When you live in Hawaii, why bother cooping yourself up indoors" Residents of many temperate locations around the world, from Singapore to Costa Rica, commonly live in houses that aren?t completely closed off, as their design prevents heat from building up inside and allows cross breezes to cool and ventilate the interior spaces. Those of us who aren?t used to that idea might worry about our indoor spaces being infiltrated by pests, but it?s certainly possible to find a happy medium that integrates indoor/outdoor spaces while preserving a few fully-walled rooms.

This beautiful home in Maui by FLOAT Studio makes the most of its stunning, warm environment without completely sacrificing the privacy of its inhabitants. “Outside House” is a pair of pavilions set across from each other on a landscape full of jagged black volcanic rock (which itself was produced by a 300-year-old lava flow) and punctuated by colorful tropical plants. The client, a Hawaiian native who grew up on the nearby Keawakapu Beach, is used to spending most of her time outdoors and wanted to capture the sense of unrestricted freedom she felt on the island as a child. Architect Erin Moore prioritized the wildness of the land for the design, aiming for a home that wouldn?t make the lot feel domesticated or developed. Both of the 120-square-foot pavilions sit lightly on the building site ? Moore named them “Mauka” (facing the mountains) and “Makai” (facing the sea.) On...