Year

2012

Size

30,000 sf

Cost

$16M

Role

Project Manager & Laboratory Architect

Awards

C-MORE Hale is gathering place for research, a vibrant center for oceanographic knowledge that brings together experts who traditionally have not worked together and who’s collaboration will facilitate the creation and dissemination of the role of marine microbes in global habitability. A National Science Foundation sponsored Science and Technology Center, the facility provides state-of-the- art research environments consisting of walk-in freezers and refrigerators, a high-bay lab with a 2 ton overhead crane and direct at-grade access, and large, open collaborative laboratory spaces on the upper floor. Through its open, shared lab design C-MORE embodies the new era of science which emphasizes collaboration and communication across scientific fields and disciplines. C-MORE Hale is the University of Hawaii’s first LEED Platinum project and the first LEED Platinum research laboratory in the state of Hawaii. The building contains research laboratories, laboratory support, offices, a conference center, meeting rooms, and support spaces. The facility incorporates natural day lighting, passive sun shading, energy efficient HVAC systems, a green roof, native drought-tolerant landscaping, and storm water retention chambers. A unique approach to air-changes and occupancy sensors will greatly reduce the building’s energy consumption; C-MORE Hale will use over 50% less energy than a conventional building of its type. The building also captures its oceanographic focus and the beauty of marine organisms through delightfully unexpected details like a green wall representing the Challenger Deep that greets visitors at the entry, and in abstracted microbes embedded in the landscape paths and etched on the glass railing of a central winding staircase.