HONOLULU – Group 70 International (G70), Hawai‘i’s largest kama‘āina design firm rallied its employees and business associates to collectively contribute $60,000 to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Architecture (UHSoA) fund drive this month. A check presentation was held on Dec. 3 at Group 70’s downtown office where G70 Chairman Francis Oda, Arch.D., FAIA, AICP, LEED AP, presented to Daniel Friedman, PhD, dean of the school.
Members of Group 70 with their business associates and UHSoA dean. (L to R) Heidi Suan, Janice Shon, Liana Takamine, Laurie Takeuchi, Ma Ry Kim, Woravudh (Lek) Lekprathum, Ryan Char, Linda Miki, Chretien Macutay, Trixie Ballesteros, Norman Hong, Shirley Lum, Dean Daniel Friedman (UH SoA), Grant Yuen, Francis Oda, Scott Inatsuka (Inatsuka Engineering), Chris Hong, Roy Nihei, Katie MacNeil, Mike Kawaharada (Englekirk Partners)
The $60,000 donation includes contributions from G70 UHSoA alumni staff and its consultants including: Albert Chong Associates, Inc., Clarence Lee Design & Associates, LLC, Coffman Engineers, Inc., ControlPoint Surveying, Inc., Englekirk Partners, Hirata and Associates, Inc., Inatsuka Engineering LLC, Kai Hawaii, Inc., Masa Fujioka & Associates, Randolph H. Marayama & Associates, Inc., Rider, Levitt, Bucknall, Ronald NS Ho & Associates, Inc., Shigemura, Lau, Sakanashi, Higuchi & Associates, Inc., Walters, Kimura, Motoda, Inc., and WSP Hawaii, Inc.
“Group 70 is a major employer of the University of Hawai‘i graduates and staunch supporter of its architectural and engineering programs,” said Charles Kaneshiro, AIA, LEED AP, president and COO of Group 70 International. “We have seen a tremendous amount of talent walk through our doors as products of the UHSoA. We have a great regard for the school and a wonderful working relationship with the program, as many of our staff are either currently or have served in the past as faculty.”
G70 Chairman Francis Oda, Arch.D., FAIA, AICP, LEED AP, is an adjunct associate professor of architecture at UHSoA and a Distinguished Alumnus of the University where he developed the Doctor of Architecture program.
G70 Principal and Design Director Ma Ry Kim, RIBA, has taught at the UHSoA in various capacities since 2009. Most recently, she has spent the last two years as a full-time associate professor and practicum director where her previous work experience and global connections have opened the practicum across international borders, sending UHSoA students into Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
“The goal of the campaign, led by four of Honolulu’s most distinguished practitioners, was to raise $200,000 by the end of 2014. In itself, this contribution from Group 70 and its business associates is significant testament to the strength of our school’s alliance with the professional community,” said Dr. Daniel Friedman, Dean of the UH Mānoa School of Architecture. “It’s very satisfying to see alumni band together to support the school that helped lay the foundation for their careers.”
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Group 70 International, Inc.
An award-winning design firm founded in Honolulu in 1971, Group 70 International is dedicated to a collaborative approach in all it does and committed to design that reflects the people in which the project serves. G70 provides leading-edge creativity for projects including resorts, office buildings, mixed-use complexes, multi-family housing, educational facilities and planned communities, while also focusing on indigenous planning. The firm’s commitment to sustainable practices is reflected in its varied collection of LEED-certified projects including the multiple award-winning Iolani School Sullivan Center, Hawaii Baptist Academy and Kaupuni Village, the nation’s first net-zero affordable housing community, to name a few.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
