The BIA Renaissance Building and Remodeling Awards, established in 1986, celebrate excellence in design and construction of new and remodeled projects in Hawaii. This showcase recognizes the following competing categories: Details, Kitchen & Bath, Landscaping, New & Remodeled Commercial Building, New & Remodeled Residential Building, Public Works, Hawaii BuiltGreen™, Historical and Innovative Design & Construction. The 27th annual awards ceremony was held May 2, and 38 entrants from Hawaii, Maui and Oahu represented an exciting year of statewide participation.
The entries were judged on creativity, use of materials, environmental and sustainability, functionality, design principles, value, interior space, overall quality and workmanship.
The highlight of the awards ceremony was recognizing the top four Overall Grand Awards and the Carl Reppun Award. Today’s column will feature the winner of the Overall Grand Award in the New Residential Division. The winner was Welch and Weeks LLC for “Hale Nunu.”
The clients wanted to build a legacy home in the classic Hawaii style for their family on the beach at Kahala. The direction of the sun and trade winds, captured with passive environmental systems designed to harness natural elements, were the major driving forces in building a very comfortable home. The 35,564-square-foot site consists of a 2,329-square-foot cottage and garage and the 7,860-square-foot main house.
The main house has nearly 1,700 square feet of covered lanai, and the exterior materials include Hardie board siding and trim to protect the home from salt, sun and rain.
Deep roof overhangs keep the house cool, while modern insulation and radiant barriers, along with the wood shingles and copper gutters, also work well in this tropical climate. A vaulted 15-foot-high ceiling in the great room, pocket doors opening to ocean views, custom built cabinets, natural stone counters and Milgard fiberglass double-glazed windows are a few of the features in this modern legacy home that reflects the past and welcomes the future.
Karen Nakamura is executive vice president/CEO of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.
Photo: “Hale Nunu” by Welch and Weeks LLC — the 2012 BIA Renaissance Overall Grand Award winner in the New Residential Division