UH Information Technology Center Awarded LEED Gold

The building that hosts all of the University of Hawai’i’s enterprise information and technology systems for all ten UH campuses was recently recognized.

Located within the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, the Information Technology Center has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification by the United States Green Building Council.

The architects at Ferraro Choi and Associates, the UH System Office of Capital Improvements, and Information Technology Services collaborated on the building design. The 74,000 square-foot, six-story, state-of-the-art facility ITC includes an 8,000 square-foot Tier II Data Center that required specialized design strategies to optimize energy consumption and efficiency in support of the LEED Gold certification.

“The university’s new executive policy on sustainability commits UH to strive for a minimum of LEED Gold certification for all new buildings,” said UH President David Lassner “I congratulate and thank the ITC team for setting a successful example with this especially complex project. The contributions to reducing energy consumption will continue to grow as we migrate servers from less energy efficient locations in closets and under desks to one of the most energy-efficient data centers in Hawaiʻi.”

“Our commitment to achieve measurable and sustainable outcomes has been critical in the LEED certification process,” said UH Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Garret Yoshimi. “We will continue our long-term efforts to manage our impact on the environment and to support a highly functional workspace for our staff.”

The ITC design achieves a 22 percent reduction in energy consumption as compared to the baseline building specifications provided by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

A broad range of features and strategies to reduce environmental impact were included in the building’s design, including:

• Daytime heat accumulation reduced using a combination of shading systems to control direct sunlight and reflective paved surfaces and roofing materials.
• Light trespass and spill minimized from the building interior and exterior to maintain appropriate illumination for safety and security.
• Active chilled beams provide thermal comfort while using 100 percent outside air to reduce the health impact of re-circulated contaminants common with traditional HVAC systems.
• Domestic water usage reduced by 30 percent with low-flow water fixtures combined with drought-tolerant native landscaping.
• Construction waste diversion of over 90 percent achieved by implementing a program to separate, recycle, store and reuse the construction and demolition waste.
• Occupancy sensors save electricity by automatically turning off lights when no one is in a work area.