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Hawaiian high school gets $248,000 for "green" restoration

Release Date: 02/23/2006
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711

(02/23/06) HONOLULU – At a ceremony today at the Old Maui High School, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced a $248,000 grant to the Community Work Day Program and the Friends of Old Maui High School to preserve and restore the historic administration building of Old Maui High School in Hamakuapoko, Maui.

“Revitalizing a historic building using new green building techniques is a win-win for the community and the environment,” said Johnson. “Both energy and resources will be saved by incorporating green building concepts. We hope the Old Maui High School project will become a model for future restorations here in Hawai’i.”

The funding is being used to incorporate federal green building guidelines in the restoration and preservation of the building.

The project will recycle demolition debris, incorporate composting, and use elements to conserve energy, water and materials in the restoration of the 1920's building that was designed by Hawai'i's most famous architect, Charles W. Dickey. Currently, preparations are underway to renovate the historic administration building that has deteriorated since the school's closure in 1972.

Preserving Dickey’s original design, the building will use natural ventilation, incorporating the trade winds to cool the rooms instead of relying on energy intensive air conditioning systems. This innovative energy conservation technique will also improve indoor air quality. Future plans include restoration of the other buildings on the 23-acre site.

Across the country, approximately 331 million tons of construction and demolition debris is generated every year. By reusing building materials in the restoration of Old Maui High School, the EPA sees this restoration as a model and will follow the progress of the project.

Green buildings conserve energy, water and materials, and create healthy indoor and outdoor environments. This concept includes residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings and even major remodeling of existing buildings.

For more information on the project call Barbara Long, President of the Friends of Old Maui High School at 808-878-8529. For more information on the EPA's green building program visit: https://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding.

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