Backgrounder: Richard Meier & Partners Project: Gateway Towers (Honolulu, Hawaii)

I believe that architecture has the power to inspire, to elevate the spirit, to feed both the mind and the body. It is for me the most public of the arts. – Richard Meier

Coming to Honolulu in 2015, the Gateway Towers at Ward Village represent the extraordinary vision of The Howard Hughes Corporation, working in concert with Richard Meier & Partners Architects, the globally recognized architectural firm, which recently celebrated 50 years of design and a prolific body of work that spans the globe. One of America’s most influential and widely emulated architects, the work of Richard Meier is instantly recognizable and internationally respected as among the finest in the world. He has received the highest honors in the field including the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, the Gold Medals of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as the from the Japan Art Association.

Meier works within a visual and spatial language that is uniquely his own, creating elegant, contemporary architecture of extreme beauty. Paul Goldberger, former architecture critic for The New Yorker, noted, “A Meier building is a sensuous experience before it is anything else. It is an exploration of solid and void and light and texture, and an essay on composition. Every Richard Meier building is visually compelling ... they are deeply beautiful.”

Citing Bernini and Borromini as influences, as well as and Louis Kahn, Meier began his career with Skidmore Owings and Merrill and . He began his own private practice in New York in 1963 and rocketed to architectural fame in the early 1970s, after being named as one of the “New York Five.”

In addition to creating many important works in both the public and private spheres, in recent years Meier has established a reputation for expanding the horizons of contemporary American architecture while maintaining his rigorously rational approach to design and detailing. Known for carefully conceived grid plans and frequent use of white, Meier is a master of light, space, and volume, able to adapt his style to different circumstances and locations.

Principal designer on the Gateway Towers is Michael Palladino, who has collaborated with Meier on many award-winning commercial projects and private residences in the United States and overseas. Appointed Partner in 1985, Michael moved to in 1986 to open Richard Meier & Partners’ west coast office with the primary purpose to design and build the Getty Center. Since that time he has been responsible for the Museum of Television & Radio () in Beverly Hills; the in Beverly Hills; the Broad Art Center at UCLA; Camden Medical Centre in Singapore; private residences in Kuala Lumpur, Malibu, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Santa Ynez, San Francisco and Santa Barbara; and high-rise luxury condominiums in Philadelphia and Beverly Hills.

RICHARD MEIER AND WARD VILLAGE GATEWAY TOWERS: THOUGHTFUL, CONTEMPORARY and EXTRAORDINARY

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY The principles that guide the extraordinary residences of Gateway Towers are rooted in timeless, classical design issues such as site, order and the use of natural light. These residences in the sky represent the epitome of modern architecture, providing an optimistic expression of contemporary life, while incorporating additional contemporary values: technology, sustainability, collaboration, and image. The resulting residences will be works of unsurpassed beauty and elegance that are gracious complements to Hawaii’s natural environment.

Richard Meier’s early career was defined by a series of remarkable private residences; today a significant part of the practice remains where it started – with spectacular single-family homes. Richard Meier & Partners brings this astute attention to detail and understanding of a discerning clientele’s needs to the Gateway Towers, creating residential masterpieces unmatched by any condominium ever built in Honolulu.

SITE & CONTEXT Meier & Partners has created a strong sense of place with the Gateway Towers; the extraordinary residences offer captivating ocean views. The design transforms the existing four-acre site in a unique and provocative way – including soaring public spaces and spectacular outdoor rooms that provoke a strong dialog with the setting. Thoughtful proportion and scale are fundamental to the harmonious design.

The inspiration for the towers is a reflection of the unique historical influences and archeology of the area, marking the pivot point between two urban grids that meet at the Gateway site. The blade-shaped building stands at 400 feet tall and derives its form and orientation from the urban grid that stretches from downtown Honolulu into Ward Village. The shorter tower stands at approximately 300 feet tall; its curved façade provides an “Imax” view of the spectacular environment. In addition, its rounded exterior identifies the rotation of the urban fabric of Honolulu. Shaped by the flow of water from the mountains to the sea this ancient urban fabric can be seen in the orientation of historical streams and salt pans that once occupied the land. This pivot point in the two grids – between downtown and Waikiki – marks the future center of Ward Village and the core of a neighborhood that will become the new center of Honolulu.

IMAGE This iconic project has a unique opportunity to become a landmark on the Honolulu skyline. A limited palette of materials is used, including stone paving and walls that recall the coral reefs that once dominated the coastline and lie just below the site. Complementing the project are a dynamic landscape, hardscape and water features that emphasize lightness, transparency and precision assembly.

LIGHT Natural light is a fundamental element central to all of Meier’s work, and is as much a part of the composition of the architecture as concrete and stone. It is manipulated to shape space, lend spirit, mark the passage of time, and reveal the sky, all elements essential to a rich architectural and lifestyle experience. This obsession with light includes an extensive integration of natural light along with the use of traditional methods and new technologies to harvest it.

TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY Decades of work in Europe, California and other locations with stringent regulations governing natural ventilation, daylight, and energy consumption have long inspired Meier toward energy and environmental performance in the design process. Ward Village is part of the largest LEED-ND Platinum- certified project in the United States and the first of its kind in Hawaii. The Gateway Towers design makes intelligent use of Hawaii’s precious natural resources, including those freely available such as the sun’s warmth and light, natural breezes for ventilation and cooling, and the integral nature of landscaping and its influence on the site’s microclimate.

NOTABLE PROJECTS Richard Meier & Partners is well known for the Getty Center and the Paley Center in Los Angeles, federal courthouses on Long Island and in Phoenix, the Jubilee Church in Rome, and the iconic Charles and Perry Street Condominium Towers in . It has produced important office buildings and headquarters in the United States, Asia, South America and across Europe in , , Switzerland and the Netherlands for clients including Canal+, Siemens, KNP, Daimler Benz, Olivetti, Renault and Swissair. Richard Meier & Partners also has built nearly 20 museums, including the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and the Burda and Arp Museums in Germany.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

PRIMARY MEDIA CONTACT: Brooke Badger | Dania Jimenez Murphy O’Brien Public Relations [email protected] |[email protected] 310.586.7141

LOCAL MEDIA CONTACT: Jean Dickinson Communications Pacific [email protected] 808.543.3571 or 808.230.5998