Jason McLennan (right), CEO of the International Living Building Institute, presented the Living Building Challenge certification award to (from left) Dr. Bill Wiecking, director of the Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy; headmaster Lindsay Barnes, and HPA Board of Trustees Chairwoman Laurie Ainslie. (Photo courtesy of HPA)

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Jason McLennan, CEO of the International Living Building Institute, presented the Living Building Challenge certification award to Dr. Bill Wiecking, director of the Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, headmaster Lindsay Barnes, and HPA Board of Trustees Chair Laurie Ainslie during a program Wednesday, May 25 at the school’s Energy Lab.

HPA’s Energy Lab is the third—and the first K-12 school—building in the world to achieve full program certification under the Living Building Challenge, which is widely regarded as the world’s most rigorous building performance standard.

“The purpose of the Living Building Challenge is to fundamentally transform the relationship between the built and natural environments,” McLennan said. “I’m really excited to see this project here in Hawaii; Hawaii is a metaphor for the planet. If you can show the world that you can build living buildings in Hawaii, I think that’s a really powerful statement.”