Architect John Hara’s practice is devoted to planning and design of sites and buildings, with an aim to continually “redefine the contemporary language” of Hawaii’s architectural traditions. Working out of a three-story modern office building near King and McCully streets since 1977, John Hara & Associates Inc. has helped reshape familiar public, academic and cultural places, ranging from the Honolulu Museum of Art and Maui Arts & Cultural Center to University of Hawaii campuses and other schools.
His firm’s green-minded approach is underscored with projects such as Punahou Schools‘ Case Middle School, a nine-building complex built in 2004. It was the first major project in Hawaii to meet registration standards for gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Also, the master plan and first phase of buildings at the UH-West Oahu campus, completed in 2012, meets LEED standards and includes a greenway following the natural shapes of Kaloi Gulch.
Hara, a life-long Honolulu resident, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and has studied with architectural masters including Louis Kahn, Romaldo Giurgola and Robert Venturi. Before setting up shop here in the early ’70s, he worked in Europe for several years. Throughout his five-decade career, Hara has won scores of design awards and other sorts of professional recognition. The latest: The American Institute of Architects’ Hawaii State Council, in partnership with the Hawaii Architectural Foundation, has named him as a Medal of Honor honoree.
This is the highest accolade that the state council bestows, and marks the eighth time it has been awarded in its nearly 20-year history. Hara will receive the medal Saturday at the Honolulu Museum of Art, where he has designed a number projects — including two major additions, the Clare Booth Luce Wing, in 1977, and the Luce Pavilion complex, which includes the museum cafe, in 2001.
“Candidates for this award are nominated and selected by past presidents of the AIA and the Hawaii State Council. For myself, to be selected by one’s peers is particularly gratifying,” Hara said. “In addition, the award presents to the island community at large, what the role of the architect is and what members of this profession contribute to this island state.”
Question: Compared to when you began working here in the 1970s, how has the profession changed?
Answer: Technology has made possible exposure to architectural images, products, technical information and multiple means of building projects. It is not uncommon for “starchitects” to descend upon communities thereby changing the position of local architects whose traditional role was to design and build their own projects. None of this is meant to imply that this is undesirable. It is just another sign of the changes in business and the practice of architecture.
Both my daughters, Mayumi Hara Dao, architect, and Kasumi Hara, interior designer, have been involved with me in my practice for some time. I have encouraged both of them to begin their own individual offices, generating their own projects with their own clients, understanding full well that their ideas are certainly reflective of present-day attitudes and business practices. They have done that, and I commend them for their decisions.
Q: You’re an advocate of “green” architecture. How do you define that term, and do you have a favorite project based on it?
A: Green architecture has always been a part of our design methodology. In 1975, an early project for the then-Honolulu Academy of Arts was a parking lot adjacent to the present-day Burger King on Beretania Street. Our solution was the introduction of “grass-block,” concrete block interspersed with grass, creating a green effect incorporating the need for a solid drive surface. This first installation of the product was well-received at that time and is still fondly remembered by the “grass-crete” manufacturers who are still very active today. Sustainability has always been part of our concerns, and at that time the terminology for the movement was called “ecology.”
A major project was the Punahou PE Complex, built in 1980, encompassing two gymnasia, locker rooms and a 50-meter swimming pool. Ecology was incorporated into the project with clerestory windows facing north for indirect natural light, skylights introduced into the locker rooms, naturally lighting spaces two stories below grade, and solar water heating panels which were a precursor to photovoltaic panels heating the swimming pool and hot water for showers. Savings in energy costs over the past 35 years have been considerable, considering also the upgrades with the latest technology.
Other projects at Punahou, including the Mamiya Science Center and the Case Middle School, are examples of our continuing concern for ecology and sustainability. It is important to state that while these concerns for the environment are crucial, they are only part of the total design process, which includes a multitude of other factors equally as important.
Q: In architecture circles you’re also described as a modernist?
A: The term, “modernist” has many definitions. For the work we have been involved with, our solutions have always been contemporary and of today’s aesthetic. To mimic the past, particularly in terms of architectural language, is to use eclectic choices not at all representative of who we are and what our culture represents at this time.
Q: After high school graduation, you studied architecture and pursued music?
A: I attended the University of Pennsylvania with a major in architecture. My involvement in music was a continuation of earlier experiences as a musician (playing oboe in the Honolulu Symphony as a teen). The choice of being in Philadelphia was appropriate in the sense of being close to New York, Boston and other centers of great music at that time. To have had the opportunity to combine architectural studies at Penn with a very small world of oboists has always been a memorable experience.
Q: Do you still play the oboe?
A: Unfortunately, no. … My last involvement in music was in the mid-1960s — playing in the Honolulu Symphony, during Maestro George Barati’s last season with the orchestra, and with Maestro Robert LaMarchina’s first season. If I had been able to play the oboe and also practice architecture, I would have done it. … There wasn’t “world enough and time,” as they say.
Q: What advice would you give to architecture majors in the islands?
A:It’s difficult to give advice to university students studying architecture in Hawaii today. There are many options and areas of expertise to pursue reflecting the complexity of the profession. Having taught at the University of Hawaii for a number of years, I believe that dialogue and personal interaction are essential in any curriculum, and remains so today. Also, the lessons of architectural history and travel to places outside of our state are essential. Technology is not a substitute in this instance.
Q: You’re working on a 2022 master plan for the Honolulu Museum of Art and its school? Other projects?
A:Work for the Honolulu Museum of Art is developing with plans for a Contemporary Art Wing and certain modifications planned 40 and 20 years ago, respectively, by our office to be finally implemented. The total scope of work for this project is presently being defined.
Work also continues on additions and modifications to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, which we began planning in 1983. Working with both of these organizations through many years, it’s gratifying to witness the evolving development and interpretation of art in its many forms.
Q: What do you find most satisfying about working as an architect?
A:Perhaps the most fulfilling aspect … is to be able to create environments. Be it for public institutions, schools, commercial enterprises or private residences, it has always been challenging and rewarding.
Q: What do you like to do when you have time away from your work?
A: I like to travel. I work full-time and I maintain somewhat of a schedule for work on weekends. However, this is being replaced by another kind of learning environment: my grandchildren are introducing me to the complexities, intricacies and subtleties of the iPad, iPhone and other neat devices.
