Architectural works of art in Puna

[pbmaise]

#4 The sub 200 CUBIC

There is no doubt the owners of Puna are as diverse as the homes. Based upon the discussion this Punatic's unique home deserves one of the 50 spots.

[pbmaise]

#5 & #6 The koa wood homes

These two homes are stunners because of the extensive use of koa wood. Most homes in the US are now built without wood floors. Or, if it has a wood floor it is highly likely a thin veneer glued onto plywood. Engineered flooring they call it.

It is rather silly to stand barefoot on a solid koa wood floor and to believe you can tell the difference from a veneered plywood.

However, the fact remains if you are told you are standing on a solid thick koa wood floor it feels more rich than the fanciest floors in a palace.

No one would consider a granite counter top after seeing finely polished solid koa.

Both homes have remote settings on well landscaped grounds. I am not saying where they are since I fear someone might think too much.
I admit I tried to purchase both over the years and hosted a lunch in one.

[pbmaise]

#7 The Anderson Home

A tree is the focal point of this home. Rather it is one giant monkey pod tree that covers the entire lot.

Plain plywood walls and screens with no windows work well if mother nature provides you protection with one giant umbrella.

However it is more than just the tree that provides the ideal temperatures to grow orchids that are of so much interest. The home is right up atop the edge of a lava flow and looks down upon land that escaped inundation and is much older. Thus the home looks down into a small valley.

Hence this accounts for the tree's great size. The land the home was built cannot yet support a tree of this size and/or the rate of growth that caused it to spread out over 1/2 acres in a short period.

[pbmaise]

#8 The Dillon Home

Joy Dillon purchased a choice ocean front lot in Kapoho and a problem at the same time.

The problem was that lot, combined with Joy's desire to design and build a home that did that setting justice, became a multi year task that nearly destroyed her.

Perched high upon pilings, Joy's masterpiece provided ocean views, breezes, and ensured safety. No expense was spared and no corners cut.

I personally recall the high cost of the sanitation system for this home owing to its being so close to ocean level and inability to have a septic field. It was described in the home's appraisal.

Alas, Joy's accomplishment had to be sold. She couldn't afford the mortgage needed to meet all the building code requirements.

[Mimosa]

Mahalo Pog - he is safe there.We know the current occupants of what used to be a hot spot of ill repute and now it is a self help type of non profit.

[Kapohocat]

Dont get me wrong, they are cool but.....the houses look very similar to the homes designed by Mies Van der Rohe (d. 1969)


This one is from 1951:
https://gunnerarchitect.wordpress.com/ar...rth-house/

[Aaron]

I don't even like the Jones'.

Living on the side of creation.

[pbmaise]

Kapohocat
Yes Steely works are much like the most influential architect in the modern world. Few, outside of Chicago and architectural school know how Chicago owing to Wright and much more importantly Mies was the birthplace of modern architecture.

Tricky's home qualifies in my book to be on this Puna list owing to the incorporation of the lava flow as a central feature of the home.
Other Steely homes in Puna have not done this as well. Steely did not have a lot backing against the flow for the other homes to work with.

So indeed yes, to you and me, we think Farnsworth when we see his works.

Another element in favor of the Tricky home is construction with some local material. Although, I would have to point some out. The patio floor isn't tile. It is sliced lava rock. More noticeable are his stairs that are local wood.

Finally the Tricky home has a breezeway that separates his music room from his formal living room. I term that room the music room owing to it having a piano.

[pbmaise]

Homes off my personal list

It is hard not to notice the Castle of Seaview Estates, and the Justin Hilton homes.

Hilton built 4 homes across from Kehena Beach, and about 5 more around Puna.

Both builders worked very hard on their homes. However, largely they were pounding square pegs into round holes.

The extremely tall Hilton home in Seaview is more like a multi-story flat. Like the Castle Home you walk away with questioning why it is here.

Hilton by far invested the most in the homes across from Kehena and the largest one in particular. However, a tour of these home interiors will reveal very foreign materials like Brazilian cherry flooring and river rock walls. Puna has no rivers Justin.

Ironically, Hilton invested the least amount of money in a small single story home. It is along side the tall one in Seaview and almost appears to be a garage.

It is this home with a with a strong triangular shape that deserves the most attention.

Hilton's "Wedge" Home

The sharp near 30 degree angle of one corner is easy to spot.

Visually this home appears very much like an oversized park sculpture. The kind built of steel and perfectly balanced on a pivot. I can't help but see this home without thinking of turning it. This may account for the tension this work gives me since I personally believe it is set at the wrong angle to declare independence from the tall neighboring home.

Perhaps overtime this particular home will grow on me, however, if I learn Hilton purchased a set of blueprints and didn't personally design it.. then no.

Another builder in the area was Peter. Peter had an excellent knack of buy low - sell high. Homes he built exploited the land and were built on the cheap. I don't think even he would say much thought went into his creations. One home in Puna Beach looks to all extents to be a plywood garage on a slab of bare concrete.

[lavalava]

Somebody missed his copy of architectural digest this month...