Celebrating the best in design

The BIA Renaissance Building and Remodeling Awards, established in 1986, celebrates excellence in design and construction of new and remodeled projects in Hawaii. This showcase recognizes competing categories including New and Remodeled Residential Building, New and Remodeled Commercial Building, Kitchen & Bath, Landscape, Outdoor Living, High Rise Lifestyle Residential, High Rise Lifestyle Commercial, Public Works, Hawaii Built-Green™ and Historical.

The 29th annual Awards Ceremony was held on May 27 and 28, with entrants from Maui and Oahu representing an exciting year of statewide participation. The entries were judged on creativity, use of materials, environmental & sustainability, functionality, design principles, value, interior space, overall quality and workmanship.

The highlight of the awards ceremony was the recognition of the top four Overall Grand Awards and the Carl Reppun Award. Today’s column will feature the winner of the Overall Grand Award in the Commercial Remodeling Division — Architects Hawaii Ltd. for “AHL New Office.”

The focus was to get everyone in the company on one floor of a space where creativity, efficiency, sustainability and wellness could thrive. An innovative workstation system called “benching” used low-partitions to open the office and encourage spontaneous communication. The project design rooms feature moveable partitions to create a more free-flowing, collaborative environment.

Striving for LEED^® Silver certification, sustainable design elements and green materials include furniture, finishes, carpeting and various products made of recycled contents. Abundant natural daylighting, combined with Ledalite lighting occupancy sensors, create an environment that is also very energy efficient.

Karen Nakamura is CEO of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.