Statehood to Today
World War II put a temporary halt to building and design. Only two architectural firms remained operational during the war. Hart Wood became Territorial Architect and many others left the Islands or joined the war effort in uniform.
Following the war, Hawai`i slowly regained its economic feet and by the late
1950s and early
'60s, another flood tide arrived with jet travel and increased tourism. Many of the Big Five companies began to convert agricultural land for resort development and a fast-paced construction boom commenced. With the swift pace of building and the advent of air conditioning, a regional approach to architectural design that took advantage of Hawaii's tradewinds was lost and buildings acquired a less distinctive look.
Some of the prominent architects and buildings of the era retained a sense of Hawaiian design while adopting the principles of the International style. In
1968, John Carl Warneke of San Francisco and Belt Lemmon & Lo of Honolulu completed the Hawai`i State Capitol Building. An innovative building of sleek lines, it uses modern materials and elements to symbolize water, royal palms, the heavens and the Islands' volcanic beginnings.
Alfred Preis, originally from Austria, designed buildings in Hawai`i over a 20-year period that display a contemporary style of clean lines and spaces opening to the outdoors. His projects include the First United Methodist Church (
1955) and the USS Arizona Memorial (
1962) as well as numerous residential buildings.
I.M. Pei of New York designed numerous buildings on the East-West Center campus. Typical of the International style, his Jefferson Hall and other nearby buildings are structured around regular, balanced forms and use steel, concrete and glass. The solid mass of Jefferson Hall is complemented by the lush Japanese garden that surrounds its back side.
Vladimir Ossipoff is the architect who most successfully combined a contemporary sensibility with the aims of Territorial architecture. His sleek lines are simpler and less obtrusive than anything from the Territorial era, but there is a similar emphasis on fluidity of indoor and outdoor spaces. He is best remembered for his residential designs, but contributed to many larger public spaces such as the Pacific Club (
1961), the Outrigger Canoe Club (
1963) and the Honolulu International Airport.
Architecture today continues to be fueled by the tourist economy and the growth of luxury resorts. Building design finds inspiration in styles from around the world, but there is a renewed emphasis on appropriate designs: Mediterranean-style masonry, deep eaves, broad lanai and blurred boundaries between inside and outside spaces. There's been a return to the Territorial aesthetic and Dickey-inspired details. This movement is evident in buildings like the Honolulu Police Department Headquarters (
1992) and Ali`i Place (
1992) which hearken back to an earlier era and fit in visually with the older buildings that surround them. Plantation architecture is also popular in residential designs as well as luxury projects like the Sea Ranch Cottages (
1989) of the Hotel Hana Maui.
