Large pitched roofs top the volumes of this Hawaiian house, which US firm Walker Warner Architects designed to "strike a balance between modernity and tradition".
The 4,800-square-foot (445.9 square metres) home is located on Hawaii's Big Island, atop a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the neighbouring Island Maui. Native grasses cover the lush site and surround the home.

Four wood-clad volumes define a central courtyard to draw on the arrangement of traditional Hawaiian architecture.
The design of the houses also takes cues from the country's hale shelters, wooden houses with pitched thatched roofs that met the ground.

Walker Warner Architects said it designed the property to "strike a balance between modernity and tradition". To achieve this, it used the traditional references with contemporary forms and materials. "The composition of canted steel columns, steep-pitched roofs, and rhomboidal window and door openings represent a contemporary interpretation of early Hawaiian shelters," said firm principal Greg Warner.
"They're like modernist lean-tos."

In Makani' Eka house, the firm used western red cedar for cladding and the roof shingles because it can resist heat, moisture, and insects that are typical to the climate. Stained sapele mahogany is used for the window frames.
The first volume seen from the site approach contains a garage and recreational room. The latter features a glazed corner with sliding panels that open o...