Timeless Magic, 1965 - 2015

25 MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL BUILDING THE DR EAM To turn the rocky landscape into a grand resort required superheroic feats of infrastructure There was nothing there no road no power no water Even for a man who could build anything he wanted anywhere he wanted to start quite literally from scratch was a monumental undertaking LSR signed a 99 year lease with Parker Ranch for 1800 acres and established the Olohana Company to evaluate development potential for the adjacent lease lands which he later acquired In Waimea he also purchased Hale Kea traditional home of Parker Ranch managers known today as Jacaranda Inn where he stayed during construction and entertained guests As infrastructure work began the crew set up a weather station on the coast to track temperatures and wind mainly to help LSR prove that a tropical hotel could get by without air conditioning which he detested He recruited an army of the best contractors he could find true to his business philosophy of experting finding people at the top of their respective industries and giving them the opportunity to do their best As site work moved forward LSR began to conceptualize the building His requirements were simple It must blend into the natural environment in fact he wanted it to be invisible to the extent possible It must be open to the elements of sun and fresh air and it must not allow the distractions of civilization air conditioning radios televisions He wanted something of an ultra luxury summer camp with the feel of an elegant private estate and the focus on nature and invigorating outdoor recreation plus the comforts of fine food and first class amenities Leading architectural firm Skidmore Owings Merrill SOM was commissioned to come up with design options for the hotel and the company put its West Coast and East Coast offices head to head in design wars Nine schemes were submitted in all some quite fanciful The first skirmish was won by the San Francisco office with an innovative concept Scheme 2 by Charles O Perry and Chuck Bassett guided by Nathaniel Owings and his vision of a Greek village Their idea was to create an enclave of individual units informally arrayed along the sand and Owings was so committed to it that a full scale model unit was constructed on the beach The model cottage was dome shaped open to the elements at the top and early trial stays were optimistic though it was reported to be uncomfortably hot when the winds did not prevail Then one night with Mr Rockefeller and Mr Owings inside the unit on an overnight stay a monstrous tropical storm whipped down the coast flooding the unit and all but washing the cottage away That night we were drenched Owings later wrote To my everlasting gratitude Laurance didnt fire me on the spot The model was destroyed though Owings design was not a total loss and a modified version was eventually used in Puerto Rico SOM New York quickly picked up the gauntlet They set to work on a single building concept and Scheme 7 was selected in March of 1963 Spearheaded by Chuck Bassett and Mark Goldstein the winning scheme was a concrete mega structure with 154 guestrooms opening to corridor less floors floating over an ocean facing atrium with suspended stairways rising throughout Its profile reclined gently into the hillside and its exterior was painted the color of Kauna oa sand