Donald W.Y. Goo: Renowned architect lived big, left mark in Hawaii
COURTESY PHOTO
Esteemed architect Donald W.Y. Goo has died at the age of 88. Goo received numerous honors and accolades, including an award from the American Institute of Architects.
Award-winning and pioneering Hawaii architect Donald W.Y. Goo died peacefully April 7. He was 88.
Goo was a longtime partner of the architectural firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, which he joined in 1959 when it was known as Wimberly and Cook in Hawaii. During his five decades with WATG, which today has nine locations across the globe, Goo served as its president, CEO and chairman.
He led many iconic architectural projects in Hawaii that are recognized today, including the Sheraton Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawai‘i Convention Center, as well as many others beyond Hawaii’s shores.
“He lived big,” said his son, Wayne Goo, also an architect, recalling a framed quote on his office wall that guided his approach to life and career.
Goo’s favorite quote, from Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, began with: “Make no little plans … Make big plans/Aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die …”
Goo was an early pioneer of large-scale hospitality design, and his works, many say, stand the test of time because he understood the importance of integrating environment and art into architecture.
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Among the significant projects he completed were the south wing expansion at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in 1968; the Sheraton Waikiki in 1972; the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tapa Tower in 1983; the Hilton Hawaiian Village Master Plan in 1988; the Hawai‘i Convention Center in 1998; Kuhio Beach renovation in 2000; and the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in 2002.
The Hawai‘i Convention Center, Wayne Goo said, represents the “culmination of his career,” involving an orchestration of architects, engineers and contractors in collaboration with the client to bring a vision to life.
“I would say that was probably one of the professional projects that he was most proud of,” he said.
Goo was born Jan. 16, 1934, in Honolulu. He was a Roosevelt High School graduate who had humble beginnings. He grew up in Kalihi and developed an interest in architecture, paving his own path to a career he would pursue after graduating from the University of Illinois, followed by service in the U.S. Air Force.
AIA Honolulu said Goo is credited with bringing signature design elements to Hawaii that elevate the resort experience.
“A Big Picture Guy, Innovative Planner and a Waikiki Rethinker are descriptions that come to me to describe friend and colleague Don Goo,” said Joe Ferraro in a statement posted to AIA Honolulu’s remembrance page. “Don never resisted going after big ideas that we should press on our politicians like a Ponte Vecchio style pedestrian walkway across Ala Moana Boulevard, extending the Ala Wai Canal through Kapiolani Park, repurposing the Ala Wai Golf Course, and more worker housing in a denser Waikiki.”
He continued, “I would typically receive ten of Don’s emails a month on ideas and what we could/should do about them.”
Friends and family said despite his international success, Goo always retained a sense of humility and an unwavering devotion to Hawaii.
He was a collaborative leader, according to those who worked with him, and valued for his listening skills and ability to create inspiring concepts rooted in “a sense of place.”
He mentored many others, including peers and those younger, and was passionate about educating the next generation of architects.
In 2004 he joined the faculty at the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Architecture as professor and director of practicum. With his wife, Laura, he established an endowed practicum fund that matched young designers with architecture firms as interns across the globe.
Goo received numerous honors and accolades, including the esteemed Medal of Honor award from the American Institute of Architects Hawaii State Council in 2015. The Hawai‘i Architectural Foundation presented the medal in honor of his outstanding leadership and significant contributions to the profession.
“As an architect of tropical buildings, I am cognizant of the amount of natural light that influences the building’s exterior and its interior,” he was quoted saying at the time. “It’s the natural light that expresses the materials and space.”
Goo also served as a trustee for the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai.
“For 15 years, Don Goo shared his award-winning architectural talent and skills with NTBG, playing a central role in advancing major Garden projects and plans,” said Janet Mayfield, the garden’s CEO and director, in a statement. “Don was not only a generous and enthusiastic NTBG Trustee, he was a devoted champion for the Garden and a dear friend.”
Goo is survived by his wife, Laura; son, Wayne (Melissa); grandchildren Anita Palmer (Matthew) and Kenneth Allyn; and great-grandchildren Willa and Bodie.
The family requests that donations be made in Goo’s honor to the UH-Manoa School of Architecture Practicum Fund and the National Tropical Botanical Garden.
A celebration of Goo’s life is scheduled for June 22 at the Pacific Club, with visitation at 4:30 p.m. A brief service begins at 5:30 p.m.
