Land Sea Shelter Culture

AHL is one of the most prominent, prestigious, and progressive architectural practices working in Hawaii. As such, the history of modern architecture in Hawaii is very much the history of AHL. Over the past 75 years, no firm has built bigger, higher, or more frequently that AHL. This book tells their story and in so doing, tells the story of a modern Hawaii.

The output of the firm is extraordinary, ranging from numerous state and federal facilities such as the Hawaii State Capitol building to the Prince Jonah Kūhō Kalaniana‘ole Federal Building. The first high-rises in Hawaii belong to AHL along with some of most high-profile residential (Moana Pacific), hospitality (Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa), healthcare and education (John A. Burns School of Medicine), and commercial complexes such as the American Savings Bank and Pacific Guardian Center Towers, to numerous retail stores, schools and university buildings, churches, and extensive work with the military.

AHL’s projects extend beyond the state of Hawaii, throughout the Pacific in Guam, Philippines, Palau, American Samoa, and Asia.
The scope of the book covers the period from 1946, when founder Cy Lemmon, opened the first office in the garage of his Waikiki home through present day operations housing a staff of over one hundred working in downtown Honolulu.