Designing Paradise
Don Hibbard and Ron Lindgren will discuss the emergence of Hawaii as one of the leaders in the travel industry during the post-World War II period, which resulted in a distinctive and sophisticated approach to resort design, and its influence on the environments in which people vacation throughout Asia and the Pacific.
Don Hibbard
Don Hibbard worked for twenty-four years in the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Office, first as an architectural historian and then as division administrator and Deputy SHPO. Two of his books, The View from Diamond Head, (Honolulu: Editions Limited, 1986), and Designing Paradise (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006); consider the development of Hawaii’s visitor industry and architecture as a conveyor of history and a sense of place. He has also co-authored a book on Honolulu architect Hart Wood (2010), and authored Buildings of Hawaii (2011). He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii, and Prentice Hall published his dissertation, The Role of Rock (1983), which examines the social function of rock music. He has taught courses at the University of Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University in the fields of historic preservation and architectural history. For the past seventeen years he has provided heritage specialist services for various architectural firms, governmental agencies, and individuals in Hawaii.
Ron Lindgren
Ronald Lindgren was born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1941. He received his B.Arch. with Highest Honors from the University of Illinois in 1964 and his M.Arch. from MIT. He earned three Bronze Stars for meritorious service as a Naval Operations Officer for a Seabee Battalion in Vietnam and Japan. He joined the architectural firm of Killingsworth, Brady and Associates (KBA) in 1971 in Long Beach, California. The firm was recognized as an international expert in Hospitality Design. KBA was commissioned to design 222 hotels and resorts in 37 countries. During Lindgren's thirty years of practice, he provided KBA hospitality designs throughout the United States and in mainland Japan, Okinawa, Indonesia, Singapore, Guam, Tahiti, Fiji and Curaçao. His most significant built hotel and resort projects are in Hawaii, including the Kapalua Bay Hotel on Maui, the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Oahu and the Halekulani Hotel on Honolulu's Waikiki Beach.