| IBM Building | |
|---|---|
.jpg) IBM Building illuminated in pink (2016) | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Office building |
| Address | 1240 Ala Moana Boulevard |
| Town or city | Honolulu |
| Coordinates | 21°17′33″N157°51′04″W / 21.29250°N 157.85111°W /21.29250; -157.85111 |
| Opened | 1962 |
| Renovated | 2014 |
| Cost | $1.5 million (equivalent to $15.6 million in 2024) |
| Renovation cost | $24 million |
| Client | IBM |
| Owner | Howard Hughes Corporation |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Reinforced concrete |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Floor area | 61,961 square feet (5,756.4 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Vladimir Ossipoff |
| Main contractor | Hawaiian Dredging & Construction Company |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | Woods Bagot andFerraro Choi |
| Main contractor |
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TheIBM Building is an office building at 1240 Ala Moana Boulevard inHonolulu, Hawaiʻi. Designed byVladimir Ossipoff, the building opened in 1962 as the Honolulu headquarters for American technology companyIBM. It is presently owned byHoward Hughes Corporation, serving as a sales center for its surroundingWard Village development.
Construction cost$1.5 million (equivalent to $15.6 million in 2024). The building wasdedicated on October 10, 1962, in a ceremony attended by officials includingWilliam F. Quinn, who wasGovernor of Hawaii at the time. The roughly cube-shapedmassing of the building is distinguished by thehoneycomb structure of its concretebrise soleil, inspired byPolynesian culture and also intended to resemble thepunched cards used in the computer industry at the time of its construction.
The IBM Building and surrounding area were purchased in 2002 byGeneral Growth Properties, and the building was slated for demolition as part of a 2008redevelopment plan. Public backlash led to its preservation after the planned development area was purchased by Howard Hughes Corporation, which expressed an intent to maintain the IBM Building's name and general appearance. The development company instead renovated the building to use as an information and sales center for Ward Village. It officially reopened in that capacity in 2014.
On February 29, 1960, the Hawaii regional manager ofIBM announced that the technology company would erect a new office building onAla Moana Boulevard. The announcement projected that construction would cost between $800,000 and$1.5 million (equivalent to $15.6 million in 2024) and stated that the building would be either 5 or 7 stories tall when completed. It noted that planning would be completed after an architect and IBM representatives arrived from thecontiguous United States, and that construction was scheduled to finish in March 1961.[1]
On May 19, 1961, the regional manager stated that the planning process for the building had been finished and that construction would begin the following month. The announcement noted that a "sculptured ribbon-pattern concrete sun screen" would surround theglass curtain wall of thereinforced concrete building's upper floors, and that the building would contain 61,961 square feet (5,756.4 m2) of space.[2] The IBM Building was designed by architectVladimir Ossipoff and built by contractorHawaiian Dredging & Construction Company forVictoria Ward Limited.[3] IBM planned to occupy the bottom two floors and Victoria Ward half of the sixth, while the remaining space would be leased to other tenants[2] by IBM.[4]
Construction of the IBM Building, which began by July 1961, was the first part of amaster plan for easternKakaʻako thatHarland Bartholomew and Associates created for Victoria Ward Limited.[5] In October 1961, a 20-year-old construction worker fell from the fifth floor of the building while moving asawhorse from onescaffold to another and landed on a pile oflumber; he survived, but broke several bones in the fall.[6]
According toEngineering News-Record, construction cost$1.5 million (equivalent to $15.6 million in 2024). It was built as part of IBM'sUS$18,000,000 (equivalent to about $187,109,000 in 2024) effort to build imaginative offices around the world.[7] The magazine praised the cheap construction in an October 1962 article, attributing it to IBM's planning and direction of the process.[8]
The IBM Building opened in 1962 at 1240 Ala Moana Boulevard[7] as the Honolulu headquarters for IBM.[9] The building wasdedicated on October 10, 1962, in a ceremony attended by various corporate and military officials as well as members of the public. Then-Governor of HawaiiWilliam F. Quinn attended and spoke at the event, characterizing the building as "a gratifying demonstration of one company's success in years past and faith in the future of the mid-Pacific area".[10] Also attending were Rev.Abraham Akaka and the president of IBM's Federal Systems Division.[11]
Though the IBM Building's appearance was initially criticized by Hawaii residents for its perceived austerity and for not fitting into the aesthetic of Hawaii,[9] it became more popular over time.[12] Its simple design gained various accolades in the architectural community, including a 1964honorable mention from the Hawaii chapter of theAmerican Institute of Architects.[9] Itslandscaping was recognized with the 1964 Beautification Award from theHonolulu Chamber of Commerce.[7]
In April 2002,General Growth Properties (GGP) made a$250 million (equivalent to $437 million in 2024)[13] bid to acquire Victoria Ward Limited and its 65 acres (26 ha) of properties in Kakaʻako, including the IBM Building. GGP was additionally the owner ofAla Moana Center, a major competitor of the Ward developments in Kakaʻako.[14] The sale was finalized the following month.[15]
In 2008, GGP proposed demolishing the IBM Building as part of aredevelopment plan, intending to create a newmixed-use "urban village" in the area.[7] The building was instead preserved due to public backlash.[12]Howard Hughes Corporation purchased the redevelopment area from GGP in 2010. In October 2011, Howard Hughes announced a revisedmaster plan for the area; by February 2012, the corporation expressed an intent to maintain the IBM Building's name and general appearance.[16]
Woods Bagot andFerraro Choi designed arenovation to make the building a sales center for Howard Hughes Corporation,[12] as part of the development company's master plan for the surroundingWard Village development.[9] ContractorsJay Kadowaki Inc. andAlbert C. Kobayashi Inc. carried out the renovation, and the building officially reopened on January 25, 2014.[17] The construction cost $24,000,000[3] and won the Display category atINSIDE Festival in 2015.[12]
Howard Hughes builtmodel units in the building for several of its nearbycondominiums. The company also utilized the second, third, sixth, and seventh floors while maintaining an information center on the ground floor.[18] The information center was created by completely redesigning the ground floor and replacing walls with windows on all four sides.Solomon Enos was commissioned to paint amural in the space,[3] and designed an installation depicting Hawaiian goddessKeaomelemele.[19] The parking lot was replaced with acourtyard for outdoor gatherings, including awater feature. A cube-like structure was built onto one side of the building and the rooftoplanai was extended.[3] These changes were criticized by Ossipoff's former partnerSid Snyder as "unsympathetic to the architecture of the building" – Snyder elaborated that he disliked the bright white color and location of the addition – and were also critiqued by the architect's daughter Valerie Ossipoff.[3]
In 2018, Howard Hughes Corporation announced plans to moveremote workers into the building and notified tenants on the fourth floor that they would be taking it over when leases expired at the end of that year. These tenants included IBM, which maintained its last remaining offices in the building on that floor.[18]Honolulu Civil Beat observed that it was unclear whether "IBM Building" would remain the official name of the building once it was no longer occupied by IBM; a Howard Hughes executive declined to comment.[18] In 2019, IBM vacated the building completely, and the sign reading "IBM" was removed from the roof.[9]
The six-story IBM Building, which also has rooftop space referred to as a seventh floor,[17] has cuboidmassing. It has a concretebrise soleil with a distinctivehoneycomb structure. This facade, which was assembled from 1,360 precast pieces of concrete, intended to resemble thepunched cards which were used in the computer industry at the time of the building's construction. Architect Vladimir Ossipoff also drew inspiration fromPolynesian culture while designing the facade. The angles of the brise soleil were intended to block sunlight, prevent water from pooling, and discourage pigeon nesting without blocking views from the offices.[9] Ossipoff himself described the grille as a key aspect of the building:[20]
Not only does the systematic, rather repetitious pattern of the concrete grille express the computer-world character of the IBM Corp., but also gives it 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.
— Vladimir Ossipoff, "Building Designed for the Sun",Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Feb. 6, 1966
The building itself is set back from the road, and Ossipoff usedberms to make the parking lot less visible.[7] Stairways, elevators, and utilities are clustered at the building's center to reduce obstructions of the office space.[20]
The IBM Building has been recognized as a key example of thetropical modernism architectural style that was popular at the time of its construction. Vladimir Ossipoff was a key figure in the style's development.[9] In 2008, architect andYale University Director of ExhibitionsDean Sakamoto described the building as a Honolulu landmark and a marker of the passing of time, comparing it toAloha Tower and theHawaii Convention Center.[7]Jeff Nishi, another architect, characterized it as an example of Ossipoff's versatility as an architect.[7]
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