Balanced Composition
The still-sleepy hamlet of Puakō on the Big Island’s Kona Coast is easily bypassed as one drives along the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway. It is only marked by a popular malasada and coffee truck that’s nudged to the edge of a gravel clearing surrounded by bristly kiawe trees. That’s just fine with its residents, many of whom treasure its dead-ended-ness and seeming lack of anything to do or see.
For the curious, though, there are maybe three things worth venturing down the road for; two of them are yours to discover, but the third is a look at this modern home as one drives by. Designed by renowned West Coast modern house architect Curt Cline, it is impossible to miss as one drops down closer to sea level, just as Puakō’s homes begin to reveal themselves behind the natural vegetation and lava outcroppings that define the rugged terrain of the area. The street-facing façade is arresting, with its warm travertine panels wedged against each other like cubes elevated on steel supports, with an offset opening at the top of two flights of stairs serving as its formal entryway.
Cline is well known for bridging the traditional and the modern, and his selection as architect came naturally for homeowners Dominic and Naoe Gallello. As he describes it, the design brief was quite short, but Gallello wanted a few specifics to be sure. Starting with the kitchen itself, he shared, “This was patterned exactly like a previous kitchen that Cline designed for my Bay Area home,” which was the result of even prior refinements and design studies they had done together.
This long working relationship between architect and client made the task of building such a different home in Hawai‘i less of a challenge than it could have been, since they were known quantities to each other. Gallello’s vision for a home to entertain family and friends was to have the living quarters at opposite ends of the home, separated by varying voluminous spaces in between that could be used individually or all together depending on the need. The home’s cruciform layout results in a focal intersection where indoor and outdoor living meet at the Sapele-wood-clad breezeway just beyond the sliding pocket doors that whisper aside to reveal a full outdoor kitchen, covered lanai, and pool aligned with the steadfast star Hōkūpa‘a in the northern sky. Designed specifically for Gallello to get his distance in while exercising, the pool’s end wall is transparent, revealing the cove and Kohala Peninsula in the distance.
Just as deliberately situated are the other elements of this home, from the self-contained guest suite at one end to the core entertaining spaces that are centrally located. With expansive walls of fixed and operable sliding glass doors that almost seem frameless, the rooms are bathed in soft natural light that changes with the passing of time; the street-side wall reveals narrow slits of glass that offset the travertine panels and bathe the raw stone with warm ombré tones while maintaining visual privacy.
The few solid walls in each room serve as clean backdrops on which commissioned art from British artist Simon Bull hangs. Gallello invited the artist to Puakō before the series was completed, resulting in several site-specific pieces. Within the vibrant splashes of color that Bull is known for, cues tied to the Big Island are revealed. The artist experienced glorious sunrises and crimson sunsets, swimming with manta rays, and, as commemorated in one room, paddling kayaks out on the tranquil waters with Gallello himself.
Fronting each space is the broad and aptly named “runway” promenade that frames the ocean view and provides an outdoor connection for lounging in the shade. Gallello mentions the airport connection as a reminder of when he lived in Hungary and built a home on the periphery of a grass strip where gliders were actively flown.
“My son Christopher took an active interest in learning to fly, and eventually, we bought a glider that turned out to be designed, built and owned by Ernő Rubik, the father of the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube,” he says, as if Gallello’s life story couldn’t be peppered with more colorful trivia.
Listening to Gallello describe the home and how everything fits together is a reminder of how homes like this are indeed built like puzzles. Many will try, but only seasoned professionals will get it right — with everything in its proper place — and make it all come together effortlessly, which is the lasting feeling that one gets in a home like this. Whether seen from the inside or in passing from the road, this home truly reminds us that despite life being a puzzle, it is the simplest things that tend to make us feel our best.