What is Tropical Modernism, and how did it find its way to Hawaii?

2019-01-11T15:46:00-05:00

The weather in Hawaii is fickle, always shifting depending on the island, the time of day, and the direction of the trade winds. How to design a building in such a place? One must account for the abundant sunshine, the humidity of the air, the salt of the sea, and the damp layers of maritime fog that settle around the smoky mountain peaks. For Vladimir Ossipoff, whose brand of midcentury modernism would define Hawaiian architecture, the answer lay in simplicity.

Though Vladimir Ossipoff may not be a household name in the continental United States, his work has become the stuff of legend in the Aloha State. Producing over 1,000 buildings in Hawaii throughout his 60 year career, Ossipoff championed a style of architecture now described as 'Tropical Modernism.'

Thurston Memorial Chapel, by Vladimir Ossipoff. Photo by Chris Mottalini

The work of Ossipoff neatly fits into the category of Critical Regionalism as well, a movement the critic Kenneth Frampton associated with architects from different corners of the globe, such as Alvar Aalto, Glen Murcott and Jørn Utzon. To battle the "war on ugliness" he famously announced in a speech against the mass-produced buildings that grew in popularity by the mid-century, Ossipoff designed his building as a blend of elements from Japanese, Hawaiian and American Mid-century design.

Robert Wenkam Ossipoff House in Lanai. Courtesy of Tad Wenkam and Ossipoff, Snyder and Rowland Architects.

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What is Tropical Modernism, and how did it find its way to Hawaii?