A Hawaii Island Home Built to Embrace an Unforgiving Landscape Asks $3.4M
Located near the rural town of Waimea, this shape-shifting structure looks out over a wild stream and the rugged landscape of Hawaii Island, also known as the 'Big Island.' The owners, a multi-generational family of artists and professional chefs, built a home where they could live comfortably with the outdoors while using only the rawest form of materials and minimal construction methods.
Using materials including site-cast concrete, prefabricated steel, and local lava rock, the 2,600-square-foot home is formed as two contrasting, linear sections flanking either side of a central corridor.
One half of the home serves as the public area and was designed as a row of identical pavilion-like living and entertaining spaces underneath a steel roof. Grounding this open space both visually and structurally is the second half: a series of heavy concrete bunkers offering more private and secure living spaces. Between the two is a central corridor running the entire length of the two sections, separating the bunkers and concrete interior walls.
In the main section, barn doors glide along the steel framing, allowing each pavilion to be enclosed on all sides and creating a multitude of options for the spatial arrangement of spaces.
As an integral part of the open living area, barn doors both wrap around the exterior walls and between each pavilion area, thus providing the option to section off public and private spaces—or alternatively, create expansive spaces between the pavilions and the outdoors. The flexible function of using the doors as walls creates a highly livable environment and a deep connection with the surrounding nature.
A look at the main living area, which opens to the kitchen and looks out onto sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and vast lava escarpments. This entire section of the home retains an indoor-outdoor ambiance created by the large glass doors that open up the front wall.
The home is also entirely self-contained, with all power provided by a rooftop solar array. The highly energy efficient home is naturally cooled and uses all LED power, creating a low-key, off-the-grid lifestyle. Scroll ahead for more images of this unique Hawaiian home.
When all of the interior doors are open, the deeply linear space flows uninterrupted, united by minimalist concrete floors and a single steel roof. The roof is angled upward as to deflect wind over the home and living areas, while also funneling rain water into a collection system.
At one corner of the expansive space, near the living room, a more intimate bedroom space is created by a simple wardrobe structure. The room is open on two sides, framing 180-degree views of the landscape and creating a connection with the outdoors just steps from the bed.
At the opposite end, another bedroom space is created by an identical wardrobe structure. The barn doors push outward to create a seamless indoor-outdoor space, while the pavilion roof extends to shelter a stand-alone concrete bathtub.
A look down from the end showing the simple steel construction. Prefabricated galvanized steel and prefabricated weathering steel were combined with glass and translucent polycarbonate to create the frame and roof structure.
Inside the bunkers, each one serves a different purpose, with some used as storage and others used as private living ares. Here, this bathroom features simple finishes of local wood, with skylights overhead to brighten the space.
Between some of the bunkers and pavilions is a series of open courtyards, which are shaded by the continuously running roof. The spaces are part of the architect's intention to create varying experiences with nature.
With a limited local labor force and the desire to minimize any impact on the landscape, metal materials were selected to maximize off-site prefabrication. The unfinished concrete sections act as bunkers to visually ground the house while breaking up gusty wind from the north.
A rear view of the home looking toward the a broad expanse of Pacific Ocean and horizon views. The design aimed to minimize the visual differentiation between the structure and its wild surroundings.
Anekona is being offered off market as an exclusive in-house listing with Mauna Kea Realty/Hawaii Life. For more information, please contact Jake Chancer of Mauna Kea Realty.
Related Reading: These 7 Hawaiian Modernist Escapes Will Have You Dreaming of the Islands
Project Credits:
Architects: Anderson Anderson Architecture / @andersonandersonarchitecture
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