The Honolulu Academy of Arts co-published Hawaiian Modern as an adjunct to its recent exhibit detailing the life's work of Vladimir Ossipoff.
The Russian-born architect and his family (above) are pictured outside their Honolulu home on Hopeloa Place in the early 1950s.
Courtesy of Hawaiian Modern, Honolulu Academy of Arts
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Ossipoff in 1970.
Courtesy of Hawaiian Modern, Honolulu Academy of Arts
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While you may not recognize Vladimir Ossipoff's name, you've probably admired his work while checking your bags at Honolulu International Airport, sipping cocktails at the Outrigger Canoe Club or driving past the IBM Building on Ala Moana Boulevard.
As one of Hawaii's most influential architects of the 20th century, Ossipoff was a visionary whose strikingly beautiful structures can be found throughout Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands. In fact, Ossipoff is often referred to by his peers as the "Frank Lloyd Wright of Hawaii."
Despite his commercial success, the Russian-born Ossipoff (1907-1998) was at his best when designing multi-millions dollar estates in Kahala, mountainside retreats along Round Top Drive or cozy beachfront bungalows in the oceanfront community of Lanikai. By incorporating the shifting patterns of our tradewinds, the warmth of our sun and Hawaii's stunning ocean views into his designs, Ossipoff became the driving force for an architecture school of thought known as Tropical Modernism.
In essence, he combined elegance with functional simplicity. Free-flowing floorplans, landscaped courtyards, shady verandas and open-beam ceilings were his trademarks.
Part of Ossipoff's inspiration came from the years that he lived in Japan with his parents and the architectural training he received while studying at the University of California-Berkeley. Following graduation, he took up permanent residence on Oahu in the 1930s.
According to architect Dean Sakamoto, director of exhibitions at the Yale School of Architecture, Ossipoff's experiences in Japan left him with a strong sensibility for "shibui" or understated aesthetic. That, along with his appreciation of Hawaii's climate, culture and natural beauty evolved into an architectural style that blurred the barrier between indoor and outdoor living.
In tribute to his genius, The Honolulu Academy of Arts recently presented "Hawaiian Modern: The Architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff." The exhibition not only featured examples of Ossipoff's body of work, it also generated a fully illustrated 288-page book by Sakamoto, Karla Britton and Diana Murphy, that was co-published by the Academy and Yale University Press.
The book chronicles what many people regard as three of Ossipoff's most memorable homes.
Liljestrand House
- 1952
In designing the Liljestrand home in Makiki Heights, Ossipoff made generous use of sliding glass doors and windows to create the illusion of living among the trees.
Courtesy of Hawaiian Modern, Honolulu Academy of Arts
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Dr. Howard Liljestrand and his wife Betty commissioned Ossipoff to design a home from the ground up in Makiki Heights. The home, which is still in use, is perched on a ridge 1,000 feet above sea level with sweeping views stretching from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor. Because of the site's topography, the four-bedroom home and a swimming pool were built on three tiers of land.
By using sliding glass windows to open the living room and a casual sitting room to the sky, Ossipoff created the illusion of living among the treetops. In place of air conditioning, he mounted adjustable wood louvers near the base of each room, thereby allowing Hawaii's cooling tradewinds to circulate throughout the home.
Ossipoff's minimalist design features walls clad in bleach-stained redwood, built-in cabinetry and a staircase hewn from the richly textured wood of a single monkeypod tree.
Even by today's standards, the home contains a number of innovative conveniences. For easy cleaning, Ossipoff equipped the kitchen with flip-down baseboards that concealed the openings to dust chutes. He integrated pullout steps with kitchen drawers - making access to upper shelves possible, and the master bathroom had a sit-down shaving area with a pop-up mirror.
The Liljestrand residence garnered worldwide acclaim as House Beautiful magazine's selection as the prestigious Pace Setter Home of 1958.
Goodsill House
- 1952
A decades-old monkeypod tree creates a living canopy above the street-front carport of the Goodsill home in Pu'u Panini - a tract of land on the arid, southeastern slopes of Diamond Head.
Courtesy of Hawaiian Modern, Honolulu Academy of Arts
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Although the home of attorney Marshall Goodsill and his wife Ruth was a much smaller undertaking, the single-story design was well suited to the sun-baked conditions of Pu'u Panini, a tract of land located on the southeastern slopes of Diamond Head.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this four-bedroom home is its unconventional floorplan. Instead of interior corridors, Ossipoff connected both wings of the home by a deep open-air lanai that wraps around an inner courtyard. This design technique not only maximized the space of the small lot, it also provided privacy from adjoining properties.
The front porch roof is another intriguing element. Ossipoff purposely designed it with an overhead opening to encourage moongazing on clear tropical nights. He also muted the interior lighting by using Japanese-style shoji windows and doors.
Ossipoff continued to play a major roll in renovating the Goodsill home over a period of five decades. Eventually, the house was bequeathed to the Honolulu Academy of Arts and now serves as the residence of the academy's director.
Pauling House
- 1957
The Pauling house on Round Top Drive features a living room in the shape of a ship's prow.
Color photography by Victoria Sambunaris - 2006; Courtesy of Honolulu Academy of Arts
To reach the home of Dr. Linus Pauling Jr., visitors must first negotiate a winding road flanked by towering bamboo. Vladimir Ossipoff designed the Round Top Drive retreat
in 1957 to reflect its rustic surroundings.
photo by Victoria Sambunaris - 2006; Courtesy of Honolulu Academy of Arts
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One of Ossipoff's most dramatic mountain retreats was designed on Round Top drive for the family of Dr. Linus Pauling Jr.
The site known as Ku'uhiwa or hilltop stands 1,500 feet above sea level and affords 180-degree views of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean.
Getting to the home is part of the adventure, since guests must negotiate a steep bamboo-lined driveway before arriving at its motor court.
In designing the seven-bedroom home, Ossipoff employed battered stone, rough-hewn redwood, metal roofing and large expanses of glass to maintain harmony with the surrounding wilderness.
Because the home was located above the city's water supply grid, Ossipoff capped Ku'uhiwa with a low-pitched corrugated roof that channeled rainwater into a pair of 15,000-gallon underground cisterns for drinking and household purposes.
The Pauling residence includes a massive basalt fireplace, built-in bookshelves and a prow-shaped living room. The glass-encased living room juts out over the edge of the Ko'olau Mountains, offering birds eye views of Diamond Head Crater.
Along with designing many of Oahu's most remarkable homes, Ossipoff "waged a war on ugliness," says Sakamoto. Ossipoff designed homes that reflected a sensitivity to Hawaii's natural surroundings. By doing so, he made a personal statement that challenged the cookie-cutter developments and high-rise buildings that began to reshape Honolulu's skyline in the early 1960.
Today, Ossipoff's one-of-a-kind homes are among the most sought after properties in the Islands, especially by kama'aina who appreciate design concepts in harmony with Hawaii's culture and climate.
Editor's Note: Hardback editions of Hawaiian Modern are available in Hawaii exclusively at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. For information, call 532-8703.
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Ossipoff also designed the Outrigger Canoe Club (left) and the Hawaii Medical Library.
Courtesy of Hawaiian Modern, Honolulu Academy of Arts
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