Pahinahina

At Ka'upulehu, human-made structures are backdropped by the Big Island's wild, primordial forces.

Powerful ocean waves crash on a rugged black lava shore formed by the eruption of Hualālai over two hundred years ago.

This tranquil retreat exists in communion with the might of nature in all its destructive and life-giving potential.

Set along the meandering South Kohala coastline, Ka'upulehu bears the name of the historic lava flow that shaped the landscape in the region's not-so-distant past. The familiar rush of flowing water is heard before it's seen, as one moves from the arrival gate to a lagoon with reflecting ponds and arc-shaped lava stone walls. A travertine walkway meanders through the ponds, carving a path between natural basalt boulders and tropical plantings with moments of shade beneath curved roof pavilions inspired by Japanese tea gardens.

Inside the home’s hipped-roof structures, a continuity of curves takes shape in rounded sandstone walls and a circular lounge with warm wood finishes. Cedar trusses soar over the main gathering space, which opens out to a deep covered lanai fronted by an allee of palms. The undulating rooflines of the home's lanai eaves are abstractions of the ocean's tidal swells as architecture finds equilibrium with the nature that surrounds it.