The University of Hawaiʻi named Ivan Hartison as the 2025 recipient of the President鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Building and Grounds Maintenance.

Hartison was honored for his vital work at the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补. He plays an important role in high-level research spaces, including BSL-2 labs and endangered species insectaries, where he helps ensure safety, sanitation and the protection of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 natural resources.

Beyond his daily duties, Hartison is known for going above and beyond, whether helping students recover endangered Hawaiian flies, lending a hand with heavy lifting or stepping in to support colleagues.

Through his commitment to his job at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, Hartison earned the respect from both peers and students, embodying the spirit of teamwork and service at the University of Hawaiʻi.

Established in 1986, the President鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Building and Grounds Maintenance recognizes a 糖心Vlog官方 system employee who exemplifies dedication and excellence in supporting campus facilities.

The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents voted unanimously to approve the renaming of the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Life Sciences Building after the “First Lady of Limu,” Isabella Aiona Abbott, at its meeting on January 19, 2023, following a groundswell of support from the campus community.

The late 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 ethnobotany professor emerita and K膩naka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) made an indelible mark in the scientific community, paving the way for success of integrating the excellence of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 traditional and customary practices and knowledge into western science. Abbott was also instrumental in establishing the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 ethnobotany program, which is the study of the interaction between humans and plants.

The state-of-the-art three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility building, which opened for instruction in fall 2020, will now be known as the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building.

“Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott truly exemplifies what it means to be a person of significance to the University of Hawaiʻi. And the new Life Sciences Building provides a highly befitting opportunity to honor her life, career and contributions,” wrote 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner in his letter recommending the building鈥檚 renaming to the Board of Regents.

“It鈥檚 about the opportunity for us to use these kinds of recognitions to reflect not only on the legacy but who do we want to be as a community,” 糖心Vlog官方 Board of Regents Vice Chair Alapaki Nahale-a said. “I was really moved not just by the words but the way and the beautiful spirit behind it. The beginning of the 2023, I just feel like this is the type of energy that our system can capitalize on and use to be the aspirational institution we need to be for Hawaiʻi.”

About six years ago, the renaming effort began as a grass-roots campaign. More than 3,000 people signed a petition, and more than 100 people submitted testimony in support. 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Native Hawaiian Student Services assisted with publicizing the effort, and held a series of events that included student films, silk screening workshops, classroom visits and more. In addition, other campus groups including the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Faculty Senate, Associated Students of 糖心Vlog官方, Graduate Student Organization and Kualiʻi Council overwhelmingly supported the renaming.

“She faced numerous barriers to her career advancement but she not only smashed them, she also worked to open pathways for other Native Hawaiian scientists,” Department of Oceanography and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Associate Professor Rosie Alegado told the Board of Regents. “Most importantly, Izzie鈥檚 unparalleled achievements were not made in spite of her upbringing and cultural heritage but because of them.”

Annie Abbott Foerster, Abbott鈥檚 daughter, wrote to the Board of Regents, “Our mom, T奴t奴 and dear friend is undoubtedly smiling her huge and warming smile at this tremendous honor. 鈥ay Dr. Abbott’s legacy of selfless service to one another, countless mentorships, and her tireless pursuits in marine botany (limu) combined with the intentional recognition of deeply rooted Hawaiian traditions remain an example and a covering for this building and all who pass through its doors.”

“This is a way that we can continue to increase Native Hawaiian student representation in the STEM fields…the opportunity for students to see someone who looks like them, talks like them and comes from a similar place that they do—somebody who has achieved academic success at the highest levels,” Native Hawaiian Student Services Director Willy Kauai said. “The Life Sciences Building being named after Dr. Isabella Abbott is a really good step that the university took to adddress issues of representation.”

Kauai added, “It reminds society that Hawaiian knowledge, ancestral knowledge is valuable to the university, the students that we serve and to the larger Hawaiʻi.”

First Lady of Limu

Abbott graduated from Kamehameha Schools and earned her undergraduate degree in botany from 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补. She earned her master鈥檚 degree in botany from the University of Michigan and her PhD in botany from the University of California, Berkeley, becoming the first K膩naka Maoli woman to earn a PhD in science.

Abbott then headed for Stanford University as a research associate and lecturer, studying marine algae on the California coast. Upon her promotion from lecturer to full professor, she became the first woman and the first person of color to become a full professor of biology at Stanford. Abbott became the leading marine botanist of the Pacific, discovering more than 200 algae, which earned her the nickname “First Lady of Limu.”

She and her husband Donald Putnam Abbott retired from Stanford and moved back to Hawaiʻi in 1992. She joined the faculty at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 and served as the G.P. Wilder Professor of Botany, and helped establish the ethnobotany program—teaching thousands of students throughout the years. Abbott died in 2010 at the age of 91.

Championing K膩naka Maoli education

Abbott has made numerous contributions to the advancement of K膩naka Maoli across the 糖心Vlog官方 System. In 1986, she was a co-author of the seminal 碍补ʻ奴 Hawaiian Task Force Report, along with 18 other K膩naka Maoli faculty and staff. The task force was charged with reviewing the direction and commitment of the 糖心Vlog官方 System to traditional Hawaiian culture and to Hawaiians; identifying programs or obstacles which deter the commitment to Hawaiian culture and to the education of Hawaiians; and to recommend solutions that the university can undertake to overcome these problems and obstacles.

Research excellence

Abbott published eight books and more than 150 research papers and technical reports. She earned the Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America in 1969, the Charles Reed Bishop Medal in 1993 and the National Academy of Sciences Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal for excellence in published research on algae in 1997. Abbott was named a Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi and received a lifetime achievement award from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources for her studies of coral reefs.

Community involvement

Abbott was also highly involved in the community, serving on the Bishop Museum Board of Directors, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advisory Committee for the Papah膩naumoku膩kea Marine National Monument.

• Read more 糖心Vlog官方 News stories on Abbott, and the Life Sciences Building.
• Read M膩lamalama magazines’s Pioneering professor is first lady of limu story.
• .

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building, the university鈥檚 first major design-build project completed in 2020, was recently honored with a statewide commercial real estate award.

Project leaders accepted the nonprofit project award, which was presented at the on May 6 at The Royal Hawaiian. The awards are hosted annually by NAIOP Hawaiʻi, the local chapter of the nation鈥檚 leading organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate.

The $65 million, three-story facility is home to the College of Natural Sciences鈥� and the (PBRC), which operates one of two transmission electron microscopes in the state (the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 operates the second). With 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, it was built to serve more than 500 students daily and support world class research. The building also features a 600-square-foot student collaboration area, 52 graduate student workstations, five conference rooms and 28 faculty offices.

• Learn about another Kukulu Hale Awards winner at 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo

A design-build project means that a single contract was created for the design and construction with a fixed cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process.

Seth Siaki from the 糖心Vlog官方 Office of Project Delivery was the project manager and accepted the award alongside the design firm G70 and general contractor Layton Construction Company.

• Read more about the Life Sciences Building

“The Life Sciences Building is an awesome project that proves the university has amazing employees that makes it possible to execute complex projects,” Siaki said. “Our in-house experts in the department of COPF (Campus Operations and Facilities) supporting the Office of Project Delivery with this project was paramount. All the hard work by the university, the School of Life Sciences, PBRC, the contractor and the designers helped make the Life Sciences Building a success for the campus.”

The jurors鈥� statement read, “The design team clearly met the owner鈥檚 project goals by consolidating previously spread out life sciences departments into one location. The 76,000 SF (square foot) building is unique for a science building, as it provides gathering spaces and open plazas for students to gather.”

The 糖心Vlog官方 Office of Project Delivery is responsible for just about every major capital improvement project for the 10-campus 糖心Vlog官方 System, including the Life Sciences Building. The office was completely transformed after David Lassner became 糖心Vlog官方 president adopting industry best practices, implementing a new project management system and centralized online system for issuing solicitations and receiving proposals or bids and assembling a team of experienced construction professionals to manage projects.

Related 糖心Vlog官方 News stories:

• Life Sciences Building ushers in new era at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, June 22, 2020
• Student-centered, pedestrian-friendly vision for 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 campus, February 4, 2020
• Beam signing marks halfway point of Life Sciences building project, March 4, 2019
• Watch Henke Hall come down, August 4, 2017
• Aloha, Henke Hall, June 27, 2017
• Henke Hall demolition clears way for state-of-the-art science building, June 20, 2017
• Keeping 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 building improvements on track, January 25, 2017
• Milestone in innovative Life Sciences building project, January 9, 2017
• Life Sciences building project marks new beginning for 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, August 22, 2016

This work is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

An extended reach excavator began tearing into Snyder Hall on the campus on June 4, 2021, marking the start of demolition of the 59-year-old, 5-story building. The demolition of the building on iconic McCarthy Mall is scheduled to be complete in mid-July.

The former occupants of Snyder Hall were relocated to the $65-million Life Sciences Building located at the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall after it was opened in July 2020.

State lawmakers budgeted $70 million in the 2021 legislative session for a replacement building at the Snyder Hall location that will include flexible learning and office spaces that support modern methods of online delivery, collaboration and advising.

• Related 糖心Vlog官方 News story: Eerie animal noises, world-class research part of Snyder Hall鈥檚 history, May 25, 2021

Snyder Hall is the first of four buildings (including Holmes Hall, Keller Hall, Kuykendall Hall) identified in the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) to be replaced or renovated because of age and condition. Another LRDP project, the $41-million renovation project to transform the Sinclair Library into a state-of-the-art student success center, is underway. LRDP completed projects include the demolition of Henke Hall in 2017 and construction of the Life Sciences Building at the Henke location.

The plan also calls for converting campus interior roads into pedestrian malls and permanently removing more than 50, one-story, wooden, portable buildings across the campus to create additional outdoor space.

This commitment to facilities improvement is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 goals of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 Snyder Hall, scheduled for demolition in June, will be remembered for its world-class research, and for many, being part of bygone era when laboratory animal science was a common practice at universities around the country. As researchers made groundbreaking discoveries, former students and employees from the 1970s and 1980s recall the eerie animal noises echoing through McCarthy Mall, where Snyder Hall is located.

The five-story concrete building was built in 1962 for $1.5 million. Snyder Hall was replaced in 2020 with the $65-million state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building located on the East-West Road end of McCarthy Mall.

Snyder Hall part of largest campus expansion

Snyder Hall was among 37 new buildings constructed during the biggest campus expansion ever at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 during the mid 1950s to mid 1960s. Initially spearheaded by then 糖心Vlog官方 President Paul Bachman, the buildup was supported by a new generation of Democratic lawmakers, who had just ended a half century of Republican legislative control. Many of the lawmakers who overrode a governor鈥檚 veto to fund the expansion with tax increases were 糖心Vlog官方 graduates and World War II veterans.

Bachman died unexpectedly in 1957, and was replaced by Laurence H. Snyder, an internationally known geneticist. During Snyder鈥檚 tenure as president from 1958 to 1963, 糖心Vlog官方 doubled the number of students, academic courses, and degree programs offered. He also oversaw the construction of the new buildings and the installation of the iconic pedestrian thoroughfare, McCarthy Mall, one of Snyder鈥檚 proudest accomplishments.

One of the new buildings, the Health Research Institute Building, was renamed Snyder Hall in 1967 in his honor.

World-class research

Snyder Hall was home to a number of internationally recognized academics performing cutting-edge research in biology and microbiology.

Here are just a few examples of the world-class research performed there over nearly six decades.

• Microbiology Professor Maqsudul Alam led a group that sequenced the genome of SunUp papaya, the first published tropical fruit genome sequenced. Alam also discovered in the Archaea and Bacteria, proteins which trigger responses to oxygen, for which he was awarded a 糖心Vlog官方 Excellence in Research Award (2001). He also established the Advanced Studies in Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics facility, now based in the new Life Sciences Building.
• Microbiology Professor Phil Loh is credited with the invention of the field of shrimp tissue cell culture, which has allowed the study of viruses that infect shrimps. Loh also founded the virology program in 1961 and was the first person at 糖心Vlog官方 to receive the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research in 1965.
• Microbiology Professor Clair Edwin Folsome was world renowned for his studies on the origins of life, astrobiology and closed biosystems.
• Microbiology Professor Stuart Donachie鈥檚 lab discovered still the second only known species in a unique cyanobacteria order with the first having been discovered in 1974. The sample came from a cave in the K墨lauea Caldera, and provides an “edit” to the history of the evolution of photosynthesis. Donachie鈥檚 lab has cultivated and named many other new microbes from Hawaiʻi.
• Microbiology Professor Tung Hoang‘s lab studies bacterial infectious diseases and developed a pioneering method for studying functional genomics of single bacterial cells based around a system called “laser micro-dissection,” funded by the National Science Foundation in 2008 and grants from the National Institute of Health. The laser system is housed in the Biological Electron Microscope Facility, which has its own impressive history.

Thousands of researchers supported by Biological Electron Microscope Facility

The Biological Electron Microscope Facility (BEMF) was established at Snyder Hall in 1984 by Emeritus Professor Richard D. Allen. Allen was world renowned for his work on the model organism Paramecium. Over the years, BEMF has been utilized by more than a thousand researchers from 糖心Vlog官方, local technology companies, state and federal agencies and other academic institutions. BEMF鈥檚 state-of-the-art equipment is used to examine biological samples from viruses, bacteria and other microbes, invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and materials science samples such as photovoltaic thin films and fuel cell membranes.

The facility鈥檚 mission to provide instrumentation, training and services to the broader scientific community continues today in its new home in the Life Sciences Building.

Frogs and monkeys and sea lions, oh my!

The Laboratory Animal Service (LAS) was located on the 5th floor of Snyder Hall, which included an outdoor patio area. The early 2000s witnessed a major reduction in live-animal research due to increasing activism and rising costs, with the last animals leaving the building in 2007.

A wide array of animals were housed there, including mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, cats, Xenopus frogs, owls and Rhesus monkeys. The Rhesus monkeys are apparently what made the most and loudest noises, which echoed through McCarthy Mall.

“The old-timers told me of some brazen escapes in the 1980鈥檚,” said retired 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 LAS employee Norman Magno. “Individual Rhesus escaped the pens and climbed down the adjoining coconut trees, entered Webster Hall quietly, and attended psychology and nursing classes with students without them knowing that a monkey was in attendance. I have been told stories like this on several occasions.”

Magno also said the “old-timers claim that sometime in the 1970鈥檚 and before the establishment of the animal advisory committee (now referred to as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), sea lions were housed in inflatable swimming pools on the 5th floor Snyder Hall Patio. Passersby often reported hearing dogs barking in the morning hours, that were actually the sea lions.”

Snyder demolition part of larger campus plan

The demolition of Snyder Hall will be the latest completed project in the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 Long Range Development Plan, following the demolition of Henke Hall in 2017, and construction of the now open Life Sciences Buildings in its place. The 2021 state Legislature approved funding for a new building on the Snyder Hall site that will have flexible learning and office spaces to support modern methods of online course delivery, collaboration and advising.

The plan identified Snyder Hall as the first of four buildings to be renovated, replaced or removed because of age and condition, and to reduce energy and maintenance costs. The other buildings are Holmes Hall, Keller Hall, and Kuykendall Hall.

Another project, the $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library into a Student Success Center, is currently underway. The plan also calls for replacing campus interior roads with pedestrian malls, and removing more than 50 portable buildings on campus to create more open space.

This capital improvement effort is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Snyder Hall on the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 campus is scheduled to be demolished in May marking the start of Phase 2 of the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Mini Master Plan. The opening of the $65-million Life Sciences Building in July 2020 signaled the completion of Phase 1 of the plan, which also included the removal of Henke Hall in 2017, where the new state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building stands on the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall.

The former occupants of Snyder Hall have relocated to the Life Sciences Building, clearing the way for its removal. Construction barriers went up around Snyder in March, as crews prepare to raze and replace it with temporary landscaping. 糖心Vlog官方 is currently requesting state funding for a new building on the site for flexible learning and office spaces that support modern methods of online delivery, collaboration and advising.

The 惭腻苍辞补 Mini Master Plan, approved by the 糖心Vlog官方 Board of Regents in 2015, is part of the campus驶s Long Range Development Plan. The completion of the Life Sciences Building along with the start of both Phase 2 of the mini master plan and the $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library into a student success center are significant milestones of the Long Range Development Plan.

Campus vision for the next decade

One of the goals of the Long Range Development Plan is to reduce energy and maintenance costs. Snyder Hall, built in 1962, was identified as the first of four buildings to be renovated, replaced or removed because of age and condition. The other buildings identified are Holmes Hall, Keller Hall and Kuykendall Hall.

The plan also calls for the removal of more than 50, one-story, wooden, portable buildings around campus to create additional outdoor space and make the campus more pedestrian friendly by converting interior roads—Campus Road, Varney Circle and Correa Road—into pedestrian malls.

Sinclair Student Success Center and Life Sciences Building

The new Life Sciences Building and a student success center are also key parts of the long range plan. The $41-million renovation of the Sinclair Library will create the Sinclair Student Success Center next to the Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center. Sinclair is intended to be a hub of student interaction with modern, comfortable spaces that encourages students to remain on campus in between classes and after hours for individual study, group study, academic advising and tutoring.

The Sinclair Student Success Center follows the completion of the Life Sciences Building, The three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility with 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, that will serve more than 500 students daily and support world-class research. The building is the new home to the College of Natural Sciences鈥� along with the .

The Life Sciences Building was the university驶s first major design-build project, which is now standard practice at the university.

This capital improvement effort is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

The natural and human “landscape” of Hawaiʻi offers opportunities for the development of Earth鈥檚 microbiome research that exists nowhere else on the planet. As such, the University of Hawaiʻi is well positioned to make transformative contributions to this field of microbial research through a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grants.

The COBRE technical are housed in 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 Life Sciences Building (LSB), with project leaders in LSB as well as spread across the campus. The aim is to develop the tools to understand the interface between human and environmental health, with a focus on the microbial forces shaping these dimensions of the biosphere.

A video highlighting 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 COBRE research projects is .

Each COBRE grant develops a series of cores that are expected to establish and become sustainable for the university where they are created. Within the last 10 years, 糖心Vlog官方 has hired more than 20 academics into the junior tenure-track ranks whose research concentration is on environmental microbiomes, wherever they may occur (human body, plant roots, water, soil, insects, other animals, etc).

“We have three cores—a microscopy core, an insectary and a molecular biology/biochemistry core that function in parallel to provide the platform for the building of competitive research programs, not only for the above-mentioned junior faculty, but for all 糖心Vlog官方 researchers who might want to become involved with this arena,” said Margaret McFall-Ngai, professor at 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 (PRBC). She and Ned Ruby, also in PRBC, are the COBRE principal investigators.

“The center has every opportunity for being a mecca for researchers from across the nation and around the world.”

The approaches are highly diverse—from engineering and chemistry to the study of model systems. With the construction of LSB, these cores have found a new and permanent home. This has given the center the “wings” needed to perform at the highest possible levels of science.

“The COBRE is a gift to 糖心Vlog官方. It is the opportunity to create an active center for the study of the dynamic relationship between Earth鈥檚 microbiomes and human health,” said McFall-Ngai. “This gift will not only benefit researchers at 糖心Vlog官方, but the center has every opportunity for being a mecca for researchers from across the nation and around the world.”

University of Hawaiʻi President David Lassner made his report to the at their meeting on August 20, 2020.

Highlights include:

• COVID-19 update ()
• More online courses and offerings ()
• LumiSight 糖心Vlog官方 health check-in app and COVID-19 safety training ()
• 糖心Vlog官方 website tracks COVID-19 cases on campuses ()
• Fall sports postponed ()
• Fall 2020 enrollment update ()
• Life Sciences Building open for fall 2020 ()
• Up next: Snyder Hall demolition and Sinclair Student Success Center renovation ()
• 糖心Vlog官方 Foundation raised $84.7 million in 2020 fiscal year ()
• 糖心Vlog官方 research on Hawaiian tiger cowrie ()
• Next Steps program serves more than 2,700 students ()

View previous reports to the board.

A new beginning for the with the completion of the Life Sciences building that will open for instruction in the fall 2020 semester. Located on the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall, the three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility with 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, was built to serve more than 500 students daily and support world class research.

“This building was designed and constructed purposely to bring together many of our most-accomplished researchers with undergraduate and graduate students,” said 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Provost Michael Bruno. “The interdisciplinary collaboration that will happen in the new facility offers an exciting opportunity for our students, our future researchers and leaders.”

The $65 million facility will be home to the College of Natural Sciences’ along with the (PBRC), which operates one of two transmission electron microscopes in the state (the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 operates the second). Along with the 21 modern laboratories (six teaching, 15 research labs), the building also features a 600 square foot student collaboration area, 52 graduate student workstations, five conference rooms and 28 faculty offices.

• Read more about the Life Sciences building in 糖心Vlog官方 News.

“We are extremely excited that the Life Sciences building is ready,” said 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 College of Natural Sciences Dean Aloysius Helminck. “It鈥檚 a fantastic opportunity, a collaboration between several different units on campus to provide absolutely top-notch, world-class facilities for both research and instruction.”

“We cannot thank state lawmakers and the governor enough for supporting this project,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner. “Beyond the amazing educational and research opportunities that the facility offers our students and scientists, it also provided the university an opportunity to prove that it could efficiently build a facility that will advance 21st century teaching, learning and research.”

Vision turns to fruition

In 2016, university leadership committed to a new campus modernizing strategy鈥揹esigning university space to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and communication that will also support modern teaching, learning, innovation and scholarship. Maximizing the efficiency of both capital and operational dollars was a critical component of the strategy.

The Life Sciences Building is the university鈥檚 first major design-build project, a single contract for the design and construction with a fixed cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process. The university partnered with Layton Construction Company, LLC, and its design consultant G70 for the Life Sciences project.

“The working relationship with Layton and G70 and the university was a true partnership,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “Everyone involved was committed to delivering a quality project.”

Gouveia added that for a project of this magnitude to go from concept to completion in just four years is a testament to the perseverance and commitment to the highest standards of everyone involved.

“Contributions from our design-build, construction management, campus operations, environmental health and safety, procurement, and fiscal offices, along with our dedicated faculty, made this modern instructional and research facility a reality,” said Gouveia. “Leadership from the College of Natural Sciences, PBRC and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, was instrumental in programming the synergistic activities within the LSB to advance cutting edge collaboration amongst multiple disciplines.”

The 糖心Vlog官方 Office of Project Delivery is responsible for just about every major capital improvement project for the 10 campus 糖心Vlog官方 System, including Life Sciences. The office has been completely transformed over the last five years鈥揳dopting industry best practices, implementing a new project management system and centralized online system for issuing solicitations and receiving proposals or bids and assembling a team of experienced construction professionals to manage the project.

The next major project on the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 campus is a $41 million, design-build to renovate the Sinclair Library into a student success center, which state lawmakers funded in 2019.

Iconic McCarthy Mall upgrade

The Life Sciences Building is an upgrade for McCarthy Mall, one of the iconic locations on campus. The new building is located on East-West Road between Kennedy Theatre and Moore Hall and across the street from Lincoln Hall and the Center for Korean Studies Building.

“This building is now the anchor on the Diamond Head side of McCarthy Mall along with Kennedy Theatre, one of the primary entrance points and certainly one of the most loved areas of our campus,” said Bruno.

The building驶s open courtyard overlooks the mall and is conveniently located next to Hamilton Library and Paradise Palms Caf茅. The Life Sciences houses six teaching laboratories, 15 research laboratories, 52 graduate student workstations, five conference rooms, twenty-eight faculty offices, a 600 square foot student collaboration area and an approximately 3,000 square foot shell space to allow for future office expansion.

The final phase of the project is the demolition of Snyder Hall, which is also along McCarthy Mall. That phase is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021.

Related 糖心Vlog官方 News stories:

• Student-centered, pedestrian-friendly vision for 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 campus, February 4, 2020
• Beam signing marks halfway point of Life Sciences building project, March 4, 2019
• Watch Henke Hall come down, August 4, 2017
• Aloha, Henke Hall, June 27, 2017
• Henke Hall demolition clears way for state-of-the-art science building, June 20, 2017
• Keeping 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 building improvements on track, January 25, 2017
• Milestone in innovative Life Sciences building project, January 9, 2017
• Life Sciences building project marks new beginning for 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, August 22, 2016

The Life Sciences building project on the campus marked a major achievement on March 4, 2019. Students, administrators and officials signed their names on the final beam of the building鈥檚 steel structure before it was lifted into place. This marks about the halfway point of construction for the $50-million, three-story, 45,000-square-foot facility that is scheduled to be completed in late spring 2020.

“It鈥檚 gonna be really cool to be able to study in this building, maybe like years later come back and be like, wow, there鈥檚 my signature on the beam,” said 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 sophomore Katlyn An, who is studying biochemistry. She was among a group of nine students from the College of Natural Sciences who took part in the event.

The state-of-the-art facility will house teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support spaces and office spaces for the biology, microbiology and botany departments from the , along with the , which operates the state鈥檚 only transmission electron microscope. It will serve 1,000 students weekly and house more than 80 faculty members and graduate students.

The Life Sciences building is also the university鈥檚 first design-build project鈥攁n integrated delivery process that maintains a single contract for both the design and construction of the project with a fixed cost. The university now uses the design-build project strategy whenever possible, because design build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns than the typical design-bid-build process.

“We鈥檙e demonstrating our capacity to build modern facilities for 21st century research and education, and doing so in the most efficient and effective manner possible,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner.

The project is also the most significant capital project on the 惭腻苍辞补 campus for instructional and research spaces in 22 years. The building is located at the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall on East-West Road between Moore Hall and Kennedy Theatre.

Learn more about the Life Sciences building.

The demolition of Henke Hall at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 started in early August, 2017, the first phase of construction of the Life Sciences building. The state-of-the-art, four-story, 45,000-square-foot science facility is scheduled to open fall 2019 and will serve 1,000 students weekly.

• Related 糖心Vlog官方 News: Aloha, Henke Hall, June 27, 2017; Henke Hall demolition clears way for state-of-the-art science building, June 20, 2017

The new facility is designed for interdisciplinary collaboration and will include classrooms, teaching and research laboratories and laboratory support and office spaces for the College of Natural Sciences biology, microbiology and botany departments along with the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility.

The first phase of construction of the Life Sciences building project on the campus begins in late June with the removal of Henke Hall, the future site of the state-of-the-art science facility scheduled to open fall 2019. Construction of the four-story, 45,000-square-foot structure will begin in late 2017 and is in step with the , to provide 21st century resources for learning, teaching, research and sustainability through LEED certification.

Designed for interdisciplinary collaboration, the Life Sciences building will provide new facilities for the biology, microbiology and botany departments along with the and the . It will include classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support and office spaces to serve 1,000 students weekly and house 23 faculty members and 60 graduate students. There will also be a collaboration space meant for students to meet, share ideas and develop innovative approaches to connecting the life sciences to Hawaiʻi and the global environment.

“This is an exciting step for the future of science at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补,” said College of Natural Sciences Dean Aloysius Helminck. “The Life Sciences building gives us opportunities to greatly enhance how students, faculty and researchers approach science. The building has been designed to be a collaborative environment that fosters interdisciplinary research and promotes diversity and sustainability at all levels. The possibilities for the next generation of 糖心Vlog官方 scientists are tremendous.”

• Related 糖心Vlog官方 News: Milestone in innovative Life Sciences building project, January 9, 2017
  Life Sciences building project marks new beginning for 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, August 22, 2016

The new facility will replace Snyder Hall, which will be demolished after the new building is operational. At about $50 million, the Life Sciences building is one of the most significant capital projects on the upper 惭腻苍辞补 campus in 10 years and the first project undertaken after a number of national best practices were adopted by the university鈥檚 Office of Capital Improvements.

This is 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 first design-build project, an integrated delivery process that maintains a single contractor and contract for both the design and construction of the project with a fixed, upfront cost. The Request for Proposal was issued through the Hawaiʻi Electronic Procurement System, 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 new centralized online system for issuing solicitations and receiving proposals or bids for university projects. The university is also using eBuilder, an online project management system implemented in 2016, to better administer the project.

As University of Hawaiʻi leaders move forward with a plan to for learning, teaching and research, 糖心Vlog官方 administrators have taken important steps to modernize the way construction and renovation projects are managed.

• Related 糖心Vlog官方 News story: , November 1, 2016

The university is using , a web-based capital program management system that creates an online workflow for all parties involved in a project, including university administrators and managers as well as outside consultants and contractors.

“This project management system is a national best practice and one of the multiple steps the university has taken to prevent cost overruns and project delays,” said Vice President of Administration . “Our goal when it comes to capital improvement is to deliver all projects, big or small, on time and on budget while making sure we are providing students the modern educational facilities and environment they deserve.”

Project participants can log into the system and see where in the process the project is, who is responsible for the next step and how long they have been working on that step. The system facilitates collaboration between owners, designers and contractors to increase project quality and delivery. Through automated workflows, the system generates online forms, facilitates processing invoices and notifies participants of decisions that require their attention. It centralizes and streamlines the entire project process while keeping everyone involved aware and accountable.

“One of the best things about it is that there’s transparency for internal users,” said Kevin Kwan, an e-Builder administrator for 糖心Vlog官方. “The university can track the entire project from the initial commitment through to the design and construction phases, which may require amendments that can be handled through e-Builder.”

As part of the eBuilder implementation process, the offices under the vice president of administration re-engineered current work and approval process to map to lean and best practices by simplifying steps that previously generated boxes of paperwork and hundreds of emails.

“The office provides training for university personnel as well as the contractors and consultants who work on 糖心Vlog官方 projects, who have been very receptive to the new system,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Business Services Manager Lisa Dau.

By the end of 2016, three projects, Kennedy Theatre, the William S. Richardson School of Law at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa and the at 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu, were managed with e-Builder. As of January 2017, 31 active projects, including the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa , are in process in e-Builder.

To further streamline project management and cut down on paperwork, the vice president for administration’s has also implemented the , an online procurement system for issuing solicitations, receiving responses and issuing notices of award for construction projects.

The has selected a contractor for the design and construction of the Life Sciences building on the Mānoa campus. Construction of the state-of-the art facility is expected to begin in the fall of 2017 with completion estimated in spring 2019.

The building will include teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support spaces and office spaces for the biology, microbiology and botany departments along with the , which operates the state’s only transmission electron microscope. It will be located at the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall on the current Henke Hall location.

“We look forward to the role this new facility will play in expanding interdisciplinary educational and research opportunities for our students and faculty,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa College of Natural Sciences Dean Aloysius Helminck.

• Related: , August 22, 2016

with design consultant was awarded the $49,500,000 contract. The Layton/Group 70 team will collaborate with the university stakeholders over the next 6 months to further refine their design concept and secure necessary permits.

The Life Sciences building is the university’s first design-build project—an integrated delivery process that maintains a single contract for both the design and construction of the project with a fixed cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns than the typical design-bid-build process.

Critical milestone

The university was able to award the project less than two months after Governor David Ige released the funds thanks to the support of the Board of Regents and the legislature. Significant operational upgrades and the adoption of established best practices at the , which were priorities of 糖心Vlog官方 President , are also credited for the expedited timeframe.

“It took a team effort to achieve this critical milestone,” said Vice President for Administration . “A core group of 30 that spanned across all operations within 糖心Vlog官方 made their personal and professional commitment to work together to envision and deliver a 21st century facility that supports multi-disciplinary shared spaces that inspire learning and advancement. Our students deserve the benefit of modern facilities to experience and discover the magnificence of the life sciences world.”

The University of Hawaiʻi has taken an important step forward in its mission to create while addressing its deferred maintenance backlog with the issuing of a request for proposal (RFP) for the turn-key delivery of the Life Sciences building project on the .

The state-of-the art facility will provide new facilities for the biology, microbiology and botany departments along with the and the . The 45,000-square-foot structure will include teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support spaces and office spaces. Tentatively scheduled to open in fall 2019, the building will serve 1,000 students weekly and house 23 faculty members and 60 graduate students.

“The Life Sciences building is designed for interdisciplinary collaboration and will support modern teaching, learning, innovation and scholarship in step with sustainability through LEED certification,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman.

The entire project will include a new building to replace Snyder Hall and be built on the current site of Henke Hall. The demolition of both buildings is included in the project, which is expected to eliminate $19 million of 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa’s deferred maintenance backlog. Budget estimates for the total project are approximately $50 million, making this one of the most significant capital projects on the upper campus in the past 10 years.

Updates to the capital improvement processes

“The Life Sciences building project also represents a different approach to the way the university has been undertaking major capital improvement projects,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner. “This is 糖心Vlog官方’s first design-build project for many years.”

Design-build is an integrated delivery process that maintains a single contractor and contract for both the design and construction of the project with a fixed, upfront cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns than the typical design-bid-build process.

The RFP was issued through the Hawaiʻi Electronic Procurement System, which 糖心Vlog官方 recently transitioned to as its centralized online system for issuing solicitations and receiving proposals or bids for university projects. The university will also be using a newly implemented project management system to better administer the project.

State support

The state legislature appropriated $35 million for the project in the 2016 session, which is being combined with funding from the 2015 糖心Vlog官方 appropriation to complete the project.

“We want to thank state lawmakers and the governor for their support,” said Lassner. “糖心Vlog官方 leadership knows that the money appropriated for this and future capital improvement projects must be spent in an efficient, effective and timely manner to advance 21st century teaching, learning and research.”