Big Isle home picked
for TV special

On the air: "Extreme Week" featuring
"Extreme Homes," 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, HGTV.

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By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com

A Big Island home will be featured 8 p.m. Wednesday in a Home & Garden Television special featuring extreme homes.

The 1,800 square-foot "Crescent Moon" in Kama Wala, is the home of former ad executive Sandy Sims in the Kohala Coast ranching town.

Sims got permission to resurrect one of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs that was adapted by an architect at Taliesin West. Construction took about four years.

The home's size and shape is not immediately apparent when visitors first come up the hill. The house stays a constant temperature year round on the inside because of its design.

In the winter, south facing windows take in the sun's warmth the summer heat is dispersed by the deep eaves.

The home contains no heating or air conditioning. The original design called for fieldstone but brick was used on the Big Island home.

The eaves look like metal but are made of fiberglass, the same material as surfboards. A large volcanic rock was moved during excavation and then returned to its original spot.

The home was adapted from a design Wright drew when he was in his 80s, but built more than 30 years after Wright's death. The home features furnishings designed by Wright as well.

The bedroom also goes against traditional Wright designed small bedrooms. The upstairs level is not supported by a wall or support, it's hung from the ceiling.

Sims has recently sold the house and the rights to the plans are in the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation archives and will never be built again.

The other home being featured on the program is the "Tram House" in Melbourne, Australia.

Other homes featured during "Extreme" week:

>> Monday: High Tech Hot House, Columbus, Ohio, and abstract lake house that glows with 600 lights; and Purple Cube House, Canberra, Australia.

>> Tuesday: Malibu Sensation, Malibu, Calif., built to withstand natural disasters; and Greenhouse, Tokyo, Japan.

>> Thursday: Whale House, Santa Barbara, Calif., a home of whale proportions; and Collapsed House, Takarazuka, Japan, a superstructure built by a man after his home collapsed during an earthquake.

>> Oct. 5: Dawnridge, Beverly Hills, Calif., built to overlook the dawn; and House Around A Bath, Tokyo, Japan, an unusual home near built with concrete, steel and minimalist decor.

>> Oct. 6: Castillo del Sol, Las Vegas, a doctor buys neighboring homes to make room for his castle; Divided House, Awaji, Japan, a Japanese craftsman builds a home.

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