Just inside the secured gate of Hawaii Loa Ridge, situated on a 24,775 square foot lot on Puuikena Drive, is a spectacular indoor-outdoor home designed to take advantage of unobstructed, panoramic ocean views. Architecturally elegant with broad open spaces, sculptural detailing, and soaring ceilings, the structure articulates the classic timelessness of masonry construction. With five bedrooms and five and a half baths on two levels, the roofed area is a spacious 5,300 square feet augmented by lanais. The grand hall, with formal and informal dining areas, opens to the expansive deck with a swimming pool, spa, and manicured gardens.   Marble, tile, and hardwood finishes are enhanced by natural illumination admitted by walls of glass and skylights. The home is priced at $5,800,000 and shown by appointment by Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties Realtor Kainoa Lee.

Architects’ Design Statement

Strict design guidelines with height limitations, minimum roof pitches, setbacks and view corridors were observed in the design of this contemporary home nestled at the base of Hawaii Loa Ridge.  The goal was to design a home offering a fresh, new contemporary style that fit within the context of the neighborhood.

Precise design studies and creativity maximized the plan and the aesthetics.  The home would need to be cut into the sloped site, so a large retaining wall was planned on the mauka side.  With no neighbors on the lower end of the site, the house and pool were oriented to take full advantage of the natural ventilation and unobstructed views. Utility areas were arranged along the retaining wall while the kitchen fl owed into the grand hall and dining with a guest suite sharing in the ocean views. Expectations were exceeded with the roof requirements as the double-pitched hip roofs were achieved in addition to a fl at roof area for the solar water heater panels and skylights strategically located for natural lighting.

Exterior finishes included a heavyweight concrete tile roof in a charcoal color with copper gutters and downspouts and a smooth, hand troweled synthetic stucco on the walls and soffits. Bronze colored aluminum doors and windows and aluminum garage doors with opaque glass and a hint of cedar on the exterior columns completed the contemporary style.

The nine-foot-tall corner-pocketing doors span 18 feet in each direction and disappear into the walls, allowing the Grand Hall to open directly to over 600 square feet of pool and dining lanais. A column is offset from its typical location creating a cantilevered overhang shielding the south-facing interiors, further enhancing the indoor-outdoor living experience.  Above, an interior bridge connects the mauka and makai wings as it looks down into the Grand Hall and beyond toward an ocean of blue.

Open spaces and clean lines, absent of traditional moldings and trims, with a simple palette of neutral colors and textures add to the sophistication of the design. Travertine floors are complemented by the warmth of the mahogany doors and bamboo flooring seamlessly into the ocean horizon. With the ocean at its front door, this contemporary home strikes the perfect balance between originality and preserving the natural design characteristics of the Ridge.      

---Jeffrey T. Long and Timothy H. Hamilton, Jr.

The Architects

Jeffrey T. Long AIA is President & CEO of Longhouse Design+Build (Long & Associates AIA, Inc. and Longhouse Development, LLC).  He is a registered Architect in California and Hawaii. With over 35 years in the business and field of architecture, he has provided individual attention to over 150 major custom residential and specialty projects in Hawaii and the West Coast.

Timothy H. Hamilton, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, is a registered Architect in Hawaii.  With the firm for over 25 years, he has been instrumental in establishing and enhancing the use of 3D technology and has substantial experience developing 3D computer animations and multimedia presentations.

Three Kapalua Place is one of only four beachfront homes in Kapalua.  The 6,630-square foot home, situated on a 28,000-square foot lot in a gated community, has been named “Best Beach Home” by Ocean Home Magazine and is featured on the Discovery Channel’s Destination America show, “Epic Beach Homes.”  The luxurious six bed room, six and a half bath two story home was designed by Long and Associates Architects & Interiors and is being offered at $19,900,000 by Dean Otto, a Realtor at KW Island Living.

Architect’s Design Statement

No home has procured a better setting in the resort than 3 Kapalua Place. It was designed to provide a sense of discovery as you walk through the home experiencing spectacular ocean, coastal, and Neighbor Island views from every room.  The tasteful use of island inspired materials, subtlety of ceiling treatments, and the architects’ appreciation for an underlying textural context further enhance the experience.

Anointed with exceptional craftsmanship throughout, the dramatic two story living room features two opposing 18-foot tall corner pocket-ing wood doors that electrically open to ocean views across the infinity edge pool and spa. 

The property, bordered by one of the most spectacular shore break bays on the island, was perfect for establishing key views from inside the home and incorporating cross ventilation and natural lighting, and at the same time challenging for selecting materials suitable for the abrasive, coastal conditions. 

the north-south direction, the house is positioned with its “protective shoulders” facing south awarding the Grand Hall a breathtaking panorama of wave action along the coast.  The kitchen, dining and upper bedroom suites extend out from the Grand Hall core, embracing the pool and barbecue lanai and protecting these out-door living areas from the sometimes-strong northeasterly trade winds.

The home reveals itself in a subtle manner with a brick-paved driveway leading to an intimate porte cochere entry and the main two-story structure featuring a natural slate roof with copper gutters, cedar trim, and hand carved, decorative stone railings from Bali.  The outside entryway pays homage to ancient Hawaii with a wall mounted custom-made Polynesian stick chart metal sculpture, once used by early seafarers as a navigational tool for locating various island routes.   Upon entering the home the adjacent curved glass and sapele mahogany stair winds up to an arterial balcony that overlooks the Grand Hall and leads to four upper suites and endless views. 

Locally-sourced Kapalua blue rock serves as the foundation to the exterior structural columns and also wraps the walls of the Grand Hall revealing the doubled cantilevered structure as the 18-foot tall, motorized wood doors disappear into the corner pockets. 

Stainless steel appliances, Sapele cabinetry, onyx countertops and bronze fixtures complete the refined, island design.  One of the many centerpieces of the home is the free-standing, hand carved, black granite soaking tub in the master suite.  Set in black beach pebbles, the tub required a crane to hoist it in place during construction.

The technically savvy owner required the home be equipped with the latest smart-home technologies, programmable from any mobile device and remotely managed. Lighting, security, HVAC, sound system, window coverings, pool and spa, were all part of the system which serves as a means for reducing energy costs and enabling control of utility usage and mechanical systems from anywhere in the world. 

The innovative design coupled with traditional Hawaiian sentiments delivers distinction among uniformity qualifying Three Kapalua Place as the perfect, private, island luxury retreat.                         

– Jeffrey T. Long

Jeffrey T. Long AIA is President & CEO of Longhouse Design+Build (Long & Associates AIA, Inc. and Longhouse Development, LLC).  He is a registered Architect in California and Hawaii. With over 35 years in the business and field of architecture, he has provided individual attention to over 150 major custom residential and specialty projects in Hawaii and the West Coast.

Timothy H. Hamilton, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, is a registered Architect in Hawaii.  With the firm for over 25 years, he has been instrumental in establishing and enhancing the use of 3D technology and has substantial experience developing 3D computer animations and multimedia presentations.

An exceptional Portlock Road home, known as the “Sundial House,” has been listed by Locations Realtor and Partner Dolores Bediones at $13,500,000. The luxury residence, designed by Jeffrey T. Long AIA, received two top awards in HGTV’s  “Ultimate House Hunt,” winning in the waterfront homes category and voted #1 Listing Overall among international competitors. The 25,024-square-foot property, with 125 linear feet on the ocean, incorporates a heated swimming pool, spa, sport court, and gardens with a stairway to the beach. Bediones is showing the property by appointment.

Architects’ Design Statement

“The Sundial House” is a modern-built solar calendar.  Its heliocentric design is based on the ancient practice of tracking the sunset with the seasons.  The curved stairway creates an essential core with its central axis aligned with the spring and fall equinoxes. The two pairs of monolithic stone columns on the covered lanai serve as the sundial points. During the equinoxes, when day and night are exactly the same length of 12 hours, the sun sets directly through the center of the two innermost columns.  On the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, the sun sets directly through the center of the northwest pair of columns, while on the shortest day, the winter solstice, the sunset is perfectly framed by the southwest pair of columns.

The 8,200-square-foot home is situated on a half-acre oceanfront lot and accessed by a curved driveway leading to an entry gazebo. The home is entered through custom glass doors that open to the upper level, elevated above the circular grand hall for panoramic views of Maunalua Bay, the Koolau Mountains, and Diamond Head through frameless glass windows and transoms. The curved shape is mirrored in the 20-foot-high ceiling with exposed wood beams that mimic the points of a sundial. Hidden in the soffits above are motorized shades and a 12-foot drop-down screen with projector, transforming the grand hall into a home theater with surround sound and ambient lighting.

Fourteen-inch-thick exterior walls and steel I-beam “super-structure” support a span of 20 feet beyond the west-facing glass. The generous overhang provides shade for the lanai and protection of the interior from UV rays. Low E insulated glazing is used in doors and windows for maximum protection from UV and acoustic control. Complementing the soft curve of the grand hall is the 1,200- square-foot covered lanai overlooking the 75-foot- long heated lap pool.

The central stair connects two linear wings which wrap the double volume of the grand hall. The north wing encompasses the master suite which shares in the unobstructed view of the bay through double-pocketing doors and includes separate “his and hers” toilet/shower compartments. Connected below by a secondary curved stair is the private study / library and fitness room.

The south wing houses the kitchen, dining, family room, and private bedroom suites, and also accommodates the garage, laundry, storage and mechanical spaces. The luxury kitchen is equipped with professional-grade appliances and finished with high-grade materials, such as Italian granite countertops and Anigre wood cabinetry. The laundry room also functions as a safe room with reinforced walls, a steel door, and advanced camera and security system. The home is pre-wired with fiber optics and CAT-5 cabling.

Contemporary in design, but inspired by Asian cultures, the home features a traditional tatami room with woven straw mats, translucent shoji doors, and wood trim on the ceiling.  A private bath and sauna complete the tranquil experience.

Lastly, a third stair leads to the rooftop observation deck for an even more stunning, panoramic view of the ocean as well as the sun setting on the horizon.

Jeffrey T. Long AIA is President & CEO of Longhouse Design+Build (Long & Associates AIA, Inc. and Longhouse Development, LLC).  He is a registered Architect in Hawaii and California. With over 35 years in the business and field of architecture, he has provided individual attention to over 150 major custom residential and specialty projects in Hawaii and the West Coast.

Timothy H. Hamilton, Jr. AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, is a registered Architect in Hawaii. With the firm for over 25 years, he has been instrumental in establishing and enhancing the use of 3D technology and is experienced in developing 3D computer animations and multimedia presentations.

May 2013 --The Building Industry Association of Hawaii presented its annual Renaissance Building & Remodeling Awards Wednesday night, honoring excellence in the local design and construction industries.

The award, division, project name and winners are:

» Overall Grand New Residential, New Residential, projects more than $2,000,001, Hale Kapena, Long & Associates Architects & Interiors and Longhouse Development LLC.