Q3 2023 Architecture Outlook feat. G70
From tackling challenges in the UH Student Success Center project to assisting clients with material cost hikes and delays, G70 excelled, and their HOPE Grant initiative is on track for success.
Q&A with: Charles Kaneshiro,
AIA, LEED AP President & COO,
G7O
How have your most important projects and plans for 2023 progressed to this point?
The University of Hawai‘i Student Success Center is one of many high-profile projects G70 is designing. We partnered with Swinerton Builders to win the Design-Build competition for this project, which is a complete renovation of Sinclair Library at UH Mānoa. Design started in summer 2022 and is nearly complete. But along the way, there has been no shortage of challenges including a historically registered building, very old infrastructure, morphing scope, LEED requirements and unexpected discoveries.
Through collaboration and a spirit of partnership, the team has been able to work through each obstacle and find solutions that will result in the ultimate success of the project.
Your clients and customers may have faced huge challenges this year. How have you helped them address those challenges?
One of the major challenges in our industry has been the sharp rise in the cost of materials and delays in procurement of goods. Construction costs have skyrocketed, and projects are taking much longer to complete. To counter these issues, we have employed several strategies:
- Planning and strategizing with our clients before we even start the design process.
- Setting a proper budget with escalation factors based on expected construction timelines.
- Allowing for a longer pre-construction period for submittal review and long lead item ordering.
- Partnering with reputable contractors to develop realistic procurement and construction timelines.
We are employing these measures at multiple projects that are expected to be completed between six months to two years.
How has your most exciting product or service project progressed to date?
In early 2023, we announced the launch of the G70 HOPE Grant. The grant will award $200,000 to non-profits that “create hope for Hawai‘i’s future generations.” We are looking for BIG, BOLD and outside-the-box ideas that are transformative in nature. On April 25th, we hosted an informational Zoom call which was attended by 30+ people. We’re looking forward to seeing the proposals and beginning the selection process in September!
111 S. King Street, Suite 170
Honolulu, Hawai’i 96813
(808) 523-5866 | https://g70.design
