Nordic Notes
With a prior home renovation successfully under their belt, homeowners Bonnie and Anton Andryeyev team up again with architect Casper Mork-Ulnes for their Kailua retreat.
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
One might say that it took multiple stars aligning for Bonnie and Anton Andryeyev and Casper Mork-Ulnes to meet, come together and collaborate on this ground-up build near the beach in Kailua, since it would appear more improbable than likely. Among them was the fact that Bonnie spent some of her early years at school in Norway, studying in Rjukan, about three hours due west of Oslo, in the hills halfway to the North Sea, then much farther north, in Trondheim.
Developing an appreciation for the culture, the people and their design aesthetic was a serendipitous thing that could not have been planned. Likewise for architect Casper Mork-Ulnes, who found himself opening his Oslo firm’s second office in the Bay Area. When the Andryeyevs decided to remodel their San Francisco apartment, it was providence that led them to Mork-Ulnes Architects and the discovery of each other’s affinities for their native homes across the globe, along with other parallel connections between Norway, San Francisco and Hawai‘i. That successful engagement and execution of the renovation led to a friendship and paved the way for more to come.
With the Andryeyevs establishing a foothold in Hawai‘i for their family, the choice of Mork-Ulnes as architect for their new home in Kailua was a natural one. Beyond already having worked together, there was a synergy and shared understanding of what the home would be and how it would evolve in the coming years — and, importantly, which design elements from two diverse architectural vernaculars would be used, and also what living in Norway and Hawai‘i would contribute to the design of a home in this tropical climate.
As Bonnie shares, “The two places we considered moving when we left San Francisco were the only places I ever felt like I belonged: Norway and Hawai‘i.” She then circles back on some elements that guided the design of the home. “A lot of people ask me if Norway and Hawai‘i have anything in common. Norwegians and Hawaiians are devoted to community, and in both places, the landscape becomes an integral part of your identity.”
The home embraces the islands’ lush landscape with jungle courtyards, planted-roof lanais, and a design that blurs home and nature.
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
Hawai‘i’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle inspired flexible spaces suited for both intimate moments and larger gatherings.
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
As described by Mork-Ulnes, the home’s proximity to Kailua Beach, combined with the local tradition of indoor/outdoor living, called for creative solutions that would create spaces allowing for both intimate and larger gatherings. The concept of the lanai and its native-plant green roof is not one commonly found in Norway, but Mork-Ulnes has adopted it, and it is core to the home’s design and layout.
For this design, it is more than just an adjunct space tacked on between yard and home; it is its own space, supported at its corners by a tearoom, a home office, an outdoor bath and an outdoor kitchen. Mork-Ulnes describes it as “an important part of the project, both for the clients and our own interest in regionalism. The lanai is a distinct and very practical element of Hawaiian vernacular architecture, representing the cultural importance and climate adaptations of the region — both as shelter from the tropical weather and as a piece of architecture that is important for social interaction, creating a sort of transitional area between the indoors and the outdoors.”
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
The Andryeyevs at home.
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
Across a shimmering pool from the lanai, the main home and its garage-topping ‘ohana unit appear elevated by parallel glass walls that house the kitchen and living space, neatly bisected by a staircase suspended from turned wood. Above, the family’s bedrooms and private spaces are a quiet oasis and perch from which to look over the lush landscaping and green roof below. The minimally furnished layout and openness throughout the home are reminders of the home’s Nordic influences, adapted to tropical living.
Anton notes that the home’s myriad details support the overall final effect, much as his work in software development relies on countless small pieces to make the final product function seamlessly. “The fluidity of functional spaces without the need for rigid delineating boundaries often serves as a metaphor for my own work of building software systems,” he says. “Each element in the house has a footprint just large enough to fulfill its purpose, allowing the focus to shift towards blending of functions rather than isolating them in oversized volumes.”
Anton also recognizes one of the greatest challenges of simplicity in design: “Such simplicity is hard to accomplish, as it is borne from the complexity of intentions and millions of details. In the end, the enduring elegance of what you create becomes inevitable.” With this blending of global design sensibilities, it will be interesting to see what from Hawai‘i makes it back to Mork-Ulnes’ designs in Norway — and what other notes from afar land on our shores.
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)
(Photos courtesy Mariko Reed.)