Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 3, 1 April 2009 — Building on culture [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Building on culture

flQ PPPQinPMT and pfinciPal of WCIT HO r liLOIULIl I Architecture. Rob Iopa is used to having his name attached to high-profile muhimilliondollar resort projects. But he had a date with history on his last assignment: lead architect for the renovations of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, whieh sits upon Helumoa, a favorite residence of Hawai'i's ali'i. "It was truly an honor to have worked on that project. ... Being able to inHuenee something that sits on the land that was the first (capital) of the Kingdom of Hawai'i that Kamehameha lived on and that still sits in ali'i hands is really an opportunity that many people never get," says Iopa, of the land that was willed to the Kamehameha Schools by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Helumoa is also the site of the royal grove where 10,000 coconut trees onee stood. The "driving force" behind WCIT is to infuse culture into architecture, says Iopa, a Native Hawaiian from Hilo whose firm earned $17.3 million in 2008. Even so, he says, there's an "embedded tension" between his ancestry and his profession. "To a certain extent my profession is one that looks to build; in many cases, as a Hawaiian I would look to preserve," he says. "At the same time there is a realization that some things will happen with or without me." The choices that his firm made at the Royal, such as giving partially diseased coconut trees from the royal grove new life through the masterful hands of pahu makers and bringing more Hawaiians into the Royal through cultural programs designed into the hotel - are the kinds of differences he ean make as a Native Hawaiian architect, he says. "When we start dealing with the Royal Hawaiian and start looking at the history and culture in these very important areas, how ean you not get excited about that right?" asks Iopa, who happened to turn 40 the day of the Royal's grand reopening gala. "There is a passion that has been instilled and is still burgeoning in our architecture." - Lisa Asato ■

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Rob lopo and wife Rachelle with Miehoel Cononizūdo at the Royol Howoiiūn Hotel's grond reopening golū. Rob lopo is ūlso ū co-owner of the hotel's new Meo Mūkūmoe ū HūWūiion Treasure store, whieh sells museum-quūlity art, including prized Ni'ihou shell lei like one Cononizado weors. The lopos are expecting their second son in June.