Hart Wood: Architectural Regionalism in Hawaii

Introduction

xiii Although today he is overshadowed by former partner Charles W. Dickey, Hart Wood is one of the giants of Hawaii’s regionalist design movement and arguably its most creative advocate. The first architect in Hawaii known to meld Asian and Western forms, some of his best buildings , such as the A and B Building and the Board of Water Supply Administration Building, remain icons of Hawaii’s architectural legacy more than fifty years after Wood’s death in 1957. This book traces the development of this remarkable talent from his early upbringing in Kansas and Colorado through his early work in California and from his coming to Hawaii as C. W. Dickey’s partner in 1919 through his subsequent thirty-eight years in Hawaii. The book considers his rich experiences in California, first as the chief draftsman for the highly regarded beaux arts firm of Bliss and Faville and then as head of his own office. This formative mainland period contributed heavily to his sublime sense of line and color, as well as to his confident handling of applied ornamentation. These years also reinforced within him a keen awareness of architecture’s relationship with the landscape. Armed with these well-learned architectural lessons and inculcated with a spirit of architectural regionalism from his years of practice in the San Francisco I n t ro d u c t i o n xiv I N T R O D U C T I O N Bay area, Wood arrived in Honolulu and quickly assumed a leadership position within Hawaii’s small architectural community. Enchanted by the vivid beauty of the Islands with their benevolent climate, exotic flora, and cosmopolitan culture, Wood almost immediately commenced a quest to architecturally embody the aura of Hawaii. The indelible mark left by his effort remains evident throughout the city in the magnificent and graceful buildings he designed. Initially concentrating on forms, he eclectically blended architectural elements from Hawaii’s missionary tradition with those of the mild-tempered Mediterranean. His work embraced the lanai as an outdoor living space, and he self-consciously utilized local materials such as coral block and lava rock in new and distinctive ways. The First Church of Christ Scientist on Punahou Street exquisitely summarizes Wood’s initial encounter with and response to Hawaii. Emerging as an avid advocate for appropriate regional design, Wood’s impeccable aesthetic sensibility immersed him deeply within Hawaii’s artistic community, which had Mrs. C. M. Cooke at its core. His design of her house on Makiki Heights (now the Contemporary Arts Center) in 1924 opened totally new realms of architectural exploration , as here East literally met West. Built as a house not only for Mrs. Cooke but also for her Asian art collection, the dwelling blended elements of China’s building tradition with those of the West and Hawaii. This new avenue ultimately led to such commissions as the Chinese Christian Church on King Street and the S. and G. Gump Building in Waikiki. The latter—a commercial building that appeared more as a residence, with its landscaped gardens and grassy setbacks from the street—opened up the possibility for a building such as C. Brewer’s corporate headquarters, designed by Bertram Goodhue’s successor firm, Mayers, Murray and Phillip. xv I N T R O D U C T I O N The melding of Asian and Western forms reached an apex with the construction of the Alexander & Baldwin Building on Bishop Street. This high point also signaled the demise of the partnership of Dickey and Wood. In the ensuing years, Wood reconceptualized his approach to regional design, moving beyond specific architectural forms to emphasize instead the underlying precepts that characterized the essence of Hawaii: simplicity, comfort, friendliness, and hospitality. He reintroduced the conscious rusticity of board and batten exterior walls, as in the Waimea Community Center on Kauai, and his house plans would assume a sprawling horizontality. In addition, he undertook the design of pumping stations for the Board of Water Supply, elevating the mundane into the ethereal realm of civic beauty. The late 1930s brought the precepts of modern architecture to Hawaii. Wood approached the new direction with caution, counseling that architects needed to keep abreast of progress but at the same time should be mindful of Hawaii’s rich heritage. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s Administration Building on Beretania Street, designed in the late 1940s and completed...