| First Hawaiian Center Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
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"The
175 million First Hawaiian Center tower, designed by KPF, is the best
tall building in Honolulu... At First Hawaiian, KPF’s elegant composition significantly ups the esthetic ante for commercial structures in Honolulu." Reed Kroloff, Architecture, November 1997 Hawaii is memorable for its landscape; the dramatic confrontation between the mountains and the sea is profound. The tension in this dynamic landscape of juxtapositions inspired a unique architectural language for a Honolulu skyscaper. Situated on a full-block site in Honolulu, this 30-storey bank headquarters, office building and exhibition space for the Contemporary Museum next to Bishop Park, the heart of the city's financial district. The tower is composed of two distinct forms, one which faces the sea and the other which faces the mountains, and a low podium containing a museum and a banking hall. This podium engages the tower with the urban context and shapes a series of gardens along the surrounding streets. The building’s fenestration codifies each of its major parts; horizontally louvered windows frame views of the sea and the horizon; vertically proportioned fenestration faces the mountains; by a great wall of prismatic-glass louvers dominate the podium. These louvers fracture the light passing through them into a dazzling spectral brilliance. This kaleidoscopic display of natural light continually transforms the interior of the museum and the banking hall. 
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