upon
completion, the project consolidated 800
people from 15 different NOAA offices
across Oahu into one building.
Given the nature of NOAA and its
work—chiefly environmental prediction
and marine stewardship—the LEED Gold
Inouye Regional Center is a model of
sustainable design that has garnered an
array of nods for excellence, including an
AIA COTE Top 10 Green Projects award.
Among its environmental bona fides is
a skylight diffuser system that renders
artificial light unnecessary during the day;
the first hydronic passive cooling unit that
utilizes water pulled from below the sea
bed and natural ventilation to condition the
space; and a system to capture graywater
used to irrigate the native landscaping. The
building also was designed to resist an
unprecedented storm event. Should natural
disaster strike, flexible space was conceived
to provide critical response efforts.
More broadly, and perhaps most
importantly, is that which underscores
the facility: Hawaii's relationship with
the ecosphere, facilitated by its central
position in the Pacific, and enforced by
NOAA's larger mission to provide "science,
service and stewardship" with regional
culture and conservation. In this one must
observe the project as a physical symbol
of mutual commitment. As its namesake
Daniel K. Inouye said: "There is an inherent
connection between Hawaii's people
and the sea, reverence for her power,
reliance as a food source and a respect
for the sea and the environment through
the generations." It is a foundation that
a building bearing the name of one of
Hawaii's most beloved figures certainly
deserves. hok.com
(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) ENVIRONMENTAL
DESIGN OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, THE STEEL AND
GLASS STRUCTURE IS A MIX OF HISTORIC AND
MODERN, OFFERING OPEN AND AIRY SPACES,
GENEROUSLY APPOINTED WITH NATURAL LIGHT,
AND A STRIKING TRANSPARENCY.
