Aloha, I’m Kalaʻi Miller, welcome to Home is Here.

We’re at the Liljestrand House overlooking Honolulu.

This home was designed by the renowned Hawaiʻi-based architect Vladimir Ossipoff for Betty and Howard Liljestrand and completed in 1952.

Vladimir Ossipoff was born in Russia in 1907, spent his youth in Japan, emigrating to the United States in 1923.

A few years after graduating from UC Berkley he moved to Honolulu in 1931 to start his career.

Ossipoff designed some of the most iconic buildings and homes in Hawaiʻi.

He seamlessly combined influences from the East and West and created structures perfectly suited to the islands.

His designs invite nature in and connect the resident to the unique environment here.

Now we’re gonna hear from Ossipoff enthusiasts and preservationists who are working to share the architect’s legacy with Hawaiʻi and the world.

He was always kind of a very interesting figure.

Even during his life he garnered a lot of respect within the profession, both here locally and internationally in his prime.

People around the world recognized, especially through the Liljestrand House and the Liljestrand House Foundation that you know there, there is great architecture of a certain period here in the islands.

Ossipoff had this this innate understanding of the microclimates of Hawaiʻi.

And so when he would design a house on the beach, it'd be designed completely differently than how he would design a house up here in the mountains.

And it was this ability to kind of tune a building to the environment that connected people with the place.

If you were to design a building with small openings, and insulation and air conditioning, there's kind of no reason for it to be in Hawaiʻi anymore.

Hawaiʻi is surrounded by this significant beauty.

And if you're going to be living here, you know, you might as well embrace the natural world around you, whether it's kind of a small suburban site or a site like this with spectacular views.

He, he treated them the same, he gave people this opportunity, the users inside of it, to open their homes up to the environment.

He reveals the site, or the place of the, of the building to you through your experience.

His architecture, I would argue, can even heighten one's knowledge of a place through these moments in time.

So he didn't just design a building or draw a floor plan, he actually imagined an experience.

He was aware of how you would arrive, and how you come down this private path.

And suddenly you arrive at the house.

So you know, his thinking, I think, you know, really reinforced the special qualities of the place.

So the surprises are not just in nature, but it's also the architecture right showing itself.

Over time, through undergrad and grad school, I became really familiar and visited as many of his projects as I could and kind of you know, declared myself the president of the Ossipoff fan club.

I think, you know, I've tried to see as many of his projects as possible and try to, you know, learn as much as I could from all of them.

There's always one project that I had heard about, but I've never known anything more about it.

In 2007, when Dean Sakamoto wrote the book, Hawaiian Modern about Ossipoff’s work he also co-produced a film that had these short little segments of home footage, shot by Howard Liljestrand up here of the Ossipoff cabin, and they didn't mention it.

You know where it was, they didn't mention the significance of the project, they just kind of had these little home video clips, and talked about Ossipoff’s sensitivity to climate, Ossipoff’s Japanese cultural background and experiences there.

And, you know, to me, it seemed like this project was significant, but it was a mystery.

You know, what happened to it?

Where was it?

We are at the summit ridge of the Waiʻanae Mountains above Nānākuli Valley in a place generally referred to these days as Pālehua.

So we're at about 2500 feet in elevation in the clouds looking over the leeward side, the Leeward Coast all the way to Mākaha.

This old cabin was built in the early 1950s by Vladimir Ossipoff as a family project, a retreat, a place to come up with his family and friends for weekends.

And they kept it until the mid-1970s.

He built it over time.

And brought up, you know, staff, contractors to come help him to bring materials up there or just find materials around it to build this little mountain retreat at Pālehua.

And he was also an avid camper, he called himself the quartermaster.

For these camping trips he did with his, his guy friends.

They would go camping to, Molokaʻi, uh Big Island, and um he would set up the camp.

He would always set up a kitchen.

And he seemed to enjoy doing these things.

I was told that he would show up at the campsite with a, with a framing hammer and sack of nails, and he set up a kitchen and actually do all the ordering of the food, the wine, the drinks.

And so it was kind of a very elaborate camping thing.

And I think that Pālehua was kind of a reflection of his love for nature.

Ossipoff is mostly known for his polished finished projects, right?

His residences that were built for, you know, kind of the, the rich and powerful of the 1950s and 60s.

And so these like highly polished buildings, you know, a lot of his residences are like that.

And even his, like larger public civic buildings are like that.

They're these kind of very finished, you know, masterpieces.

And Ossipoff also wasn't someone who lectured or spoke about his philosophies.

So everything that we take from his work is really just best guesses or kind of drawing our own conclusions about why these projects are significant.

I think this building, Ossipoff’s cabin here at Palehua is probably the most significant because it was, you know, a shoestring budget, there was no client, there was no one else that he needed to answer to.

There wasn't anyone else he was trying to please.

There wasn't anyone that he needed to, you know, render this building in this polished fashion in order to sell an idea.

To me, I think that this building is significant, because it's his sketchbook, rather than the finish oil painting.

And if you look at it, it's all of these moments of exploration and experimentation and prototyping.

That really is an evidence of his thought process.

And what he found important, and what he wanted to build on this small budget on this site of on this piece of land that he did not ultimately own at the end of the day, it was his chance to try things out before putting them into these larger buildings that we all know him for today.

Certainly, we are aware of Vladimir Ossipoff and his contribution to local Hawaiian architecture.

And that this was a place that he built by hand is just obviously special.

Personally, I appreciate Hawaiʻi's history.

Both ancient and modern history are important, I think to understand where we are today.

When you see something that is unique, and that has a special meaning to the history, in Hawaiʻi, it's your responsibility to care for it, and to maintain it and make it available.

So other people can appreciate it, and hopefully, get a better idea of their roots of our culture as it has evolved through time in Hawaiʻi.

One of the incredible things about this place, uh, is that, you know, this was just kind of the cherry on top of the whole ahupuaʻa that the Gill family is in charge of.

And you know, their mission and their goal is to really restore this whole hillside back to its native ecosystem.

And so this cabin, though it was something important to them and something that they wanted to, you know, preserve and protect and share with people was something that they didn't really have the time to kind of really pull the resources, you know, design team and all the proper carpenters and, you know, preservationists together.

But because they started sharing this place with the community, skilled craftsmen, and carpenters, and architects and artists, all kind of, you know, reached out and said, hey, we'd love to help in any way we can.

There was a draw to this place.

And it's not just that it's a beautiful spot.

But it's I think it's this legacy that you know, of Ossipoff and the legacy of the teachings that you can pull from this place that really like brought the community together.

This is a historic cabin in the middle of the conservation district.

Our mission up here is to preserve the environment, the conservation resources, the historic resources of this mountain, so that they can be shared for future generations and hopefully provide a kind of emotional or psychological anchor for future generations so they know where they came from, they know the heritage and the history of this place.

And if they come to this spot, and they love this area, they will work to protect it for generations beyond.

I think the greater goal of looking at a figure like Vladimir Ossipoff, who was truly committed and certainly capable to merge the natural environment with the built environment, is that hopefully his legacy will help us to shape a better built environment today and in the future here in Hawaiʻi.

I could spend all day talking about abstract ideas and how to do things right.

But many people that don't understand architecture, you know that those concepts will just go right over their head.

But if they can come up to one of these places, Ossipoff’s cabin at Pālehua, or the Liljestrand House and see those principles, see those abstract ideas in action, experience them, view them, walk through those spaces, they can still get the value out of it.

They can still say, you know, that is a nice view.

And this house captures that view, it connects that view, everyone can appreciate the beauty of nature.

And not everyone can appreciate the complexity of how architecture might capture that natural view.

But without these spaces, without these buildings here, we would just be waving our hands in the air talking about abstract ideas.

Think back to when you were in high school and what was important for you.

For Marissa Halagao she didn't see herself being reflected in her education.

And she wanted to know why.

With a fresh perspective, this teenager is putting in the work to create and embrace inclusiveness, diversity, and social change.

So when I was a sophomore, I was looking through my course catalog that was describing the classes that I was going to take that year.

And I noticed that the required Asian History class was focused only around China and Japan.

At first, I was really excited that Punahou was offering an Asian History class.

But it was kind of painful to see that my history as a Filipino American wasn't being included, even though Filipinos make up the largest Asian ethnic group in the state.

The thing is when we do have Asian representation, whether that be in the media or in education, like in this case, when we have Asian Studies programs, the main focus is primarily around East Asians and East Asian culture that really enforces a hierarchy among Asian groups.

And so I thought to myself, why weren't we being represented?

Why is this communicating to me that my culture isn't worthy to be seen in a classroom setting, so that was kind of my awakening point.

Three years ago, Punahou designed a new curriculum called GSD, global sustainability by design.

Basically, we were having these kids look at the UN sustainability goals.

And we wanted them to design to learn things like empathy, global perspective, creativity, collaboration, and we want them to design solutions and projects around these challenges affecting our world.

We came up with the GSD, global sustainability by design, Asian Studies course, because we already offer Asian History sophomore year, so we thought that would be a nice fit.

And so we have this course.

And it was geared around the UN sustainability goals in the region.

And then I met Marissa.

She came to me and she was like, Look, I want to see myself in, in a curriculum.

I'm Filipino and I really want an opportunity to explore.

And she gave me all the statistics about the number of Filipinos in Hawaii and at Punahou.

And so we we kind of had this invested interest in just focusing on the UN sustainability goals.

But it wasn't until I talked to Marissa that I realized we were missing the identity piece.

I kind of accepted that, of not really seeing myself being reflected, or represented in education.

But that does not need to be something that I have to settle for.

And so that was when I got in touch with a lot of my teachers that I'm working with now, such as Mr. Vierra and Dr. Vierra, because I was told that they were creating a new Asian Studies curriculum and I reached out and asked if I can be in charge of writing the unit or the portion about Filipino history and culture.

And they were super supportive.

They were really on board.

I think, for me personally, as a white male, like, I think I've always seen myself in every curriculum I've ever had growing up, whether it was the books that we read, or the history that we studied.

And so I felt like I could connect and my teachers could help me connect, because I felt like oh, that could be me, I see myself there.

If students aren't connecting, if we're not making our curriculum more inclusive, I would argue that they're not learning.

I think I was able to include not only my knowledge and research about Filipino history and culture, but just a student voice as well.

I'm speaking with Mr. Vierra a lot, because we had a lot of meetings and how to include, like my perspective, not only just in Filipino representation, but with themes and concepts and approaches.

And I really am an advocate for education and curriculum that engages students and also makes connections.

We're kind of at this point in education where information is everywhere.

And so instead of getting kids to just, like passively receive it, we want them to be more creators with it.

We want them to take initiative.

I think it really has helped me realize what my passion is and this is something that has really given me a purpose.

I didn't want to just stop at just Punahou.

My mom actually was the one who encouraged me to collaborate with public school students in the DOE to bring a Filipino curriculum to public schools.

I was interviewing a lot of teachers in the Filipino education community for my curriculum.

And so they helped me connect with a lot of their students who were interested.

And that was how I met the collaborators that I'm working with right now.

And we're all from different schools.

There's me from Punahou.

And then there's students from Waipahu High School, Farrington High School and Kapolei High School.

And what makes this partnership really unique is that not only is it from different schools, but it's also a private and public school partnership within a student driven project, which has rarely been done before.

And it's really a way for us to share perspectives with each other and learn from each other.

If we can get kids to take action, maybe whatever it is they do whether it's Marisa's work or another student’s, it it's some form of a contribution to help with the challenges we're facing.

And then they remember this spirit, you know, as they get older, and they create something, they invent something, they start an organization and who knows what they can do.

It's really important to have a more inclusive curriculum, because it is so empowering for students.

And for anyone in general to see themselves being represented.

It helps us find pride in who we are, it helps us connect to a large part of ourselves.

And it also helps us connect to other people of different backgrounds.

And I'm so proud of my Filipino culture, I think, mainly because of my parents, they've helped me find pride in that, but also because of this project and realizing that my heritage can be an avenue for my passion and to advocate for something that I really feel close to.

If it's not obvious already, I want to be a teacher, but I want, my dream job would be probably like a professor of Filipino history and culture.

It's a dying industry in Hawaii, the Japanese tea house.

But on the slopes of ʻĀlewa Heights, you'll find a two story structure that was built in 1921, after a husband and wife bought the property from the McInerny family.

More than 100 years later, Natsunoya Tea House is still in business.

Now, Natsunoya wasn't the original name, and while some traditions like sitting on the tatami mats have gone away, others remain like servers wearing kimono and panoramic views of Honolulu.

This is the last Japanese teahouse.

Teahouses, from my understanding is after the war, you know, the Japanese people didn't have a place to really gather and someplace where they can eat something that they're accustomed to and you know, enjoy their friends.

We try to make it where it's like you going to your grandma's house because you know, of course, naturally our buildings been here for 100 years.

And we try to keep it clean, and we try to make it where it's comfortable.

Yeah, I mean, you know, the kids still can run around.

And you know, you can raise your voices a little louder.

And just like having a party at home, but you don't have to clean up at the end.

Natsunoya Tea House started back in 1921 with my grandparents Shuichi and Taneyo Fujiwara.

Back then it was called Shunchoro.

They had to stop doing the war.

It was hard to for them to get back into it.

So I think they leased it for a while.

Then my dad he was running a tea house that was called Natsunoya.

But that's where the H-1 now goes through by Foster Garden.

And so when he came up in 1956, he ran into 96 and that's when I took over and here we are today.

When I was growing up I wanted to go into, I wanted to be an architect, actually, so it wasn't really my, my plans of running a tea house.

My wife first said, if you're going to regret it, then you should at least try it.

I decided to take over the business because I you know, wanted to well see the tradition.

At least go through me, you know, my, my lifetime, yeah.

Staying open for 100 years.

Yeah, our customers are very, very important.

And, you know, some of them been coming here from generations.

And they've been loyal to us, yeah.

So it's, it's like, it's like, almost family already, yeah.

Especially in Hawaiʻi, here, you know, everyone pretty much knows each other, or, you know, somebody from uncle or auntie.

You can't really try to do a fast, quick buck.

Peek-a-boo.

My family has been coming to Natsunoya for years.

I don’t know the exact number, but I know our family has been coming here for five generations now.

My daughter is here having dinner and my great-grandparents used to come here to celebrate big occasions.

The food is always so great.

We’re never dissatisfied because the food is always so tasty.

I think that’s part of why Natsunoya has survived, because it’s consistent.

You know, it’s always the same.

And you know when you come here or purchase something, it’s going to be the way it always tastes.

You know, that’s very important.

The way the tea house survived throughout these years is first you got to be hard headed.

You know, you have to have someone who is willing to, to go the distance.

And you have to be adaptable as crisis come along.

For us it’s really important to support these, these businesses that are like our family business because every year you see fewer and fewer of these local family businesses that have deep roots here in Hawaiʻi.

My mom comes every, about four times a week.

Of course she always bossing me around.

I think she's always going to be a mom who tells me what I'm if I'm doing something right or wrong.

Sometimes it's hard to swallow.

But, you know, when you think when I sit back and think about it, it's yeah, that's probably right.

Actually home is this business because I'm here every day and before I used to be here 10 to 14 hours a day.

I'm here with the old timers the new people and you know, we consider ourselves family already.

You take care of the employees, and then the employees hopefully takes care of the business, yeah.

I think Misa she's going on 40 years.

And we tell her, you know, we try to slow her down but, you know, she, she has that, that old mentality that work, you know, work style.

So, I mean, she's slowing down which is of course normal, but you know, she she's still like, my right hand in the kitchen.

You have to have fun.

That's what I tell everybody, you have to have fun in what you're doing.

You know, if you smile, and you cook, of course, the food's gonna, you know, they're gonna smile for them.

My parents never did influence for me to take over, yeah.

I mean, like, even for me, you know, you wanna, you want your kids to always do something greater than you.

So, my kids, I, you know, I, I never did push them to even think about running the teahouse, because it's a hard business and it's getting harder.

Each generation, I think it gets harder.

The satisfaction I get is, you know, I made it last to a hundred.

Yeah.

And, hopefully, my parents, my grandparents, you know, hopefully, they're proud of that.

Mahalo for joining us.

For exclusive digital content from tonight's episode, please visit PBS Hawaiʻi dot org.

For Home is Here, I’m Kalaʻi Miller.

A hui hou.

Everything was just covered in, in moss and you know age and um just this beauty to it right?

So really it was, it was dreamlike.

It was in the mist.

It was in the fog.

You couldn’t quite see it, you couldn’t quite make it out.

You didn’t know where the building started and stopped where the nature kind of started taking things over.

When I first started coming here I was a little kid.

And we thought we were trying to help, help, help my parents but you know, we were breaking dishes and and and you know, as we washed dishes, we used to break them, And so we kind of, we used to run around the whole place and people would actually, accepted us as part of a party because they didn’t know who we were.

Oh my gosh, I would totally tell young people to realize that you’re never too young to make a difference.