Seven
years ago, Dale Grover, of ACS Construction, spied a “For Sale” sign on
an empty lot in the hills above Hawaii Kai. From the street, he could
see little but tall reeds and weeds. After trampling through high
brush, Grover discovered an ocean view that featured both Koko Head and
Diamond Head craters. That overgrown, 10,000-square-foot plot of land
soon became the site of his new dream home and a testing ground for a
new startup business.
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| The
indoor windows on the left are frosted and sealed with delicate brown
ferns. The organic-looking windows offer light and privacy to Grover’s
office on the opposite side, below the stairwell. |
At
the time, Grover was an Aloha Airlines captain. He had no plans to give
up his day job. But while researching—and Grover is a man devoted to
research—materials to build his new home, he came upon ICF, or
insulated concrete forms. It changed his life.
ICF,
which has long been used in Europe and Canada, are polystyrene forms
that lock into place, much like Legos. The concept is simple: Determine
a shape, enforce it with rebar and pour concrete into place.
Structurally, ICF homes are strong. They are also twice as energy
efficient, four times as fire resistant, nine times more durable and
three times quieter than standard homes. It was two other advantages,
however, that sold Grover on ICF—incredible termite resistance and
hurricane-strength ratings.
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| The
living room’s modern-Asian feel is finished with the entertainment
center’s horizontal, bamboo-looking slats, mimicking the design of the
home’s entrance and gates. |
The
only problem was that there were no ICF contractors in Hawaii. Grover,
who had worked previously as a contractor, gave up flying, sold his
stocks, sank his savings into construction equipment and became an ICF
builder. His house became a product test site.
Grover’s
house took 14 months to build. He challenged the material itself in
many ways, but constructing an infinity pool was a first, by all
accounts. Grover, who has a background in engineering, and his foreman
Joe Lolo, a longtime builder, knew ICF would work.
“There
were no limitations, in fact there were more advantages to building
with ICF,” Grover says. “It just had never been done.”
Curious
building inspectors and pool specialists checked out his plans. There
were no problems to be found. The pool even got Mainland attention from
industry experts. Multicoat, which makes pool sealants, flew out to
examine the results, too.
“I knew it would work,” Grover says. “It’s just getting people away from the norm.”
Beyond
the ICF structure, the home’s interior details show distinctive style.
Grover and his wife, Emiko, who is from Japan, wanted a contemporary,
livable home with modern Japanese accents.
For
example, the property’s gate, the home’s front doors and several
furnishings have a traditional, slat-style Japanese door motif with a
postmodern twist. The glass front doors were etched with bamboo-looking
slats, to obscure the interior, but also to define a space.
Plus,
in true Japanese style, the entrance has two sets of double doors.
Westerners may know this space as a mudroom, but in Japan it’s a formal
idea called a genkan, an enclosed transitional space between outside
and inside. Guests pass through the first entrance and close the door,
while a second entrance lies straight ahead. Though the genkan is large
and formal, it’s also functional. Grover says it protects the home from
Hawaii Loa’s fierce winds.
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| (left)
The Japanese-style entrance, with two sets of double doors, is called a
genkan, an enclosed transitional space between outside and inside. The
formal and functional genkan protects the home from Hawaii Loa’s fierce
winds. (right) The guest bathroom includes a Chinese medicine chest
that was customized into a console for a sink. Plus, the Asian-inspired
room divider provides privacy to the Japanese Toto toilet. |
Grover’s
engineering mind and entrepreneurial spirit, combined with Emiko’s fine
design sense, have produced not just a dream home for their family, but
a prototype for others.
“People
want to see and touch a new product before they go into it,” says
Grover, who has already built eight ICF homes. “With this house, I can
show people all the things that I can do. They can see the electronics,
how quiet it is, how structurally sound it is, how it’s finished. I
usually show them a house in progress and then I show them mine. And
when they see mine, well, usually, we get to build theirs.”
