Ferraro Choi Office Awarded LEED CI v2009 Platinum Certification

Office of Ferraro Choi Awarded LEED CI v2009 Platinum Certification

Ferraro Choi is proud to announce that its 5th floor office at the IBM Center at Ward Centre has achieved LEED Platinum for its sustainable design efforts. Ferraro Choi achieved USGBC’s (United States Green Building Council) highest level of certification LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum for Commercial Interiors and is the first Hawaii architectural firm to achieve LEED CI certification under the latest version 2009. USGBC’s LEED for Commercial Interiors sets the green standard for tenant improvements and is an internationally recognized rating system for certifying high-performance green interiors. The LEED rating system specifically evaluates performance in areas such as water efficiency, energy efficiency, use of materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, construction waste management, and site location.

Previously located on the 26th floor of the Pacific Guardian Center in downtown Honolulu, Ferraro Choi designed and constucted its new office in a long-vacated portion of the 5th floor of the historic six-story IBM Building designed by the late famed architect Vladimir Ossipoff. Constructed in 1962, the IBM building was originally designed to be energy efficient with its custom-made iconic concrete-grille sunscreen.

Designed to accommodate a staff of 23 when fully occupied, Ferraro Choi’s new office includes general office space, four private offices, two conference rooms, informal meeting areas, a library, a conditioned server room, an employee lounge, and a copy/print room, which handles the majority of the printing, plotting and copying. Two primary open office work areas adjacent to the full-height glazed exterior walls houses a majority of the employees.

Driven by its commitment to being a leader in sustainable green design of high performance buildings and interiors, Ferraro Choi’s environmental and sustainable design goal was to provide an energy-efficient, comfortable and healthy environment for its staff that was sustainably constructed and less costly to operate and maintain. To accomplish this, a wide array of sustainable design strategies were employed, which included environmental, energy-efficiency, recycling, waste reduction, energy efficiency, mechanical, open-views, daylighting, and commissioning strategies.

Ferraro Choi’s new 5th floor office at the IBM Building meets Ferraro Choi’s mission to “preserve, protect and enhance the built environment” and has raised the bar for future sustainable commercial interiors by achieving the highest level of LEED certification for commercial interiors.

For more information and details on Ferraro Choi’s office, refer to our portfolio.

Project Team:

Interior Architecture/Sustainable Design: Ferraro Choi And Associates Ltd.
Mechanical/Electrical/Energy: WSP Lincolne Scott
Commissioning Authority: Engineering Economics Inc.
General Contractor: Cornair Inc.