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Nittei Apartment Building

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1996, Roy K. Yamamoto. 745 Isenberg St.
  • (Photograph by Kaoru Lovett)
  • (Photograph by Kaoru Lovett)
  • (Photograph by Kaoru Lovett)
  • (Photograph by Kaoru Lovett)

This eleven-story condominium revels in the interplay of color and materials. Angular, slick, spacious lanai with blue glass contrast with the building's bright white, round-cornered, and raked concrete surfaces. The tower's sculptural qualities allow it to gently stand out from its lower neighbors. Seated on piers and raised one story above the ground, the twenty-two units connect to the street via a diminutive, pass-through, marble-veneered lobby, allowing the majority of the ground level to be devoted to covered parking and a pool.

Roy K. Yamamoto was born in Japan and immigrated to Hawaii as a child. He graduated from McKinley High School, and the University of Hawaii's school of architecture in 1970. For several years, he worked with Takashi Anbe and then with Wimberly, Whisenand, Allison, Tong and Goo. He later joined Lawton and Umemura, becoming a partner in that firm. When Chris Hemmeter bought that architectural firm in 1986–1987, Yamamoto opened his own office. His projects include Kyo-ya restaurant (OA132), the Keauhou shopping center (78-6831 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona), Bay View Golf Clubhouse (1997; 45-285 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kaneohe), and Aloha Ke Akua Wedding Chapel (1998; 47-507 Kamehameha Highway, Kahaluu).

Writing Credits

Author: 
Don J. Hibbard
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Citation

Don J. Hibbard, "Nittei Apartment Building", [Honolulu, Hawaii], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/HI-01-OA127.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Hawaii

Buildings of Hawaii, Don J. Hibbard. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011, 155-155.

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