flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company Building: GC to the rescue

Reconstruction Awards

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company Building: GC to the rescue

Hawaii’s largest contractor saves one of the state’s prized architectural landmarks—and now calls it home.


By David Barista, Editorial Director | November 30, 2018
The distinctive Beaux Arts building

The distinctive Beaux Arts building, once home to Honolulu’s biggest daily newspaper, is now the headquarters of the contractor firm that restored it. Photo: © 2017 David Franzen.

Once home to the Honolulu Advertiser—the city’s largest daily—this 1929 Beaux Arts–style building has been a landmark in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood for nearly 90 years. The three-story structure features a distinctive mint-green terra cotta exterior, Spanish-tile hipped roof, and twin roof towers. It is listed on both the National Register and the State Register of Historic Places.

In the 1990s, the owner, Gannett Pacific, put the property on the market. There it would sit for seven years, during which it was designated a Most Endangered Site by the Historic Hawaii Foundation.

In 2012, developer Downtown Capital purchased the 3.7-acre property for $22 million with plans for two condo towers sandwiching a large parking structure.

The condo development, 801 South Street, was completed in 2015 (Tower A) and 2017 (Tower B). The two-story printing press shop had to be demolished, but the main historic structure was still somewhat intact. It was in bad shape, with no solid plans for its next life.

By chance, Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, the contractor for 801 South Street, was looking for a new headquarters. The GC snatched up the Advertiser Building in 2016 with plans to restore the structure.

The contractor and the design firm, Mason Architects, collaborated with the preservation board to replace the original windows with high-efficiency aluminum units to match the original steel windows. The roof was insulated to R-40. The southern elevation that had been removed during the press room demolition was rebuilt to match the detail of the historic façade.

The team conducted careful restoration work on the terra cotta cladding, decorative interior frescos, two interior light posts, and classical balusters at the entry.   

The sprinkler heads required for the lobby were concealed by running the water line through the overhead floor, as the decorative ceiling in the lobby was directly applied to the structural concrete floor. Wood-block flooring from the print press shop was salvaged for use in the second-floor executive lobby.

The project achieved LEED Gold certification.

 

Bronze Award Winner

BUILDING TEAM Mason Architects (submitter, architect) Hawaiian Dredging Construction (owner, GC) Baldridge & Associates (SE) Dorvin D. Leis Co. (mechanical/plumbing engineer) A-1 A-Lectrician (electrical engineer) DETAILS 30,000 sf Total cost $9.5 million Construction time October 2015 to May 2017 Delivery method Design-build

 

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2018 RECONSTRUCTION AWARDS LANDING PAGE

Related Stories

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 26, 2018

Yarn works: Neverending yarn

111-year-old mill becomes a mixed-income multifamily community.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 20, 2018

Wiseburn High School: New kind of P3

A California school district and a charter school system join forces to open a skills-based high school.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2018

Kehoe Iron Works: Industrial strength makeover

A project team turns a toxic site into a civic treasure.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 19, 2018

Weiser Hall, University of Michigan: Campus upgrade

A Mid-century building becomes home to a new International Institute.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2018

Mass MoCA Building 6: The Robert W. Wilson Building

A textile mill becomes an arts center that energizes a New England town and its region.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 15, 2018

Charles L. Tutt Library, Colorado College: Net-zero in the Rockies

Library expansion reinforces Colorado College’s commitment to carbon neutrality.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2018

National Arts Centre: O, Canada

Three new wings and a flashy AV display add luster to the nation’s cultural gem.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 13, 2018

20 Times Square: Conquering Times Square

The 20 Times Square mixed-used project at the corner of 47th and Seventh Avenue is indicative of the great lengths Building Teams will go in order to maximize real estate and media opportunities in Times Square.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 12, 2018

Crosstown Concourse: An 'organic' urban village

Memphians band together to rebuild a gigantic Sears distribution facility into a multifaceted community crossroads.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 12, 2018

Cincinnati Music Hall: Saving a cultural anchor

Cincinnati uses ‘skillful triage’ to bring its endangered Music Hall up to date.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

BD+C Awards Programs

Entry information and past winners for Building Design+Construction's two major awards programs: 40 Under 40 and Giants 400



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021