Water Garden Residence
Kaua’i, Hawai’i
Concept
On Kaua'i, one of the wettest locales on earth, torrential rains have eroded deep valleys in landscape, shaping its topography over millennia.
Water is engaged as an ordering element at this home on the island's south shore.
An intermediary between tranquil pools and the ocean's unruly tide, the architecture lives in reverence to the land's flowing life force.
Overlooking Kukui'ula Harbor with Mount Hā'upu to the west, a triptych of freestanding gable roofs with vertical screen veils floats above a tropical landscape. Here, life is lived as if within a lush garden hideaway, the air hovering with the scent of plumerias planted alongside walls made of the island's volcanic blue rock basalt.
A pair of beach heliotrope trees signal the entry to the home, leading to a basalt stone walkway with shallow, mirror-like pools on either side. With glass walls retracted out of sight, subtle shifts in light and air temperature signal the passage through a covered lanai and into the main gathering space. Visible just beyond, the horizon of the Pacific invites one to step outward toward the rear lanai, as if called by the sigh of swaying of palms.
“I believe that good design is respectful of tradition while being evolutionary and adaptive. Through trust, guidance, and collaboration, we create original spaces with empathy that go beyond the expected.”
– Mark de Reus
Services
Architecture, Interior Architecture
Team
Gina Williams (Interior Design), KDG Hawai’i, Todd Dwight (Structural Engineer), RegensDesign (Architectural Lighting), Forma Design Partners (Landscape Architect),