One beach, two ways to live with it.

The Lanikai Beach Compound is a two-lot beachfront property on Oahu's east coast, with the front lot sitting directly on the water's edge and a second lot one row inland. Studio Graf was engaged to design across both properties as a single connected residence. This page presents the design for the back lot, a new structure conceived as the companion to the beachfront home.

The two properties together give the compound two distinct experiences of the same coastal setting. The beachfront residence is fully open to the sea, the wind, and direct views of the two Mokulua Islands offshore. The back residence sits one row inland, sheltered from the prevailing weather, and organised around a garden orientation with framed views back toward the ocean over the roofline of the front home.

Together, the two structures give the owners both the exposed, sea-open experience and the sheltered, garden-centred one, connected through the property rather than duplicating each other.

The approach through the property is deliberately gradual. Entry begins informally at the back residence and moves through ground-floor common spaces to a courtyard sheltered from the trade winds. The courtyard is the connecting element between the two structures, functioning as a shared central gathering space that anchors the compound and reinforces the indoor-outdoor rhythm central to Hawaiian residential living.

The back residence itself is organised across two levels, with public spaces on the ground floor opening to the courtyard, and bedrooms above, oriented to capture the framed ocean views. High ceilings and an open plan give the interior a sense of scale that belies the sheltered siting, and the layout is drawn to accommodate a range of uses as the family's needs evolve.