Vladimir ‘Val’ Nicholas Ossipoff (Russian: Владимир Николаевич Осипов; November 25, 1907 – October 1, 1998) was an American architect best known for his works in the state of Hawai'i.[1]
Later in 1931, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, to visit his high school friend and college roommate, Douglas Slaten, who convinced him to look for work among the California trained architects in Honolulu.[2][3][4][9] Val later stated that Slaten said, "You don't have anything to lose. Why don't you come over."[2] Val said, in the early 1960s, that he moved to Honolulu to carry on a "War on Ugliness," a struggle to counter what he felt was poor architectural design and unrestricted development of Honolulu.[3][9] He found work with the architect Charles W. Dickey and assisted in Dickey's 1931 design for the Immigration Station at Honolulu Harbor which was constructed in 1934.[2][10] He left Dickey, briefly did some perspective works for Ray Morris who was the head of Lewers and Cooke's building department, and then worked as the head of Theo H. Davies & Co. Home Building Department beginning in May 1932 until the end of September 1935.[2][8] At the end of 1932, his first design for a home was for A. W. Manz in Kāhala where he also designed several other homes there in a Bishop Estate subdivision in a modest modified Monterey style because he felt that the climate in Honolulu is similar to the climate in the summer in Carmel, California, where it is "thoroughly enjoyable and outdoors".[8] During that time he married the former Raelyn Loughery from San Francisco on January 24, 1935.[2][8][a] In October 1935, Ossipoff joined his school friend Tommy Perkins at Stiehl before he returned to C. W. Dickey and assisted with the drawings for the Kula Sanatorium, designed the lights at the Waikiki Theatre's lobby and did the Hunnewell house, which was located at today's Kawainni Park, just Kokohead of 'Aina Haina on the beach.[2] In March 1936, he formed his own architectural firm in Honolulu, Vladimir Ossipoff, AIA, which later became Ossipoff and Associates.[2][4][8] The first house he designed with his own firm was for Cyril E. and Milme Pemberton on Makiki Heights, Honolulu.[2][8]
Ossipoff has been called “the master of Hawaii modern architecture,”[12] “the dean of residential architects in Hawaii,”[3] and “the premier postwar designer of kama'aina-style[13][14] residences in Honolulu,”[15] perhaps the most famous of which is the Liljestrand House built in 1952.[7] Of the dozens of homes and buildings he created, the IBM Building (1962) in the current Ward Village is Ossipoff's most recognized design.[16] Other well known buildings he designed in and around Honolulu include the Goodsill House (1952), the Pauling House (1957), Thurston Memorial Chapel for Punahou School (1966), Davies Memorial Chapel at Hawaii Preparatory Academy (1966), and many more on Oahu.[7] Others across the state of Hawaii include the terminals at the Kahului Airport on Maui and the Kona Airport on the Big Island.[7] From 1970 to 1978, he designed the open-air grand lānai style terminal at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.[7][9][10][16] The beaches of Lanikai in Kailua, and the flatlands of ʻĀina Haina and Kāhala along with the heights of Hawaii Loa and the Wai'alae Nui Ridge neighborhoods in Honolulu have many of his designed homes.[1]
"An architect has to be a bit of a sociologist, lawyer and psychologist. He has to know human nature."
^Val and Rae Ossipoff have two children, Alexandra and Valerie.[2]
References
^ abNina Wu (February 24, 2006). "Ossipoff homes still stand as uniquely Hawaii". Pacific Business News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2019. Ossipoff homes are known for their strong roof lines, deep overhangs, dark woods, native stone and built-in cabinets and fixtures. He eschewed air conditioning and always took advantage of natural ventilation through huge sliding doors and windows that would open entire walls to the outside.
^ abcdefghijklmnopq"Vladimir Nicholas Ossipoff". Oral Histories of 1930's Architects: Transcriptions of tapes of oral histories taken by members of the Hawaii Society/American Institute of Architects. Honolulu: Hawaii State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Land and Natural Resources. September 1982. pp. 121–7.
^"Hawaiian Architecture". Hawaii Home. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. The local architectural style is called kama'aina, or native born. Kama'aina is a style rich in beautiful simplicity and island tradition. True kama'aina architecture is generally open plan, keeping with the importance of multigenerational family living and the strength of the community spirit - and to capitalize on those gentle ocean breezes. Decoration is simple but beautiful, generally focused on the shapes, materials, and hues of nature.
Bill Kubta, Scott Kemp (20 March 2014). "True to Form: Vladimir Ossipoff Architect". KDN films. Retrieved September 20, 2019 – via Vimeo. A one-minute 51 second trailer for an historical documentary commissioned by the Honolulu Academy of Art for its traveling exhibition of 20th century modernist architect Vladimir Ossipoff. Born in Russia, raised in Tokyo and trained as an architect in California, Val Ossipoff's influence on modernist architecture looms large over Honolulu, the Hawai’ian islands, and far beyond.
