YEA 2022 – Koula

BASE

Project Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Category: Housing + Residential

Started: October 14, 2016

Completed: September 9, 2022

Project Team: 

Structural Engineer- BASE

Architect- Studio Gang

GC- Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.

Owner- The Howard Hughes Corporation

Project Accreditations: LEED (in progress)

Project Summary: This 41-story mixed-use development features 865,000 SF of built area including a 566-unit residential tower, common and amenity spaces, 58,300 SF of retail space, mechanical and support space, and six stories of above-grade parking. 

The tower is highlighted by undulating sculpted columns at its exterior facade, evoking red sugar cane reeds that were formerly grown on plantations nearby. The architect describes the exterior design as creating “a fluid, waving facade giving way to residences that bend to the coastline for stunning ocean views, natural light and breezy trade winds.”  These architectural columns are constructed entirely of reinforced concrete and were coordinated carefully with the architect to allow for modularization of formwork and simplification of reinforcement while still providing a sculpted and unique defining feature for the tower.

Behind the striking exterior, the structure primarily consists of thin, post-tensioned concrete floor plates and reinforced concrete columns and shear walls. In the garage area, long-span post-tensioned beams and floor slabs were provided using a repetitive garage beam forming system to open the floor plan and maximize visibility, ventilation, and the space available for parking stalls.  This long-span system also provided for large column-free retail spaces that make up almost 50% of the ground floor area.  Post-tensioning was also essential in creating large terraces for gatherings and circulation at the second-floor retail that cantilever almost 16 feet from the supporting columns.