During this year’s Modernism Week in Palm Springs we booked tickets for a lecture without knowing much about its topic: “Chasing Ossipoff: Walker Warner Architects on Building Upon Inspiration”. So we sent ourselves to an unknown territory regarding Modernism in the Pacific, especially in Hawaii!
The lecture that Mr. Warner gave was one of the most inspiring, touching and instructive ever since we came to Modernism Week in Palm Springs! Not that we learned just about Vladimir Ossipoff who came to California from Russia (via Japan) and later moved on to Hawaii but also about the fact that Mr. Warner was inspired so much by Ossipoff’s architecture even without knowing it as a child. Years later, as an architect, a project brought him back to the islands where he discovered everything about the architecture he already lived/studied in years before (Laupahoehoe School). His projects are still inspired by the architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff and Walker Warner Architect’s sensational projects reflect the culture, environment and Hawaiian way of life in a way that is rarely seen…
But who is the man behind his inspirations, dreams and memories? Who is Mr. Vladimir Ossipoff?
To find out more about him, we went looking for books and actually found a great one:
“Hawaiian Modern – The architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff”, Honolulu Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, London
From the publishers: Vladimir Ossipoff (1907–1998), known as the “master of Hawaiian architecture,” was at the forefront of the postwar phenomenon known as tropical modernism. Although he practiced at a time of rapid growth and social change in Hawai`i, Ossipoff criticized large-scale development and advocated environmentally sensitive designs, developing a distinctive form of architecture appropriate to the lush topography, microclimates, and vernacular traditions of the Hawaiian islands.
Enjoy this rare opportunity to learn about Hawaiian Modernism created by architect Vladimir Ossipoff! Order your copy here!
