Maui Community College Plans Innovative Green Science Building

Maui Community College's planned $26 million, 34,000-sf science building, designed by Design Partners of Honolulu, is targeted for LEED Gold certification-a real challenge, as some of the LEED criteria, such as using building materials obtained from within a few hundred miles, are impossible for the island location. The building will house eight separate laboratories, a lecture hall, a large foyer intended for exhibitions, and a small, separate observatory. "Green" features will include solar photovoltaic panels, rooftop wind turbines, skylights, and light wells. A 2,000-sf flat "green" roof will be planted in native grasses and ground cover to study how runoff can be cleaned and reduced. The facility will generate about 10 percent of its power.