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10-12-26 | Feature
Organized around the new lanai-a vernacular Hawaiian landscape typology-the subtly articulated courtyard accommodates both events and everyday use, creating a place of respite from the urban edge. The water feature-an elevated datum-acts as a visual and experiential connection to the surrounding sea and ever-changing island sky. Its elongated reflecting surfaces capture shifting light throughout the day, projecting reflections of the façade and establishing a dynamic horizon line across the site.
Paving patterns reveal three dynamic qualities of the same volcanic stone, rooting the site in Hawaii's geology. The surface treatments-honed, flamed, and split-faced-create different visual effects as light moves through the day and at night, while scalar shifts in the patterning allow users to discover new ways of engaging with the architecture and courtyard.
Beyond references to the Ossipoff building, the landscape celebrates Hawaii's creation myth through the interplay of water, light, and native planting. Developed through workshops with Native Hawaiian descendants, the glass-bottomed water feature projects light onto Taro plantings below, symbolically connecting Sky Father and Earth Mother.
The minimalist palette of plants and stone expresses a distillation of the materiality and plantings of the surrounding Hawaiian landscape. The distinct Hawaiian sunlight is refracted through different mediums-water, glass, metal, and living materials. Harnessing the dynamic environmental context, the courtyard design registers the sunrise, sunset, rain, and ephemeral quality of the Hawaiian light. The landscape was also the first contemporary design in Hawaii to showcase all native and endemic plant species, educating visitors about Hawaiian ecologies in an urban context.
To see more Hardscapes & Water Feature projects, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/landscape-articles/lasns-hardscapes-water-features-issue
For more information about submitting a project, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/research/editorial/editorial-submissions.php
IBM Plaza
Honolulu, Hawaii
Inspired by the existing modernist façade, the courtyard at IBM Victoria Ward Tower showcases a landscape expression of modern Hawaiian architectural motifs and powerful cultural history.
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The Hardscapes & Water Features Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. IBM Plaza is one of several great projects we are excited to showcase on LandscapeArchitect.com.
Designed by Vladimir Ossipoff, Hawaii's quintessential modernist, the building's original landscape was never fully realized. Thus, the design of the courtyard becomes a dialogue with the architecture, reinterpreting the façade pattern through the paving of the ground plane and a new elevated water feature to create a cohesive relationship between landscape and architecture.
Organized around the new lanai-a vernacular Hawaiian landscape typology-the subtly articulated courtyard accommodates both events and everyday use, creating a place of respite from the urban edge. The water feature-an elevated datum-acts as a visual and experiential connection to the surrounding sea and ever-changing island sky. Its elongated reflecting surfaces capture shifting light throughout the day, projecting reflections of the façade and establishing a dynamic horizon line across the site.
Paving patterns reveal three dynamic qualities of the same volcanic stone, rooting the site in Hawaii's geology. The surface treatments-honed, flamed, and split-faced-create different visual effects as light moves through the day and at night, while scalar shifts in the patterning allow users to discover new ways of engaging with the architecture and courtyard.
Beyond references to the Ossipoff building, the landscape celebrates Hawaii's creation myth through the interplay of water, light, and native planting. Developed through workshops with Native Hawaiian descendants, the glass-bottomed water feature projects light onto Taro plantings below, symbolically connecting Sky Father and Earth Mother.
The minimalist palette of plants and stone expresses a distillation of the materiality and plantings of the surrounding Hawaiian landscape. The distinct Hawaiian sunlight is refracted through different mediums-water, glass, metal, and living materials. Harnessing the dynamic environmental context, the courtyard design registers the sunrise, sunset, rain, and ephemeral quality of the Hawaiian light. The landscape was also the first contemporary design in Hawaii to showcase all native and endemic plant species, educating visitors about Hawaiian ecologies in an urban context.
To see more Hardscapes & Water Feature projects, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/landscape-articles/lasns-hardscapes-water-features-issue
For more information about submitting a project, go to: https://landscapearchitect.com/research/editorial/editorial-submissions.php
Filed Under: OCTOBER 2026, HARDSCAPES, WATER FEATURES, SURFACEDESIGN, IBM PLAZA, HONOLULU, HAWAII, LASN
