University of Hawaii Building Wins Construction Award

HONOLULU — On April 19, the University of Hawaii Information Technology Center (UH ITC), along with project architect dck Pacific Construction, LLC, received the General Contractors Association of Hawaii’s (GCA) highest recognition. The UH ITC facility won first place in the Excellence in Building Construction category for projects valued at more than $40 million. The UH ITC building also received the Grand Award, which, according to a release issued by the university, is chosen from all submissions, and is considered the “best of the best” as voted by the judges.

The 11th annual GCA event, which showcases Hawaii’s top construction projects, included 20 awards categories. GCA reviewers judged projects on eight criteria including meeting the challenges of a difficult job, excellence in project management, innovation in construction techniques, state of the art advancement, sensitivity to environment and surroundings, excellence in client service, contractor’s contribution to the community, and safety.
“Receiving the Grand Award by our industry peers for the UH Information Technology Center building is the utmost honor for dck Pacific, especially this year as we celebrate our 75 years of doing business in Hawaii,” said Eric G. Tessem, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of dck Pacific.
According to the university, the six-story, 74,000-square-foot UH ITC includes the school’s first modern, secure, energy-efficient data center to house enterprise information and communications technology systems. The state-of-the-art facilities allows faculty to develop and produce digital media content for education and research, and supports advanced teleconferencing and collaboration for members of the university community to work with colleagues around the world. The building design also incorporates many green features that the university hopes will lead to a LEED Silver certification.
“This was a complex and challenging project, which included the installation of numerous ‘first of its kind’ systems for the university,” Tessem added. “The recognition of our project team’s efforts in receiving this award is one that is well deserved. dck Pacific is proud to have been a part of this award-winning building that will be the hub of the university’s future.”
“We are incredibly proud of dck Pacific and the entire team responsible for the new UH IT Center,” said University of Hawaii Interim President David Lassner, who served as Vice President for IT and Chief Information Officer during construction. “This building has been needed for years and is already changing the way we support the use of data, communications and information technology across the entire UH System.”