The Liljestrand Family has created the Liljestrand Foundation to preserve the house and to make that
preservation purposeful by opening the house for tours and for charitable, cultural, and educational
events.
Additionally, a collection of drawings, photos, and correspondence, all of which document the
architectural process, is open to students and scholars.
To help support these programs, the house is available for private use.
Designed by Vladimir Ossipoff and built for Betty and Howard Liljestrand, the Liljestrand House is recognized as an outstanding example of Mr. Ossipoff’s work and of mid-twentieth century Hawaiian modern architecture.
In 1958, House Beautiful devoted a cover and fifty-three pages to the Liljestrand House.
Fifty years later, the Liljestrand House appeared in Western Interiors and Design, on the cover of Metropolis, and in the book The Hawaiian House Now. An exhibit and catalogue, both entitledHawaiian Modern: The Architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff, and an associated film, True to Form, Vladimir Ossipoff Architect, featured the house. The exhibit was shown in Honolulu, at Yale University, and in Frankfurt, Germany.
Vladimir Ossipoff was born in Vladivostok in 1907, raised in Japan where his father
was a Russian diplomat, and educated at the University of California, Berkeley. After
graduation in 1931 he moved to Hawaii where he practiced architecture until his death
in 1998.
Mr. Ossipoff’s designs are known for seamless integration of building and site, elegant orchestration of circulation, clever management of views, and creative mix of modern and natural materials.