Everything Kapahulu, Find it at KapahuluAvenue.com

My favorite house layout from the BIA Parade of Homes 2008 is the “Onaga” at Ke Ola O Pokai Bay.  The floor plan is very efficient. Public and private zone is well define from front to back and bottom to top.  I especially enjoy the good attempt to do more than just a “box.” And the double living room space spell luxury without the cost of luxury. 

I do want to suggest a few “improvements” to an already good house design.

Fig. 1 

a. The siding below the window looks like a mistake.  Horizontal band can carry across. More window can filter light down to the lower level.
b. Gable end too small and looks forceful. 
c. Don’t place tree directly in front of the entry door.  Bad Feng Shui.
d. Place vent on side roof instead of front roof.  They look like Micky Mouse ears.
e. Projected volume seems to be forceful and clustering.
f. Double volume living room may feel too narrow and tall in proportion.
g. Hallway/vestibule can further reduce in size.
h. It feels more welcoming when front door can be seen directly from street. 

Fig. 2 Upper floor, I’ve pushed the Master Bedroom exterior wall out and align it with the bathroom to combine them as a single volume. It dis-cluster the upper floor mass and roof lines quite a bit.  For the lower floor, I projected out the cover entry a few more feet to further define the entrance element.

Fig. 3 I’m glad the design team break up the facade with the “wedding cake” effect.  Otherwise you may end up with this awful two story facade.

Fig. 4 This is an attempt to improve my Fig. 2.  The 22′ wide garage seems to dictate the massing of a lot of new home design.  If we can break away from it and begin to bring the concept of “proportion” back to modern home design. 

http://www.mdi-hawaii.com/

The official Hawaii Visitor Bureau

Kapahulu Avenue Photos posted on Flickr

San Francisco Chronicle - Life is just one big, long luau on Kapahulu Avenue

Guidespot – Kapahulu Avenue

It’s history in the making today and I’m so proud. We have our first curbside recycling pick-up this morning in our Kapahulu neighborhood. Almost half of us have the blue bins out. Congratulation! We are on our way to lessen our burden on our aina and the city is giving us the convenience by having the curbside pick-ups. Thank you. Next week Thursday let’s bring out the green bins (yard waste pick-up) Please don’t bag your yard waste. That would eliminate the need to un-bag them at the yard-waste-turn-composting-facility (not a pleasant job for those dudes who un-bag your yard waste in the hot sun!)

http://www.opala.org/solid_waste/curbside.htm

Hot shower seems to consume a whole lot of energy compare to some of the other household activities. Shorter showers and/or cold showers can easily equate to all of the other energy saving tactics combined.

Varies energy saving tactics in shower time equivalent
Use Power strip to eliminate energy sneaker = 4 seconds (50kWh, $7 per year)
Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot water = 18 seconds (225kWh, $32 per year)
Motion sensor = 21 second (reduce from 6 hours to 1 hour per night use - 270 KWh or $38 per year)
Replace regular 100 watt bulb to CFL = 1 minute and 41 seconds ((4hrs of use per day, 12 bulbs in a household: 1296 kWh, $180 per year)
Cutting shower short = 2 minutes (1,533kWh, $215 per year, a family of four would save 6132kWH, $860 per year)
Taking cold shower = 15 minutes (11,497 kWh, $1,611 per year)

(Calculations above are base on one second equals to saving of 12.775kWh or $1.79 per year, data derived from HECO brochure)
http://www.heco.com/portal/site/heco/menuitem.508576f78baa14340b4c0610c510b1ca/?vgnextoid=7c4e5e658e0fc010VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD&cpsextcurrchannel=1

101 way to Save
http://www.heco.com/vcmcontent/StaticFiles/pdf/101_Tips_7-15-08_FINAL.pdf

Zenshu Restaurant with live entertainment or recorded music and dancing is coming soon at 477 Kapahulu Ave.

With the way the economy is going.  Now is a good time to build that addition or that brand new home. Permitting should be a lot faster. Contractors that brushed you off a few months ago will be calling you about your project.  So get ready, do some research and get your dream addition or brand new home built!  The first question still.  Do I need a permit? 

Do I need a permit?
Read this informative pamphlet produced by the C&C of Honolulu and see if you will need a permit for your home project. Or check out this full text on permit requirement. 

Here are a few that do not require Building Permit
1. Residential television and radio antennas, excluding dish-type antennas
Retaining walls, fences and planter boxes which are not more than 30 inches in height
2. Tool and storage sheds not exceeding 120 sf.
3. Repairs which involve only the replacement of component parts of existing work with similar materials for the purpose of maintenance, and which do not aggregate over $1,000.00 in valuation in any 12-month period
4. Repair work performed by a licensed electrical contractor which does not aggregate over $500.00 in valuation in any 12-month period
5. Repair work performed by a licensed plumbing contractor which does not aggregate over $1,000.00 in valuation in any 12-month period

Do I need to hire a professional?
“Plans must be properly stamped and signed by an architect or structural engineer when (1) work on one-storied buildings exceed $40,000, (2) work on two-storied buildings exceed $35,000, or (3) the principle structural members are of reinforced concrete or structural steel. Plans for retaining walls five (5) feet or more in height must be properly stamped and signed by an architect, structural or civil engineer licensed in the State of Hawaii.”

What is the different between an architect, a drafter and an engineer?
A drafter can help you with drawing the house but will not be able to stamped and signed the drawings. Usually Archtiect will give you more design options than engineer. But in residential work, both architect and engineer will know the ins and outs on how to obtain a construction permit.

Step 1:
Look up information at the permitting department website.
Address:
Tax Map Key (TMK):
Lot size: (example 5000 square feet)
Land Use Zone Category: (example R-3.5)
Special District: (Diamond Head)

Step 2:
Plot plan information with TMK from Step 1

Step 3:
Look up zoning information according to Land Use Zone Category from Step 1
Front set back: (example 10’)
Side and rear yard set back: (example 5’ Fig.21-3.2 pdf50)
Building Height Limit: (example 25’, or 30’ parallel to grade for lot with slope greater than 40% Fig.21-3.10 pdf72, measure from exsisting grade or new grade whichever is lower)
Building Envelope profile: (example 15’ at set back and slope back 1:2 rise until it reach building height limit)
Builtable area: (example 50% of lot size)

Step 4:
Determine Special District requirement (example Diamond Head Special District)

Don’t forget:
- Off-Street parking : 2 required plus 1 per 1,000sf over 2,500 sf of floor area (excluding floor area of garage and carport)
- Roof overhang can only be 30” if building set back from property line is less than or equal to 10 ft. 36” if less than or equal to 20’, 48” when greater than 20’
- Smoke detector in every sleeping room and hallway immediately adjacent to such sleeping room

Other sources
Revised Ordinance of Honolulu (Amendment to the International Building Code 2003 and International Residential Code)
Oversize printing from Honblue (24”x36” and 30”x42” are common size for drawings)

It the task seems difficult.  Check out ownerbuiltdesigns.com

Free outdoor concert by the Royal Hawaiian Band at the Kapiolani Bandstand every Sunday at 2:00-2:45 pm.

What started in 1836 continues today: the music, the song, the dance, the aloha, and the connection with the monarchy dated back during King Kamehameha III. Local and tourist alike come out to enjoy the music under the shade of the Monkey pod trees with cool breeze blew down from Manoa Valley.

More Schedule at other locations during the week

What, Got too much electronic junks but don’t like the landfill. You try to donate them and the Goodwiller give you the laugh. You know what, they will just never understand the importance of the apple IIe. Without people buying them back then, there would never be money to develop the classic Mac or your ipod or iphone. And for your other non-essential e-junk-bring them to the University of Hawaii Ewaste event this Saturday, Oct 25 9am-3pm. They will be collecting your junk and sent it off to get recycled (for the most part)

| Donate before you recycle | http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste/disposal.php

| Ewaste Map | http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste/maps2008/Manoa825.pdf

http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste/

I was on the bus with nothing to read so I started thinking about T-shirt design. Ancient Hawaiian never wore T-shirt. So how do you really design a “Hawaiian” T-shirt? Do we treat the shirt as a canvas to express? And that’s exactly what kealopiko do with their shirts. It’s Hawaiian value lesson on a shirt; accompany by beautiful bold graphics. Good for them. Good for us. Available at Boutique Soleil, Kapahulu.

The French government wanted to speed things up with gender work force equality by artificially requiring more women hiring a few years back.  Hey, we could do the same for the Hawaiian language and culture.  We could make some extreme requirements for the Hawaiian language and culture for the next few years to make up for the “mistake” we made in the last century.  Very clever.

We need Reinstatement of the Hawaiian Monarchy, not as a governing body but as a ceremonial body similar to the monarchy of England, Japan, Denmark. They don’t necessary needs to have any political power, but will have greater spiritual and cultural influence over the people. They become the symbol of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

We need to increase the Hawaiian language with artificial mean. First we must recognize the state as a bilingual state - English and Hawaiian. All state and county government employees must receive 4 semester of college level Hawaiian Language Study. All state documents must accompany by Hawaiian translation or English translation. For all “made in Hawaii” participants, all packaging must be bilingual. Public school must teach 10% of curriculum in Hawaiian. Year 2020 will be the first class to graduate under the bilingual requirement where students graduated would be able to have an intellectual communicate in both Hawaiian and English. Creating this initial artificial need of the Hawaiian Language is to offset the decrease Hawaiian Language speakers in the past one hundred year. This bilingual system can be easily learned from other countries such as Tahiti (French/English), American Samoan (Samoan/English), Canada (English/French), Macau (Cantonese/Portuguese), and Hong Kong (Cantonese/English). Artificial requirement need to be adjusted and review every three years and eventually lifted when it’s purpose is served.

We need to increase the need for native plants by artificial mean. All new construction projects must provide 50% of native plant specie in their plant pallete. All public street trees must be native species such as koa, ohia, koa, kou, akia and nau etc. . Home depot, Star Garden and other nursery are required to have 10% of their plant inventory to be native. The more people are in touch with the native plants, the more we learn to appreciate them. Creating this initial artificial need of the Hawaiian native plants is to offset the decrease in Hawaiian Native plants in the past one hundred year. Artificial requirement need to be adjusted and review every three years and eventually lifted when it’s purpose is served.

We need Hawaiian mythical drama or war epic on TV. Hawaiian mythology would draw similar audience like those historical drama produced in India, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.