Design Firm Begins Work on State’s First Net-Zero School

Group 70 Kīhei Net-Zero School Site Plan. Group 70 image.

The state’s largest design firm, Group 70 International Inc. has been selected as the architect, planner, and civil engineer of record for Kīhei’s future high school.

The ground breaking on Monday, Jan. 11, kick-started the first phase of the site’s infrastructure construction, which includes the digging of two water wells and the building of an access road.

Slated to be both HIDOE’s first net-zero school and Maui’s first Hawai‘i-Collaborative for High Performance Schools project, the school will pave the way for the next generation of schools that are healthy, energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

“We commend HIDOE for allowing us to incorporate the highest standards of sustainable design in this school,” said G70 President Charles Kaneshiro, AIA, LEED AP, Hawai‘i’s leader in green school design. “Net-zero is the level of sustainability we hope to one day achieve for all Hawai‘i schools.”

Group 70 Kīhei Net-Zero School Concept Section. Group 70 image.

Serving grades nine to 12, the high school will be located on more than 77 acres of undeveloped land.

Its approximate 215,000-net-square-feet of buildings will support an enrollment capacity of 1,650 students and approximately 206 supporting faculty and staff.

“Our firm was hired by the HIDOE to manage the project and it’s been a truly collaborative effort among the various divisions of G70 to see HIDOE’s vision through,” said Kaneshiro.

The G70 planning, engineering and architecture team is being led by principals: Christine Ruotola, AICP, LEED AP; Paul T. Matsuda, PE, LEED AP; Ma Ry Kim, RIBA; and President Charles Kaneshiro, AIA, LEED AP.

G70 hired Principal Patrick Bellew, RDI, of London-based Atelier Ten, a global leader of high-performance buildings and environmental innovations in the built environment, to consult on this project.

For more information about Group 70 International Inc., go online.

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Long-Awaited Kīhei High School Breaks Ground