Studio Gang has designed a 41-story residential high rise called Ko’ula that would be a central component within the 60-acre Ward Village master-planned community in Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
The tower will include 565 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences, each with its own lanai, or veranda. The design of the building—which twists as it rises and undulates to create a succession of different floor plans—recalls the shape of red sugarcane plants that once grew in this area.
The Howard Hughes Corporation is the developer on this tower and Ward Village. The design firm Yabu Pushelberg designed Ko’ula’s interiors, which will showcase natural materials, colors, and textures. The project has yet to name its other Building Team members.
A porte cochiere connects the high rise to an expansive courtyard. Image: The Howard Hughes Corporation
The high rise will connect to a public porch that opens onto an expansive courtyard that will serve as another entry point for Ward Village’s Central Plaza, which began construction earlier this year and whose first phase is expected to open to the public in January. The completed tower will include 58,300 sf of dining and retail spaces, 11,000 sf of open spaces, and 58,496 sf of recreational spaces.
Ko’ula’s residents will have exclusive access to a lobby and dropoff area located a level above the street.
A sales office that the design firm Woods Bagot converted from a 1960s-era office building will start taking purchase orders for Ko’ula’s residences later this year. Ko’ula is scheduled to break ground sometime in 2019, although no specific date has been set. Hughes has not disclosed a completion date nor the project’s anticipated cost.
One of the amenities decks within the Ko'ula high rise, which will offer 565 apartments. Image: The Howard Hughes Corporation
The Ward Village district is located between downtown Honolulu and Waikīkī. As part of the district’s redevelopment, Howard Hughes Corporation last summer topped off a 43-story mixed-use tower called Ke Kilohana, with 424 residential units, 375 of which targeting workforce buyers.
When it’s completed, Ward Village will have 4,500 residences and one million sf of retail space. It is part of Ka’kaako, Honolulu’s commercial and retail district for which the city has laid out ambitious expansion plans that include 30 new buildings.
Related Stories
| Jan 27, 2011
Perkins Eastman's report on senior housing signals a changing market
Top international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce that the Perkins Eastman Research Collaborative recently completed the “Design for Aging Review 10 Insights and Innovations: The State of Senior Housing” study for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The results of the comprehensive study reflect the changing demands and emerging concepts that are re-shaping today’s senior living industry.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Nothing dinky about these residences for Golden Gophers
The Sydney Hall Student Apartments combines 125 student residences with 15,000 sf of retail space in the University of Minnesota’s historic Dinkytown neighborhood, in Minneapolis.
| Jan 21, 2011
Revamped hotel-turned-condominium building holds on to historic style
The historic 89,000-sf Hotel Stowell in Los Angeles was reincarnated as the El Dorado, a 65-unit loft condominium building with retail and restaurant space. Rockefeller Partners Architects, El Segundo, Calif., aimed to preserve the building’s Gothic-Art Nouveau combination style while updating it for modern living.
| Jan 21, 2011
Upscale apartments offer residents a twist on modern history
The Goodwynn at Town: Brookhaven, a 433,300-sf residential and retail building in DeKalb County, Ga., combines a historic look with modern amenities. Atlanta-based project architect Niles Bolton Associates used contemporary materials in historic patterns and colors on the exterior, while concealing a six-level parking structure on the interior.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
