 I mean, everybody, and welcome to the penultimate show produced this summer by Dakamama, Hawaii, in which we are introducing all of you to some of Hawaii's treasures of modern architecture. We've had a series on this running all summer. We're hitting towards the end of the summer now, and over the course of the summer we've looked at everything from suburban development, urban planning. Today we are going to take a look at some of Hawaii's most interesting examples of religious architecture. And with me today, I have Tonya Mui, who is the past president of Dakamama, Hawaii, and a currently very actively involved member in every way. She runs things a lot of the time. And Tonya has a particular interest in religious architecture on the islands and was going to introduce both you and me to some of the more compelling examples of mid-century modernist Hawaiian religious architecture. So I'm really looking forward to it because actually I don't even know some of the buildings. Thanks, Laura. And part of Dakamama is having the symposium and we have Sacred Places Tour. Some of these will be on the tour, but there's just so many really cool churches out there because religion is like a temple to God, right? So people are willing to put money and to make something awe-inspiring. So that's why there's many beautiful and awe-inspiring churches. But before we get to some of these modern churches, we're going to start with the first slide, which is Kauai Hau Church, which kind of everybody knows. But just to set a little context for Hawaii and that is, you know, like first, of course, there were the temples from the native Hawaiians and then missionaries. So this is the big example of missionary churches in Hawaii, which is the Kauai Hau Church, which is made up. So the local theme here is that it's made out of coral blocks. But otherwise, it's a very New England style, right? It really reflects the New England style. So in the next slide, so this is Honpa Honganji. This is 1918. So this shows like a little development where people are getting into more culturally inspired architecture. It's, you know, the missionaries kind of got divested and they went into plantations, which brought in a lot of the Asians. That's a big part of the history of Hawaii. And so, you know, like there's a lot of little and big Buddhist temples. So this is one that's in Nuuanu and it's 1918 done by Emory and Webb. It's very Indian inspired, though. So it's not really that Japanese as lots of the little plantation ones. If you go around the neighbor islands, especially, there's some plantation architecture of this era still. But it's still very Japanese, very inspired by something particular. So in the next slide, which is built in 1929, so now we're getting a little on in time. People are getting off of the, some people are getting off of the plantations, you know, but it's still pretty much an agricultural town and still pretty much run by now the missionaries became the big five. So, but it's getting to be a town now. So this is a Chinese congregational. It's actually first Chinese church of Christ. So I mean, and obviously it had a Chinese congregation, right? So and this is done by Hart Wood, who's another very kind of famous architect. And it's this one is really interesting to me because, you know, Hart Wood was absorbed some of the arts and crafts kind of influences. So you have this really interesting mixture of Chinese ish design. I mean, it certainly doesn't look like any real historical Chinese architecture kind of creatively reinterpreted in an almost arts and crafts way. Right. Yeah. But basically, you know, that the church that the church that basically is a very Christian, you know, it's the same floor plan as he has, I think, for first Christ Church in Makiki. So it's very it's very Christian, very, very Caucasian in its origins, but lots of Chinese decorations. This is a really interesting kind of conceptual precedent, though, to actually some of the modern churches that I that we're going to be looking at in a few minutes, though. And that what is trying to come up with something new here? Yeah. Yeah. You know, he's not just doing historical New England stuff. He's working on arts and crafts is pretty cutting edge at the time. It was modern for that time. Yeah. So he's working within what was then a modernist style and introducing some of these Asian influences, trying to kind of come up with something that would culturally fit. Right. So like the late 20s and early 30s, there was a lot of that interest in regionalism in Hawaii. So and Hartwood was one of those key architects who kind of followed that path. So that's like a whole nother show. Yeah. Good stuff everywhere. And so then the next church, which is done at which is 1931 kind of contemporary with Chinese Christian Church and very close to the Chinese Christian Church is the Makiki Christian Church. And this is this was done by a Japanese architect, Heiko Fuchino. And it's like it's literally taken after Himeji Castle. Yeah. So it's very, very Japanese and pretty literal in its interpretation of the style. But again, it's a time when people are trying to bring in cultural, you know, some little cultural things into the architecture, not just the New England style that everyone kind of brought in at first. So the next slide is just an article that we found. And this is for modern, you know, it about modern churches. And it was just, you know, kind of like talking about the new look and how it's not at all like an old church anymore. And you don't look at anything the same way. But it was actually a good review for those modern churches for change. You know, and there's a lot of churches that start going into suburbs, right? So that there's expansion of suburbs after the war. There's everybody's spreading out and people are getting more money. So there's a lot of little churches that pop up here and there no longer just that one huge congregation of a church. The only sad thing I find about this one is there's two that are gone from this picture. So the one on the bottom left and the one on the top left. Yeah, the one on the bottom left is spectacular. It's amazing. Arrow. Yeah. Arrow shape that shoots towards heaven. I have another picture of it because we took some pictures before it got torn down. The other one we missed, I think. These are just in and we're going to look at some better photos of these. But I think what is striking to me is that they are so formally striking. I mean, these are very experimental, big geometries, really powerful. And just as you mentioned, Tony, because of the massive amount of expansion and suburban development after the war, all of a sudden there are all of these opportunities for these smaller community churches to be constructed centers for people to gather, which ends up being a really great opportunity for architects to kind of flex their experimental. Yes, and a lot of them were very experimental, you know? And it was in new technology, right? So the 60, 50, 60 springs in new technology so they could try all these different things. Some, I guess, didn't work as well. But a lot of them are still here. And yeah, that's interesting how we're talking about the expansion. I think most of these are not in Honolulu. Yeah, that would make sense. They're on the outskirts, so that's another pretty interesting thing. So in the next slide, this is one of, you know, your favorite, yeah, your very involved with. And so this is surprisingly 1953, which is pretty early after the war. The Alfred Price, who that can be a whole nother show again. But, you know, he did this technique with this large aggregate, so using local rock. And I think, well, the next slide, I think shows a little bit more how he just, you know, so it opened up, the sides are actually completely open. The top side is completely open to the outdoor climate. So it's very inspired by Hawaii's climate, I guess, more than the multitude of cultures that we have here, but the climate, the rock, you know, the geometry of Hawaii is reflected, I think, in Alfred Price's church. Yeah, the whole concept of this, what's an indoor-outdoor church, you know, which becomes really a predominant idea in mid-century architecture in Hawaii. I mean, where else do you see architects making indoor-outdoor churches? Not that many places. Not that many places can, I guess. Yeah, and so I think that, like, you know, at least in my opinion, that's one of the things that makes sacred spaces on these islands so interesting from this time period, is that they're taking traditional kinds of forms. I mean, Christian churches have certain liturgies that you have to follow. You have to have an altar in one place. You have to have a processional, but then they're kind of trying to integrate those ideas with the climate. Yeah, right. And this one is one of the best examples, I think, of the use of Hawaii's climate. And the next slide shows the interior of it, which is, you know, it's kind of stark in a way, but it's very, you know, I still find it very, like, awe-inspiring when you go there and just the use, his use of the natural light exactly, you know, just makes it, the cross just stand out there. So it's, I think it's one of my favorite churches. Yeah, it's very airy. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Right. And I think, you know, the thing that I, besides just the aggregate and the concrete and the illuminated cross are these rafters above, which are done in wood. And even though they're done in these very angular kinds of forms, you know, there is a precedent for that in Gothic architecture, where you have large, or at least in New England Gothic architecture, where you have these large support structures of the roof done in wood, done in very sculptural styles. And in a way, Price has taken that idea, but he's made it modern. Yeah, right. Yeah. So I think he's one of the best at abstracting ideas. And making it into something modern. Yeah, one of my favorite architects as well. So moving on from Alfred Price, we have a couple of examples of A-frames, which became a very popular form, because I think it was not that difficult to do. Probably cheap. Probably cheap, you know, here the roof is the same as your wall. It's all kind of the same thing. So there's a lot of A-frames in Hawaii. So this is, I think, one of the more successful ones or the more with a lot of detail. So this is Kalihi Union Church. And so the next slide, I think, we see where it shows you how this particular architect, this is done by Lon Wilson, handled the A-frame itself, which is like laminated wood beams, which is also fairly new at this time in 1957, still fairly new technology. So that is, you know, that allowed them to have these white fences. And, you know, I kind of, it's interesting the way they handle the end, because at the very end, of course, you couldn't have a room because there would be nothing there. And then this shows that there's a lot of still Asian influence in the architecture. It's absolutely fascinating when we were looking at these photos before. I hadn't seen this one, but this blending of the Shoji screens, you know, with a Christian church is just absolutely fascinating. And this beautiful wooden shake roof and then the lava rock, really textural. Right. And like a lot of the churches, right, they could open all those Shoji doors and, you know, you can expand your congregation, or you could just have the air flowing in and out. So it was very popular. And there's one more on the next slide. There's another A-frame that I just, oh, could I not throw it in? Okay. Sorry. We're actually, we might find one there, yeah, it might pop up again. So I guess what we're kind of alluding to or what we're, what Laura and I talked about was how earlier they were like little more literal in their translation of Asian or, or any cultural thing. So this is Soto, which was done in 1952. And it was done by Fuchino and Katsuyoshi, so both Japanese, right? So they really have, they had a lot of the Japanese tradition in their wheelhouse, so to speak. So this one is little on the Indian side, but it's still very Japanese. And this is done in 1952. And so the next slide. So I want to stop here real quick. I'm really interested, do you have, since we've seen two of these temples that have these Indian influences, where is that coming from? Because Buddhism, actually in the, yeah, yeah, but it's interesting to see that happen here, you know, because you don't see that happen so much in Japan or in China. There's a little bit, but to have this kind of revival. Yeah, I guess Hawaii people just could just pull from wherever they wanted to. That's, that's really interesting. It is, it is, you know, architects kind of creatively mining all of these cultural sources. Yeah, because it was available to people more here probably than in Japan or China. That's a good point, true. Okay. So, so the next one, this is a slide of, it's another Soto Zen temple, but this is in Waipahu, so it's kind of hard for people to get to, but it's, this one is done in 1973 by Robert Katsu, I'm not Robert, I'm sorry, Robert Matsushita, who passed away fairly early, so we don't have too many of his work, but to me, this one is kind of a phenomenal abstraction of, you know, it's like, it's totally different from the other one, and the way he really used modern techniques like, so that's gutter. Okay. Right. So, and then the next slide actually shows an overall view that they had of it. So this one is more alluding to me, it alludes more to like Hawaiian architecture, like he's trying to, you know, return to like the Hawaiian roots of this place and mixing it with a little bit of the Asian in the Soto Zen. Because you have that base that looks like traditional Hawaiian spaces of worship with the Asian, and it's just a fascinating ad mixture of all of these different sources, incredibly creative, and very, very powerful in its materiality. Yeah, so it's like kind of in a way super simple, yet it's so striking that I really admire this piece of architecture. So then I have just a bunch of slides that are like kind of chronological. So again, 1952. So again, it's kind of more on the literal side. It's actually what became Architects Hawaii, but Limon and Free. Oh, okay. It's an Episcopal church in Nuanu. So it makes you wonder if they were responding to the requests of the particular congregation to, you know, because religious communities are different. Yeah. And if you have a group that is, say, more interested in retaining their Chinese heritage and having that be very, very visible in the church, that might have been something that came through here as the architects work on the design. Yeah, that's very true. But I think by the 60s, it mostly disappears. Okay. So that's kind of an interesting thing in itself, right? That no longer maybe no longer do the groups feel they have to stick together. And now they are more part of the United States or so then they kind of have little more modern contemporary at that time, you know, looking at what's in the USA or what becoming American. So the next one, I think we're just going to go down. So this is the other A frame I had great building. Yeah, which is a beautiful building and they took advantage of the A frame by having that end wall be a total stained glass window. So, you know, talk about being awe inspiring. Any idea who designed the stained glass? I haven't been inside and I'm imagining it just must be this glorious shock of color. It is. It's and they was built for military. Oh, okay. So the stained glass and I actually I do know it somewhere, but I can't think of it's not like Karina, you know, who did a lot of stained glass for churches. It's not her. It's somebody else, but they did it for the military. So it's got some military things going in. Yeah, it's kind of interesting. But I mean, you know, talk about awe inspiring, right? When you go in and what is that wall of glass and color and just so beautiful. And even more interesting in a way to me from in terms of the way churches are usually set up. I don't know what the other side looks like. If they're stained glass on the other end. But the fact that this is to your back and you kind of yeah, when you leave is when you would actually be experiencing yeah, that's right. You know, as you re enter the world, you go through this transcendental kind of moment. Well, then there's the military theme. So it brings you back to this is your reality. Yeah, but yeah, so this one is done by Clifford Young, who recently I just found out that he was the one who brought I am pay to do East West Center. Oh, interesting classmates. So yeah, I just found that out. Important connection. I know, right? So yeah, he's done some really fabulous work and this, including this church. So 57, but you know, like a lot of these things there just could transport to today, right? And then the next, the next slide, this is just to show like how there's all different religions coming in. And this is it's alums temple Emmanuel. And then we'll just run through some slides so that this is actually actually if you want to go back to the temple Emmanuel. One of the things I've been in this building a number of times and one of the things that I think is striking about it is it's very modest from the outside, but the interior actually does have these lines of stained glass and illumination on either side of that central white pillar which also really brings the space to life. And it's quite a beautiful building on its interior, small too, because the Jewish community, at least on Oahu is quite small. I think it used to be bigger, but it's shrunk a little bit, but many of these buildings I always sense are really supposed to be experienced from the inside. That is true. Really critical. You drive by it and you think, okay, but it's when you go in. There's even more beautiful. Yeah, yeah. So, but a lot of these churches are pretty nice on the exterior too. They are. So, yeah, especially these modern churches. Let's see now, we can continue on our little travel around. Oh, this is just such a wonderful photograph. Yeah, so this is 1960. It's new technology at the time, folded plate, construction, and this architect who was not from Hawaii, but he did a lot of Baptist church. Yeah, he was military. And so this is very close to the military base as well, but he was inspired by the Ko'olau Mountain Range. And you can pretty much see that. And this was done in 1960. And 19, so the next slide is, we're just gonna go through as many as we can before we get kicked out. It is five minutes left, so we're okay. So this is Harris Memorial Church. I think I have an interior shot of it. Can we see the next slide? Oh no, I'm sorry, I do not. Oh well. Yeah, just going back to that, it's not an A-frame anymore. It's an A-frame with a flat roof on top, but taking that earlier interest in the A-frame and then the architect is playing with that idea. The very steepness and kind of like two praying hands. But still, I think at least I see playing with the idea of the native Hawaiian lanai, too, with that large roof structure being on the focal point, the holly. Sorry. Getting my words mixed up today, it's got a little late. But yes, the holly, exactly, and the roof being the dominant feature. The dominant feature. And then, so the next slide is that, this is 1965, and this is the one that got, it's torn down. Oh, that's so sad. Yeah, so the difference with this folded plate roof and the other one we saw in 1960 is this one was made out of wood. So it slowly sagged until it had to be demolished, unfortunately, but it was another, it was also said to be inspired by the koala range. Yeah, those geometries are just really quite amazing. Incredibly pointy and incredibly complex, but not in an overly complex way. It's a good balance. And it's all in the roof. Yeah. And then the next slide is a great church as well. And this one, so to compare it with like that Chinese Christian church, this is a Chinese congregation as well. And it was done by Chinese architects. Oh, really? Yeah, so Wong and Wong did this in 1965. But it's totally a shape that's not familiar to anything, really, and it's made with lava rock, which is local material. So it's really very, to me, very, very unique. And Wong and Wong has done projects that have very Chinese influence, like the consulate, right, close to this church. So that's Wong and Wong also. So they have some very modern, it's modern, but has some details in there. But this one is like very unique to me. It's modern, but because of the use of that lava rock, it has this timeless ancient quality to it. You can almost see it like a Hale, but not really. Yeah, yeah, it's straddling the old and new, I think, in a really effective way, but also as in some of the other churches evoking the steep mountain ranges. Right, yeah, and it's in a different way. And then that's acting like a steep hole in the front. Yeah, yeah. So it's got this church features, but just very done in a very different way, right? That might be one of the more creative examples that I think we've seen so far. I would have liked to have been in the office listening a fly on the wall. Like, how did that shape come about? I know, unfortunately they're not around anymore either. So, and then the next one is another actually Wong and Wong, so this is Manoa Valley Church. So, you know, they really played a lot with geometry, so the slope, you probably can't really tell because of the perspective, but it goes down, right? So it goes, so the back goes down. It's not just a straight A-frame, it's an A-frame triangle kind of a thing. And the interior effect, I've been in this one too, is it is you enter from the back and it is quite low down and then the space kind of shoots up and expands. Right. In front of you. And it also, the sides can be open, giving another indoor-outdoor kind of feel. And the interior is done in this really exquisite wood, so it's a very sensory kind of immersive sort of environment. Yeah, which is really great for a church, right? So I have to, unfortunately, we're about out of time, but this is a good one to end on anyway. I think it embodies a number of the qualities that we were talking about just with the A-frame. It's surrounded by the mountain. But I want to thank Tonya so much for putting all of these wonderful images together. And coming and being on the show, we've had a great summer. We've seen so many wonderful buildings all summer. The Dachamomo Symposium is coming up soon, and we hope to see you all there. Thank you. Thank you.