Ancient Ponds Residence
South Kohala, Hawai’i
Concept
At Uluweuweu Bay on the Big Island's South Kohala Coast, a village of connected pavilions comprises a home steeped in the early-20th-century Arts and Crafts tradition.
Stone walls and gabled roofs join at varied angles in a plan suited to the natural contours of the land.
Inset from the shoreline, this home sits alongside a stretch of land pocketed with shallow ponds once used to raise fish. These ancient pools, made from porous volcanic rock connected to the ocean through underground channels, are called "anchialine," from the Greek word meaning "near the sea."
One approaches the home from an entry court shaded by the large, paddle-like leaves of sea grape trees. Leaded glass windows are just as much for looking from the inside out as they are for visitors to capture an initial glimpse of the entry hall's soaring red cedar beams. The trusses, which frame antique nautical mastheads from the owners' collection, are a series of repeated curves reminiscent of the ribs used in shipbuilding.
Outdoors, private lanais sit just outside of rooms, encircling a pool designed in the spirit of the natural water forms just strides away. Walking along a small wooden bridge leading from the home to the protected ponds, one passes from structure to nature, and from this era to one centuries in the past.
Inspired by the writings of John Ruskin and the art of William Morris, the Arts and Crafts movement celebrated rustic simplicity and natural materials and was the inspiration for the design of this home.
– Mark de Reus
Services
Architecture, Interior Architecture
Team
Philpotts Interiors (Interior Design), David Tamura (Landscape Architect), Joe Fletcher (Photography)