Award-winning and pioneering Hawaiʻi architect Donald W.Y. Goo, who was an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture, died peacefully on April 7, 2022 at the age of 88. Goo led many iconic architectural projects in Hawaiʻi, including the Sheraton Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.
In 2004, he joined the School of Architecture as an adjunct faculty member and directed the Architectural Practicum program. With his wife, Laura, they established the endowed School of Architecture Practicum Fund that matched young designers with architecture firms as interns around the world.
“Don Goo was an unfailing contributor to the School of Architecture,” said UH Mānoa School of Architecture Dean William Chapman. “He was an avid member of committees, participated in many aspects of the life of the school and he will be greatly missed.”
Goo, an alumnus who attended UH Mānoa from 1951–53, became one of the founders of the Doctor of Architecture program, under Dean Ray Yeh, which evolved to become the DArch professional degree.
He was a longtime partner of the architectural firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), which he joined in 1959 when it was known as Wimberly and Cook in Hawaiʻi. During his five decades with WATG, Goo served as its president, CEO and chairman.
Goo received numerous honors and accolades, including the Medal of Honor award from the American Institute of Architects Hawaiʻi State Council in 2015.
He is survived by his wife, Laura; son, Wayne (Melissa); grandchildren Anita Palmer (Matthew) and Kenneth Allyn; and great-grandchildren Willa and Bodie.
