Hale Kiawe
Walker Warner
Recipient
The design of this new retreat evokes a careful reverence for history and environment, resulting in a soulful home that feels both unique and of a place. The owners wanted a home that felt warm, welcoming, and expressive, and as minimalists, they desired a space that was an exercise in restraint. To create such a place, while also honoring their Indian heritage, they sought to incorporate the principles of Vastu Shastra—an ancient Indian architectural system based on harnessing the energies and elements of nature.
The site was a barren tract of land, save for the underpinnings of a long-forgotten building and a scattering of kiawe trees where flourishing groves once stood. After discovering that lava had formerly flowed through the site on its path from mauka (mountain) to makai (ocean), it was critical that the architecture echoed this history. Thus the home, in harmony with the terrain, hovers above a bed of grasses and molten rock—emblematic of an era when lava ran through the site.