The Alexander and Baldwin Building, the First Church of Christ Science, the Board of Water Supply Administration Building, the Chinese Christian Church -- these icons of Honolulu's architectural legacy were designed by Hart Wood, the first architect in Hawaii to meld Asian and Western forms and the subject of a new book published this year by University of Hawaii Press.

Besides providing an analysis of how Wood's designs fit into a territorial and national context, Hart Wood familiarizes the reader with a previously little-known inventory of his residential portfolio and shows it to be an important part of developing regionalism in Hawaiian architecture.

The richly illustrated book was written by Don Hibbard, the State's historic preservation officer from 1981-2002; Glenn Mason, the president of Mason Architects, Inc.; and Karen Weitze, an architectural historian from California who has worked on preservation projects here and across the country.

MAI received five awards from the Historic Hawaii Foundation at the awards presentation ceremony on April 22. These awards honor "preservation projects that perpetuate, rehabilitate, restore or interpret the state's architectural, archaeological and/or cultural heritage." MAI shared two of the awards with contractor Alan Shintani and developer Ohana Military Communities for the rehabilitation and conversion of the two-story duplexes built in the Makalapa neighborhood of Pearl Harbor in the 1940s. We also shared an award with the County of Kauai's County Clerk and Department of Public Works, Building Division, for the restoration of the Kauai County Building - Annex 1, originally designed by Hart Wood (more). And MAI won awards for repairing damage from the October, 2006 earthquake to two historic buildings on the Island of Hawaii: Kalahikiola Church (more) and Hulihe'e Palace (more).

In October, 2009 Glenn Mason and Gary Chock, structural engineer, flew to Midway Atoll to evaluate the condition of Seaplane Hangar, Building 151, and recommend measures to stabilize and preserve it. The hangar was designed by Albert Kahn, Inc. in 1940 and was scarcely finished when it was hit and partially burned during the December 7, 1941 attack on Naval Air Station Midway Islands. It was reduced to half its size after the attack and was hit again by bombs and shells during the Battle of Midway in June, 1942. The half hangar continued to house seaplanes until the late 1960s. The harsh marine environment and lack of repair have caused the hangar to deteriorate badly. The hangar is historically significant as part of the Battle of Midway National Memorial. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, current stewards of the National Memorial/Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, also need the building to house main-tenance vehicles and supplies. As a result of the study the FWS has decided to do work sufficient to stabilize the structure while retaining its historic integrity.