Hale koʻakoʻa (Coral House) is conceived of as a series of individual living areas connected either physically or symbolically as a metaphor of the adjacent living coral reef. Seen as white contrasting objects nestled in the black lava that found their place in years past.
The initial concept was to restore the site to its natural, pre-developed state, recreating a more accurate departure point to introduce a home into the West Hawaiian coastline. This would reinforce a sense of belonging within the landscape and develop the notion that the home had been there for years.
The site is zoned into public, guest, semi-private and private. The overall landscape concept is to re-naturalize the a’a lava to create circulation and privacy by selectively bringing it up against the walls.
This allows the home to be nestled into the landscape, anchoring the home to the site, as well as integrating the overall site with the existing lava field.