Slaughterhouse Beach House
Maui, Hawaii
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Design Principal
Tom Kundig
Located close to a well-known surfing spot, Slaughterhouse Beach House expands the concept of a traditional surfing hut with three connected huts—general living quarters, guest suites, and a main sleeping area. The huts’ corrugated metal roofs take their inspiration from traditional Hawaiian roofs (as popularized by the architect C. W. Dickey), which help to naturally ventilate the islands’ indigenous structures. Studies of the site revealed virtually constant winds. Using the Dickey-style roof as a starting point, the design was turbocharged, deliberately shaping roof forms and openings to allow breezes to pull hot air out.
The structure’s walls are constructed from rammed earth. In this process, different local earth-based mixtures are packed together, and the resulting striated layers are visible both inside and outside the building. The walls blend in with the surroundings, are low maintenance, virtually fireproof, and are a strong barrier to sound.
I don’t think that I could ever design something as beautiful as what’s already there. We’re here to frame the landscape, to create an experience of that place, and perhaps to bring some of that experience—the intimacy, the vulnerability—inside the house.Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Team
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Design Principal
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Project Architects
Awards
2011
Residential Architect Design Awards, Grand Award: Custom Home, Over 3,000 SF
Publications
2015
Goldman, Rita. “The Way Home.” Maui Magazine, May 2015, 52-56. Print. Web.
Welton, J. Michael. “As the Wind Blows.” Ocean House, Oct. 201 5, 74-77, cover. Print. Web.
2014
Monié, Karine. “Espíritu Hawaiano.” Architectural Digest Mexico, 9 July 2014. Web.
Webb, Michael. “The Spirit of Hawai’i.” The Kahala Magazine Vol. 9 No. 1, 2014, 36-41. Print. Web.