Hawaiian Architecture - Plantation

Plantation

At the same time that the monarchy and various corporations developed downtown Honolulu with their renditions of Hawaiian renaissance styles, residential homes were being built in the outskirts of the city and elsewhere in the state. The style became known as Hawaiian plantation architecture featuring low profile wood frames, vertical plank siding and large porticos. Roofs were the most distinguishable parts of Hawaiian plantation structures as they were wide-hipped or bellcast and had eaves that were deep bracketed. When viewed against the natural Hawaiian environment, Hawaiian plantation structures look as though they blend easily with their surroundings. The style gets its name from the sugarcane and pineapple plantations which employed the design for laborer homesteads.

By the 1970s and 1980s, the Hawaiian plantation style was headed toward extinction with the importation of popular trends from California and other western states. But a movement began in the late 1990s that revived the Hawaiian plantation style in a contemporary manner. The wide-hipped or bell-cast roofs were adapted for use in large-scale construction projects like the renovation of Ala Moana Center, Victoria Ward Centers and the building of new towers at the Hawaiian Village Hotel. The style gained new popularity and were employed in new commercial and residential developments in West Oahu especially in the new city of Kapolei. Hawaiian plantation architecture became a signature style for Hawaiʻi and is the most recognizable Hawaiian style being exported to other parts of the globe.