No one builds a house in Hawaii so they can live indoors. The entire exercise is about immersion in the incomparable, elemental scenery. And few firms are as well equipped to design houses in service to that goal as Walker Warner is. Greg Warner grew up in Hawaii, developing his playbook for harnessing the best of what the island chain has to offer. For the Kua Bay house and guest house, he carefully reworked the generic developer lot into an unfolding experience of mountain view, ocean panorama, and rugged lava outcroppings.
Indeed, much sleight of hand occurs between the sunken parking area and guest house, which are carved into the lava rock, and the promenade up through the courtyard and into the house. The house is elevated just enough to place interior entertaining spaces directly in line with the ocean view. Window walls on both the courtyard side and ocean side open fully to the outdoors, turning the house into a mere hyphen between land and sea.
The pool area steps down from the house, quietly holding its own against the liquid horizon. A few steps farther down, a firepit area is carved out of rock and surrounded by grasses that bow in the breeze. “Stepping down feels more natural than building big podiums,” says Greg. “There’s something really compelling about getting so close to the grasses and lava.” Our judges agreed, calling the result “glorious.”
Citation
Custom Rural or Vacation House
Walker Warner Architects
Kua Bay
Hawaii
Project Credits
Architect: Greg Warner, AIA, principal in charge; John Pierson, senior project manager; Daniel P. Baciuska, AIA, job captain, Walker Warner Architects, San Francisco
Builder: Robin Ledson, Ledson Construction, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Interior Designer: Nicole Hollis, NICOLEHOLLIS, San Francisco
Landscape Architect: Ron Lutsko, Lutsko Associates, San Francisco
Lighting Designer: Eric Johnson, Eric Johnson Associates, Novato, California
Structural Engineer: Kris Johnson, GFDS Engineers, San Francisco
Project Size: 6,000 square feet
Site Size: 1.7 acres
Photography: Douglas Friedman
Key Products
Cabinetry/Windows/Doors: Custom
Cabinetry Hardware: Nanz
Cooktop/Grill: Wolf
Counters: Calacatta Marble
Dishwasher: Asko
Exterior Glass Doors: Vitrocsa USA
Faucets: Dornbracht
Lighting Control: Lutron
Ovens: Gaggenau
Refrigerator/Freezer/Wine Refrigerator/Icemaker: Sub-Zero
Roofing: VMZINC
Skylight: CrystaLite
Toilets: TOTO
Washer/Dryer: LG