Geolabs, Inc.
INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE
For decades, the International Market Place (IMP) has been an icon in the heart of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was famous for Duke Kahanamoku’s restaurant where people flocked to hear Don Ho singing in the ’60s and ’70s. Later, it was a bustling, open-air hub of small vendors who peddled everything from Hawaiian souvenirs and jewelry to food court meals and farmer’s market produce. Small buildings and shacks that housed the businesses were located on a curved tract of land, just one block off the beach, that stretches from Kalakaua Avenue to Kuhio Avenue. The entrance to the complex is dominated by a huge, old (circa 1850) Banyan tree. The land is owned by the Queen Emma Land Company. Queen Emma was a Hawaiian Queen from the 1800s. Revenue from the land has supported the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu for decades.
The reimagined IMP is owned by Taubman Centers, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and CoastWood Capital Group of San Francisco, Calif. The IMP offers a distinctive collection of upscale fashion and lifestyle retailers, restaurants, and two large open-air courts, the first of which has the huge Banyan tree as its entryway centerpiece.
The installation of the micropiles at IMP had significant difficulties and constraints: highly variable substrata, live trees protected in place, archeological concerns, working on an island, artesian ground water, complex critical path schedule, and the list goes on. These significant challenges were met by a diverse project team that worked cooperatively with the project’s goals clearly in focus. The use of a design-assist concept with the foundation contractor provided a unique atmosphere of technical cooperation to the benefit of the project. The project team members met weekly throughout the project to discuss the current and upcoming challenges. The agreed goals and open communication created a partnering environment between the contractor, owner, consultants, and specialty foundation contractor to ensure performance in safety, quality, financial control, and schedule.
Project Team Members: Owner, Taubman Centers, Inc.; General Contractor, dck-FWF; Owner’s Consultant, Ehlert Consulting Services; Structural Engineer, Ludwig Structural Consulting; Geotechnical Engineers, SME and Geolabs, Inc.; Micropile Design-Build/Design Assist Contractor, Hayward Baker Inc.