3. 1. General introduction of Shangri La
2. How owner’s travel experience influenced the design
3. What is limitation of Shangri La
4. Conclusion
4.
5. Located on the south shore
of the island of O’ahu,
Hawai’I.
Southeast of Dimond Head
crater along the southwest
side of the promontory of
Black Point and the
residential neighborhood of
Kahala.
Bounded by residential
housing lots on all sides but
the south fronts the Pacific
Ocean.
6. Doris Duke (1912–1993) was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art
collector, and philanthropist.
She traveled widely, immersed herself in other cultures and pursued a wide range of interests
including the performing arts, historic preservation, environmental conservation and the
preservation of wildlife. She was also a major collector of Islamic art, assembling a collection of
more than 2,500 pieces and exhibiting it throughout her Honolulu home Shangri La—a sustained
effort of nearly 60 years.
7. Marion Sims Wyeth(1889-1982),
architect.
Education Backgroungd
Princeton University and studied
École nationale supérieure des
Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Founded the firm of Wyeth and
King in Palm Beach, Florida, 1919
Practical Projects
Mar-A-Lago, Palm
Beach
Florida Governor’s
Mansion
High Point Monument, New Jersey
Shangri La, Honolulu (1935-1937)
8. Consist of four gardens
and two buildings. The
four gardens are Main
Garden, Mugal Garden,
Entry Courtyard and
Central Courtyard. Main
house and Playhouse.
Separated by different
elevation.
Each of the gardens has
their own axis in large
scale.
10. Symmetrical layout. Drastically topographical changing.
Linear space. ornamented by a grid of shallow water
channels.
Water divided into four parts,
vegetation and pattern of
surface.
Ground is divided into four
flower bed by water
channels and intersecting
paths.
11. Symmetrical space ornamented by a
grid of shallow water channel and
traditional Islamic chahar bagh.
With the elevation changing at
the entrance of this garden, the
foreshortening line goes down,
which let people feel the end
of this garden a little closed
than before.
12. Combined different styles,
the owners do not have
strict Islamic religious
manner and exposed in a
pluralistic society. For
example the vegetation,
coconut palms appear in
this garden.
13. A compounded style
garden.
The elevation changes.
The main building and
the adjacent lawn
stands
on high elevation.
The upper grassland and lower
swimming pool connected by
terraced water.
Dominated by a strong axis.
14. Open view to south,
pacific ocean and
Diamond Head crater.
Easily accessible to the
pacific ocean through
staircase from the
garden to the sea level.
15. Square space open to
the sky surrounded by
Living room, Mihrab
room, Syrian room and
Damascus room.
The octagonal water
ornamented by Islamic
pattern in the middle of
the courtyard. Also, this
space is a colonnaded
Egyptian or Roman
peristyle.
18. 1935
Started honeymoon tour, February.
Traveled the Middle East, India and
south Asia.
Doris Duke at the Moti Mosque in
Agra, India. (Fig 1)
Taj Mahal(1632 ; Fig2) inspired Duke to
commission a marble Mughal suite
incorporating bedroom and bathroom.
Final destination in Hawaii. Captive by
Hawaii’s natural beauty and relaxed
outdoor lifestyle.Extended their short
visit to four months. (Fig 3)
Fig 1 Fig 2
Fig 3
19. 1936
Purchase of ocean front property at
Ka‘alāwai near Diamond Head.
Design and construction overseen by
the architectural firm Wyeth and King.
(Fig 4)
1938
Second tour to Middle East.
Numerous purchases; and a large
commission for tiles is placed in
Isfahan, Iran.
Chihil Situn, Isfahan, Iran.(Fig 5)
Heavily influenced the construction of
the Playhouse at Shangri La.
Fig 4
Fig 5
20. Chihil Situn (Forty Columns) in Isfahan, Iran.
Completed in 1647 by the Shah Abbas II, the
Chihil Situn served as a reception hall within
a 15-acre garden.
A long reflecting pool and narrow
watercourse surrounds the building which
contains a high wooden Talar porch. The
pool in front of the Safavid palace reflects
the 18 slender columns on its porch,
thereby creating an illusion of many more
columns.
Three walkways lined with trees that led to
the building.
22. Playhouse, Shangri La
The playhouse incorporates a large central living room, small kitchen, and two
bedroom suites on its mountain and ocean sides. Its facade has large talar porch
with a painted wood ceiling supported by 14 colunmns and facing to pool. In
positioning Shangri La’s pool directly in front of the playhouse, Doris Duke and her
architects were possibly inspired by a similar arrangement at the Chihil Situn.
23. Taj Mahal(1632-1653), Agra, India.
In memory of Mughal emperor Shah
Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal.
White marble architecture.
Doris’s husband wrote from India that
his wife “had fallen in love with the Taj
Mahal and all the beautiful marble tiles,
with their lovely floral designs with
some precious stones.”
“Commission a new bedroom and
bathroom suite decorated with tiles
like those in Taj for Malmaison.”
Mughal suite,
private core of
Shangri La. With a
Jali pavilion on
the flat roof.
Screened seating.
26. The designer just changes Shangri La’s surface to look like Islamic
style actually it was based on a modern architectural style, which
might be superficial but practical.
27. the architect’s background cannot meet the owner Duke’s wish
Duke’s wish: passionate about Islamic culture and traditional Islamic items
Designer’s educational and practical experience:
Marion Sims Wyeth studied at Princeton University and study aboard in Paris
Modernism and functionalism was prevailed all over the world during the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.
Over Marion’s first 20 design years, he did not have any Islamic design experience.
28. Islamic Garden Shangri-La
Religion Mohammedanism No
Vitruvian triad Venustas is dominant Utilitas is dominant
Climate Desert climate
(＜50mm)
Tropical Marine climate
（＞6000mm）
Vegetation xerophytic cypresses and
myrtles
Palmae
Historical background
（prevailing influence）
Religion Functionalism
Symbols Paradise Villa
comparison
29. Conclusion
Shangri La managed to break the convention of a classic Islamic
landscape style which ancient Persian world applied to their palace
construction, combining modernism and classic Islamic style
together to create a modern villa with Islamic feature, though a
limitation appeared in it that Shangri La only dressed in an Islamic
appearance of paradise garden but actually it was deeply
influenced by modernism. The designer just changes the villa’s
surface to look like Islamic style actually it was based on a modern
architectural style, which might be superficial but practical.
