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KYA DESIGN GROUP BUILDS BRIDGES WITH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

"KYA Design Group is privileged to share our blessings by presenting our gift to the School of Architecture and the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, as a token of our appreciation, support and continued commitment. Our firm and its principals, most of whom are proud graduates and devoted supporters of the School of Architecture for the past 25 years, actively participate in the prestigious program."

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — KYA Design Group has announced the creation of an expendable fund of $30,000 to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's School of Architecture. This gift will support the activities, research and ongoing operations of the Environmental Research and Design Laboratory at the School of Architecture. It is their hope that this gift will help advance the cause of sustainability throughout the State and enable the expertise at the School, and specifically the Environmental Lab, to bring new levels of cooperation and information to the field. This will bring tangible benefits to architecture students, the profession, Hawaiʻi and the regional community.

The School of Architecture's Environmental Research and Design Lab provides support to the School's curriculum and is dedicated to extra-curricular research that brings new information to the field and real benefits to the community.

"This generous gift from the KYA Design Group supports the acquisition of needed resources and training for the Lab's staff while helping to build a bridge from the academy to the practice of architecture," Stephen Meder. "Forging this link is critically important as it elevates the educational experience of our students while bringing new perspectives and environmental analysis methods to the professional design process."

KYA is a full-service design consultation firm established in 1972. They started out in architecture, interior architecture and planning, and over time have evolved by expanding their design services. Their projects and clients include the UH Hilo Classroom/Office Building, Duty Free Shoppers, First Hawaiian Bank and designs for Kona International Airport and Honolulu International Airport.

"With the present state of the economy, KYA Design Group is steadfast in our dedication to giving and reinvesting in our young people, our community and the future of Hawaiʻi."

This gift is especially important as it comes with the expressed intent of advancing the methods and benefits of sustainable design throughout the State of Hawaiʻi, which is a shared, core value of KYA, the School and the Environmental Lab.

"Gifts like these bring value well beyond their dollar amount. They not only strengthen the School today but they increase the power of our students and the profession to contribute to needed solutions in our society well into the future."

From the 2/24 check presentation ceremony from L-R: Sirazul Kazi, AIA, Principal, KYA Design Group, Ross Yamasaki, Director, KYA Design, Clark Llewellyn, AIA, Dean, School of Architecture, Virginia Hinshaw, Chancellor, UH Mānoa, Erin Fujii, Sustainability Coordinator, KYA Design, Carol Torigoe, AIA, Principal, KYA Design, Alma McKenzie, AIA, Marketing Manager, KYA Design, Steve Meder, Director, SoA Environmental Research & Design Laboratory.

The School of Architecture at UH Mānoa offers a global collaborative approach to improving the built and natural environment founded on intellectual inquiry, creative problem solving, and outreach with a commitment to prominence in innovative architectural education, design excellence, sustainability, and research with a focus on Hawaiʻi, the Pacific, Asia. Please visit www.arch.hawaii.edu.

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. Our mission is to unite our donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi's aspirations to benefit the people of Hawaiʻi and beyond. We do this by raising private philanthropic support, managing private investments and nurturing donor and alumni relationships. Please visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.