University of Hawaii – Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology

Situated on Coconut Island (Moku o Loe) in Kaneohe Bay, this one-of-a-kind 24,000 square-foot research facility is designed to be a world-class marine biology laboratory meeting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Labs 21 and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold rating standards. The island’s surrounding 64 acres of pristine coral reef provides an unparalleled research environment for the study and investigation of marine mammals, corals, and various species of reef fish.

Ferraro Choi provided a revised master plan for the expanded research facility, which included upgrading and existing laboratories and support buildings and interconnecting them with new laboratories. A new integrated energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive infrastructure were designed to protect the local ecosystem with the goal of developing the island into a self-sustaining site at the forefront of research and education.

Sustainable design strategies include optimal building orientation, natural daylight, and shading techniques, panelized construction, high-efficiency mechanical systems, on-site low-impact environmental sewage treatment, and rainwater harvesting.