Walters Kimura Motoda, Inc.

Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

2006 Hawaii A.S.L.A. Honor Award

Given the tower’s size and proximity to the street, the landscaping became a vital factor in creating a transition between the hotel and surrounding environs. Large lawn areas and Coconut Palms provide an open, inviting atmosphere at the corner of Kalia Road and Ala Moana Boulevard.

Three bronze statues of twice-lifesize hula kahiko dancers are set on rocks in the middle of the pond. Twenty-foot high waterfalls provide the backdrop and dynamic to mitigate the noise and fumes of the surrounding traffic.

Hala, Kukui, Breadfruit, Ti, and Coconut Palm were used to enhance the Hawaiian sense of place expressed in the architecture, as well as to mitigate the height of the tower to the passersby below.