Living on their expansive property for many years, our clients knew they had room for a new ohana and pool and had only dreamed about where it would best fit into their property and correspond to the location of the main house. We took all this into consideration while capitalizing on the view, the landscape, and their desire for warmth at the property's high elevation on the dormant volcano.
As with all Hawaii Off Grid designs, the roof is a focal point for reducing the carbon footprint. Half the roof is solar, the other half is a 'green roof'. The green roof helps control the temperature and capture rainwater. It also helps blend the building into the surroundings.
All Hawaii Off Grid : Architecture & Engineering designs are informed by the site. Here we worked with the existing grade, so the building flows and steps down as grade changes.
The high elevation makes sun bathing on the patio a perfect balance between the afternoon sun and the cool mountain air... especially after a dip in the adjoining pool.
The top level of the building serves many functions, with the open concept allowing for a variety of interactions and flow.
By building the fireplace into the central wall, the heat permeates throughout the room, for the chillier evenings higher elevation provides.
With the house built into the mountainside, window options were more limited, so skylights on the roof give an ever changing natural lighting to the kitchen area.