Career

Masonry in Hawaii

Volume 21 www.masonryhawaii.com June 2007

Architect Kazutoshi Yato, AIA and structural engineer Ray Kuening recently teamed up to designed the new Ainahau Vista which sits in the heart of Waikiki. This building is a nine story structure that houses 8 two bedroom units and 99 one bedroom units. This senior non-assisted living affordable complex was recently completed in May 2007.

The masonry subcontractor was B&C Masonry and the General Contractor was Mitsunaga Construction.

This is the 5^th affordable mid-rise building that Mr. Yato has designed. His normal structure provided parking on the first floor with clear height of eleven feet, so the tallest building did not exceed 8 floors. Since the site afforded space for parking outside the footprint of the building, the living quarters started from the first floor.

In adding another floor, the engineer did not encounter any difficulty by using the normal 8 inch CMU.

Architecturally, 12 inch split face blocks were used in the corners to enhance the appearance of the building. Aluminum grills were also added to hide the individual air conditioning units for each apartment. On the top of the building, the parapets were designed to break the straight lines at the roof-top. These economical changes were done to enhance the building without adding significantly to the overall cost.

The Mason Contractors Assoc. of Hawaii, the Structural Engineers Assoc. of Hawaii and the AIA Honolulu Chapter sponsored a golf tournament which was held at Pearl Country Club on June 19^th 2007.

Approximately 160 golfers took part in this event where golfing took a second seat to goodies offered on the course (i.e. samurai ice cream, chili dogs, chilled towels, candies, chips and refreshments). A special Richard Sakamoto Memorial award was presented to the team that came in 7^th place (a roll of the dice determined the winner).

Two scholarship recipients and their families were also on hand to receive their scholarship and assist in the tournament. Ms. Erin Awa (parent, AIA), Ms. Leilani Kealoha (Laborers’ Union) and Mr. Leonardo Roldon (MCAH) received $1,500 each to continue their education.

The tournament was a huge success and committee members that made this happen included, Carol Wada, Stan Wada, Keith Kido, Ron Awa, Leonard Oki and Brian Awakuni.

John Chrysler of the Masonry Institute of America is planning a trip to Hawaii in August 2007 to give a 1½ day seminar for the DAGS and City & County of Honolulu Inspectors.

This course is intended to help inspectors pass the National certification exam for masonry inspection.

MIH through NCMA is again presenting 1 hour luncheon seminars for architects needing AIA credits, and for non-AIA members, certificate of completion.

New presentations include, Sustainable Masonry and Leed, Thermal Performance, and SRW Construction.

Mark your calendars! Come join the friends of MCAH and MIH for a fun filled day of fishing, boating to the sand dunes of Kaneohe Bay, or just relaxing on the shores of Kaneohe Bay. Tentative day is August 16^th, 2007.

Last year about 50 participants from architectural and engineering firms joined us.