Alfred Preis Exhibit

THE LIFE AND JOURNEY OF RENOWNED ARCHITECT

Alfred Preis

Laupahoehoe Elementary and High School (now Laupahoehoe Charter School) , Photo Robert Wenkam, courtesy of the Wenkam Family Archive and Preis Family Archive.

A traveling exhibition celebrating the life and work of the renowned Austrian architect Alfred Preis (1911-1994) will open in late May at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Tropical Modern: Alfred Preis Displaced, will focus on the Austrian émigré, advocate and architect of the USS Arizona Memorial. The exhibit is timed to open when the iconic war memorial known worldwide turns 60 years old. The exhibition focuses on the rediscovery of the vast architectural body of Preis’s work. Preis gained international recognition and accolades for the 1962 USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, a project that he advocated and fought for throughout most of his architectural career. This is particularly remarkable, considering that he was an escapee of Nazi prosecution and ended up in US internment after the attack on Pearl Harbor, suspected to be an enemy alien. Undeterred, after his release, he forged a path of persistent advocacy for the greater good, promoting the arts and the preservation of the cultural heritage of his chosen new home, Hawai‘i.

After an arduous escape with his wife, the young Preis gained experience through working in the architecture firm of Dahl and Conrad. Later he pursued a career as an independent and collaborating architect, becoming

1963 Honolulu Zoo Entrance, Alfred Preis. Photo Francis Haar, courtesy of Tom Haar, and The Francis Haar Collection at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa an instrumental shaper of the regional modernism of Hawai‘i. With over 160 documented buildings, the show attempts to weave through the complex and rich stories of Preis’s life, highlighting critical projects and the dialectic connection between his Viennese upbringing and the contrasting Hawaiian lifestyle that filter through his architectural expression. Through his work, the curator attempts to illuminate the issues of displacement for the refugee and him finding his way in a foreign environment, and the emerging architectural methods resulting from the fusion of his Viennese training with the local, Hawaiian context.

In over 100 images, models, and videos, ALFRED PREIS DISPLACED guides the visitor from his humble beginnings to the peak of his architectural career, which culminated in the USS Arizona Memorial.

The exhibition was first on display in New York City at the Austrian Cultural Forum and is next shown at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial on O‘ahu, opening on the governor decreed “Alfred Preis and USS Arizona Memorial Day”, May 30th 2022, on the 60th anniversary of the USS Arizona Memorial inauguration. The exhibition is put forth with the support of the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles, the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture and Civil Service and Sports of Austria, and the Preis family.

The author, Axel Schmitzberger, is a professor of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is the curator for the upcoming exhibit Alfred Preis Displaced.