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User:PaloloMoke/sandbox/James Elliot Pearson

James Elliot Pearson (May 9,1939 – xxx,xxx 1987) James "Jim" Pearson was an award winning architect, author and university educator based in Honolulu, Hawaii in the 1970s and 80s.

Jim was born in Adel, Iowa, to Madeleine and Fred Pearson and grew up in Chula Vista, CA where his father worked as a photographer for the U.S. Navy, with his 2 sisters and brother, Pam, Chris and Joe. In high school he played Chuck Berry-inspired guitar in rock and roll bands, before moving to San Luis Obispo and graduating from California Polytechnic College with a BA in Architecture. It was there he met his wife Janice, and after graduating moved to La Mesa, CA, where they had 2 children Michelle and Michael.

In 1971, he took a job offer in Honolulu to work for an established architectural firm. A few years later he accepted a post as Professor of Architecture, and subsequently headed the Architecture Department at University of Hawaii at Manoa. During his tenure, partly inspired by the 1970s energy crisis zeitgeist, he developed the concept and design of a simple self-sufficient, energy efficient home, or "Energy House"-- adapted to the tropical climate, borrowing and blending ideas from Japanese and Californian design. In 1978, he authored and illustrated The Hawaii Home Energy Book {Terry/Bovil} explicating these plans and concepts, published by the University of Hawaii Press.

The University funded the construction of a demonstration home from his blueprints, dubbed The Energy House. It was equipped with solar heated hot water panels, rainwater collection, filtration and storage, gray water recycling system, septic black water tank below a vegetable garden, home wind turbine, and one of the earliest electric cars. To cool the house, it was completely surrounded by a lanai and shoji sliding doors, letting in the Hawaiian trade winds for cross ventilation. The Energy House was renovated in 2005, and is still there on the Manoa Campus.

Pearson's designs were a very early example of simple, affordable, environmentally conscious, modest, aesthetic "Hawaiian (tropic)-style" architecture/home design. The house was featured in Sunset magazine, and won many awards, and special personal recognition from then Hawaii Govenor George Ariyoshi and Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi.

In the early 1980s, Pearson opened a small architectural firm with his friend and partner Cliff Terry, consulting and designing custom homes, with high-profile clients like Marlon Brando and Doris Duke. During this time, Pearson and Terry, with the help from developer and investor friends and their families, a small tract of land in lush upper Palolo Valley astride Waiomau Stream was developed into a small subdivision of 8 custom-designed homes, adding "Makauli'i Place" to Oahu's road maps. His family lived there for 8 years, some of the original families still live there.

Pearson and Terry dissolved a few years later, and Jim took a director position with Honolulu Department of Land Utilization, helping review proposed construction plans on Oahu, to make sure they adhered to strict aesthetic guidelines to keep Hawaii beautiful. He worked there until his death at the early age of 47. Though not a smoker most of his life, he died of lung cancer, likely caused by second hand smoke from growing up in a smoking household. During his life Jim enjoyed playing guitar in several bands, sailing Hobie Cats, deep sea marlin fishing, cartooning, water-coloring, and photography.

His wife Jan later remarried and now lives in Kona. His children, Michelle and Michael live in San Francisco. Michelle is an Emmy Award-winning programming director with KQED.


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