Waipahu High School - Integrated Academy Facility

Waipahu High School offers six College and Career Ready pathways, from Arts and Communication to Health Services. As a pilot for the DOE’s sustainability program, the campus plan and design focus on outdoor learning, comfort, conservation, energy efficiency, stormwater management, and adaptability.

The Integrated Academy Facility—designed as a “living building”—takes sustainability to the next level. Students engage in hands-on, project-based learning through features like biofiltration tanks, hydroponics, and visible feedback loops that integrate sustainability into daily life. This facility not only reinforces Waipahu’s educational mission but also showcases how schools can serve as living models for sustainable innovation.

Nail laminated timber (NLT) was utilized in a roof canopy covering the roughly 3,000 sf dining terrace where students in the culinary arts program open their doors for community events and gathering. NLT was chosen to soften the steel, masonry and concrete of the building’s primary structure, and to serve as a test case for implementing mass timber in Hawaiʻi.