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Group 70’s new project
has more an inward
than outward focus

Honolulu-based architectural firm Group 70 International has again won the opportunity to export its work product offshore.

Under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the company is designing a $3 million to $4 million emergency operations center in Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The company designed a similar facility at Fort Shafter on Oahu.

The project is being funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Homeland Defense Agency.

The center will serve about 80,000 people who live in the commonwealth in the event of disaster -- manmade or natural.

Group 70 is tasked with designing an 8,500-square-foot building to accommodate 60 emergency personnel and withstand fires, earthquakes, tsunami and typhoon-force winds of 200 miles an hour.

So will it have 5-foot-thick concrete walls?

"No, concrete a foot thick," said President Jim Nishimoto.

"I hate to use the word 'pillbox,' but it will be pretty much a plain concrete building," he said.

The company's focus will be more on what's inside, as it will require high-tech communications and electronic equipment that will be interoperable and allow for communication throughout the various agencies that will use the center.

"In the sense that it is a command and control center, it has to be able to 'see' other areas throughout the CNMI government," as well as communicate with the world outside, Nishimoto said.

"Since it's (partially) funded by FEMA, FEMA would have a direct connection," he said.

The building must be outfitted with backup generators and other redundancies, fuel storage, and food and water storage should the center's staff become isolated for weeks.

It will take about a year to build.

"We've been involved with the project from the very start. I think it shows our ability to take a project all the way through. All the services (are being provided) from architectural design, interior furniture fixtures and equipment specifications, as well as planning and environmental assessment," Nishimoto said.

New Tumi

A new luxury luggage and accessories store will open this fall at Ala Moana Center on the mall level across from Tori Richard.

Tumi products have been sold at high-end department stores such as Nieman Marcus since the brand's inception in 1975. In 1979 the company opened its first store in Santa Monica, Calif., and it now has more than 20 stores and shops around the world.

Tumi boasts a following of international politicians, executive travelers and celebrities, but even the average Joe or Joan can check out the company's line online.