Known as the land where palm trees sway, Hawaii is also home to impressive modernist architecture. In large part due to Vladimir Ossipoff, a wave of tropical modernism took over the islands and continues to thrive today.
This article takes an up-close and fascinating look at his prolific work on the world-renowned islands.
Meet Vladimir Ossipoff
From Artsy:
Over a span of more than 60 years and 1,000 projects, [Vladimir] Ossipoff left an enduring imprint on Hawaii. Influenced by visionaries such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, Ossipoff is part of the generation of modernist architects who adapted the principles of midcentury design to the balmy weather of the tropics, such as Paul Rudolph in Florida, Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra in California, and Geoffrey Bawa in Sri Lanka. Accommodating the effects of sun and sea, at once gentle and corrosive, the style became known as “tropical modernism.”
Not only did Ossipoff create a style all his own, he openly bucked ideas that he thought stood to harm the future of architectural design.
“Famously announcing a “war on ugliness” in a speech against the cheap proliferation of cookie-cutter housing developments, Ossipoff was an early proponent of design attuned to the sensitivities of its surroundings, working in sync with nature, rather than against it.”
Want even more mid century style in your day? Follow Atomic Ranch on Instagram!
