This ele­gant res­i­dence for a fam­i­ly with four chil­dren is locat­ed on an irreg­u­lar par­cel of land in Maki­ki, open on the far side to a majes­tic view of Tan­ta­lus. By plac­ing the build­ing mass close to the prop­er­ty perime­ter, the house design allows inter­nal ele­va­tions to cre­ate a pri­vate cen­tral court­yard lawn, pro­tect­ed from the valley’s wind and rain. 

Arcades and lanais over­look­ing the cen­tral court con­nect the entry to the liv­ing room, which reveals the dra­mat­ic view of Tan­ta­lus in its length. Cov­ered lanais through­out the house allow views from rooms to the court or lush moun­tains and relax the dis­tinc­tion between inside and out­side spaces, while pock­et doors, shut­ters, and screens pro­vide vari­able def­i­n­i­tions of closure. 

On fine evenings the cen­tral court­yard becomes a remark­able out­door room for the par­ties and enter­tain­ing which are an essen­tial part of the infor­mal Hawai­ian lifestyle. Defined by this con­tem­po­rary archi­tec­ture, it is a lifestyle framed by light-filled spaces, tex­tured plas­ter walls, a cedar shake roof, and oak and rus­tic ter­raz­zo floors.