Hawaii Architecture March 2022
Our March trip to Hawaii was short and sweet yet filled with new discoveries, in art, architecture and food! This post focuses on the architecture.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (formerly Honolulu International Airport)
Vladimir Ossipoff (1972-1980)
Hawaiian Modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff (1907-1998) was born in Russia and raised in Japan before immigrating to California with his family in 1923. In 1931 he moved to Hawaii in search of work following the onset of the Great Depression.
From 1970 through 1978, Ossipoff designed a terminal modernization project that remodeled Terminal 2 (“overseas terminal) and created several additions, which included the Diamond Head Concourse in 1970, the Ewa Concourse in 1972, and the Central Concourse in 1980.
Ossipoff’s airport terminal typically greets visitors to Hawaii. Shown above, the terminal is based around the concept of a lanai and a post-and-beam concrete floor plan.
On this trip I captured some of his commercial work in addition to the airport terminal. I hope to visit a residential project, Liljestrand House, on another trip later this year in the fall.
For more about the architect, see this Curbed article HERE.
IBM Building, Vladimir Ossipoff (1962)
My first sight of the IBM Building was an artistic one at night as we taxied past on the way from the airport to our hotel. The next day, I headed to the building on my morning run for a proper look.
Designed for the IBM corporation in 1962, this iconic structure now houses the Howard Hughes Hawai’i offices, a Ward Village Master Plan Information Center. More info HERE.
Speaking to the Honolulu Advertiser in 1966, Ossipoff said “The most important point of the building, however, is the character of the building itself. Not only does the systematic and repetitious pattern of the concrete grille [the brise-soleil] express the computer-world but it also gives the building a sense of belonging in the sun. The deep shadows of the grillwork become as significant a part of the architecture as any part of the structure itself.”
Kaimuki-Kapahulu Library
This library was a fun one to photograph. The approach from Alawai to Kapahulu shows the library peeking through the palm trees - a postcard moment!
Cyril Lemmon of Lemmon, Freeth, Haines & Jones was the architect for this mid-century gem built in 1951.
Gold Coast O’ahu
The Gold Coast is my favorite area to explore away from the crowds in Waikiki. Above, some of the condominium photos from this trip. Docomomo Hawaii chapter has a great architecture resource for this neighborhood.
I was happy to capture two Vladimir Ossipoff projects, side-by-side: the Diamond Head Apartments (1957) and Apartments on the Coral Strand (1961). Also shown in the gallery: Oceanside Manor (1964) and 3056 Kalakaua Avenue (1968).
Waikiki - Caught On the Run
There was a morning run along the Alawai Canal and Kalakaua Blvd., a couple of the main roads through Waikiki. The gallery above includes a view of the Convention Center steps, Waikiki Skyliner Condominium, and a miscellaneous mid-century look up.
My parents used to rent out a condo at the Waikiki Skyliner and in between tenants my siblings and I would get to swim at the pool here. The paint palette of the building has changed (I prefer the palette of days past). The font is still cool, though.
It’s hard to miss the Bank of Hawaii Tower built in 1966 ( now Waikiki Galleria Tower) by George "Pete" Wimberly. A glass building surrounded by a fan-shaped concrete exoskeleton of concrete swoops it evokes motifs of Polynesia.