IBM BLDG
1240 Ala Moana Blvd
The architect that designed the building told the Honolulu Advertiser in 1966: “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 express the computer-world character of the IBM Corporation, 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. “
“It’s an interesting and worthwhile remnant of Hawai’i’s 1960s period,” said Sydney Snyder, Ossipoff’s long time architectural partner, “It’s from that era when people put grilles on everything. This grille survived because it was unique and more elegant than most.”
Lynn Davis, head of the University of Hawaii’s Hamilton Library Preservation Department expressed her sentiment to the Star-Advertiser: “There’s nothing else like this in Hawai’i …“
“With the IBM Building being such an icon in Honolulu we thought it would be a great opportunity to light up and support local and national causes. Each month we determine if there is a chance to shed light on a campaign,” says Howard Hughes’ Sara Neubauer “for instance, Red Pineapple, one of our tenants, is involved with Hawai’i Says No More (an initiative to end domestic abuse and sexual violence) and asked us to support the cause, so we lit the building in blue during the week of their campaign.“
The Hawai’i’s modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff designed this office building for the IBM Corporation in 1962, and still nowadays with its graceful lines and honeycomb-shaped screens, is one of the city’s most recognizable architectural landmarks.
In 2008, the building was slated for demolition to make room for a redevelopment. Luckily, it was spared thanks to the efforts of many citizens who saw the IBM Building as an integral part of Honolulu’s postwar economic boom. While the six-story structure sits in the shadows of new residential high rises, its distinctive character, as Ossipoff said in 1966, is still a landmark in the fast evolving Honolulu’s cityscape of 2019.
After a massive restoration and renovation, preserving its bones and strengthening its interiors, the Texas-based developer Howard Hughes Corporation now occupies with its offices a good portion of the IBM Building.
Although the public is still calling the building by its well-known moniker, whether IBM will remain the official name isn’t clear.
References:
- https://www.wardvillage.com
- https://historichawaii.org
