IBM Building

Mid-century modern buildings

Designed by noted modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff for computer giant IBM in the early 1960s, this iconic building exudes tropical modernism primarily because of its unique precast concrete honeycomb facade; a brise soleil designed to keep the structure cool as well as to look like the automated punch cards synonymous with the computer industry at the time.

The building garnered both architectural awards and acclaim upon opening in 1962, as well as derision from those who thought it too austere a structure to fit in with the natural beauty of Hawaii.

The historic building was slated for demolition in 2008 but thanks to some avid preservationists and developer Howard Hughes Corp. it was saved, restored & repurposed, currently serving as a gateway to the company’s overall redevelopment of the Ward Village area.

Bonus Building – a few minutes further along at 677 Ala Moana Blvd. at Coral Street, also in the Kaka’ako neighborhood is the old Gold Bond building designed by Peter Hasi in 1966, a bold modernist 12-story office structure which underwent its own restoration and redevelopment in 2015 and now sports a shiny new corner glass facade and mixed use repurposing, a real stunner.