IBM PLAZA HONOLULU
Description:
Inspired by the existing modernist façade, the new courtyard at IBM Victoria Ward showcases a landscape expression of modern Hawaiian architectural motifs and powerful cultural history. The historic IBM tower was designed by Vladimir Ossipoff—Hawaii’s quintessential modernist. Providing new ways of engaging with the architecture, the courtyard design pays homage to Ossipoff’s façade pattern in the paving of its ground plane and in a new elevated water feature. As viewed from the new Lanai—a vernacular Hawaiian landscape typology—the subtly articulated courtyard allows for flexibility for events and everyday use, ultimately creating a place of respite from the urban edge. The linear water feature screens the foreground while creating a linkage to the ocean’s horizon line and reflecting the play and ephemerality of light throughout the day. The new landscape is a distilled expression of Hawaiian identity and serves as an introduction to a larger mixed-use master plan of over 60 acres in central Honolulu.
Location:
Honolulu, HI
Date Completed:
2014
Project Team:
Woods Bagot, Architects
Richard Quinn, Local Landscape Architect, Helber Hastert & Fee
Nate Smith Studio- Project Manager
Ryde Azama, Project Engineer
Recognition/Awards:
American Society of Landscape Architecture National Honor Award, 2015
Historic Hawaii Foundation Preservation Honor Award, 2014
Photography:
Marion Brenner
