Why did the IBM Building become a Honolulu landmark? The IBM Building stands at 1240 Ala Moana Boulevard. This office building opened in 1962. It served as the Honolulu headquarters for IBM. Vladimir Ossipoff designed it. Today, the Howard Hughes Corporation owns it. It serves as a sales center for the Ward Village development around it.
The IBM Building’s construction cost $1.5 million. That is equivalent to $15.1 million in 2023. The building was dedicated on October 10, 1962. Governor William F. Quinn attended the ceremony.
The building has a roughly cube shape. Its concrete brise soleil features a honeycomb structure. This design was inspired by Polynesian culture. It also resembles the punched cards used in the computer industry.
General Growth Properties purchased the IBM Building in 2002. In 2008, they planned to demolish it. But public backlash saved it. The Howard Hughes Corporation bought the area. They decided to keep the IBM Building’s name and look.
Woods Bagot and Ferraro Choi renovated the building. It became a sales center for Ward Village. The building reopened in 2014. The renovation cost $24 million.
The renovated IBM Building featured model units. These showcased nearby condominiums. The company used several floors. They kept an information center on the ground floor. Solomon Enos painted a mural. It depicted the Hawaiian goddess Keaomelemele. The parking lot became a courtyard with a water feature.
In 2018, Howard Hughes Corporation planned to move remote workers in. IBM’s last offices were in the building on the fourth floor. In 2019, IBM vacated the building completely. The IBM sign was removed from the roof.
The six-story IBM Building has a rooftop space. This is considered the seventh floor. Its concrete brise soleil has a honeycomb structure. This facade has 1360 precast concrete pieces. It was meant to look like computer punch cards. Vladimir Ossipoff drew inspiration from Polynesian culture. The brise soleil blocks sunlight. It prevents water pooling. It discourages pigeon nesting. Yet it still allows views from the offices.
Vladimir Ossipoff called the grille a key part of the building. He said its pattern expresses IBM’s computer world character. He felt it gave the building a sense of belonging in the sun. The grille’s deep shadows are significant. They are as important as any part of the structure.
The IBM Building is set back from the road. Ossipoff used berms to hide the parking lot. Stairways, elevators, and utilities are in the building’s center. This reduces obstructions of the office space.
The IBM Building is a key example of tropical modernism. This architectural style was popular when it was built. Vladimir Ossipoff was a key figure in this style’s development. In 2008, Dean Sakamoto called the building a Honolulu landmark. He compared it to Aloha Tower and the Hawaii Convention Center. Jeff Nishi called it an example of Ossipoff’s versatility.