Hawaii is booming. Waikiki is booming. Kaka’ako and Ala Moana are booming. We have new hotels, new (for us) world-class retailers: Saks 5th Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Harry Winston, Christian Louboutin, Hervé Léger, and a staggering number of their peers: Prada, Dior, Cartier, Bvlgari, Chanel, and on and on.
We have a brand new city-within-a-city going up in Kaka’ako, resplendent with sleek glass towers conceived in sophisticated modern design. New restaurants and restaurateurs are opening up and creating a dining sensation the like of which Hawaii has never seen before.
Yet, through it all, there is one project that stands apart, one design concept that has never been tried here, but when you think about it, works perfectly with our climate, with our lifestyle. That project is Park Lane, and particularly the Grand Penthouses at Park Lane.
What Separates it From the Rest?
Park Lane is exclusive: 217 residences with floor plans that feature from 1,600 to more than 6,000 sqft of living space on 7.3 secluded acres in the heart of Honolulu, but more than that, Park Lane is unique. This is no glittering high rise; this is seven stories of expansive indoor/outdoor living. Large spacious rooms flow seamlessly onto lanais not conceived as an afterthought, but as an integral and important part of the home.
You would think that would be a hallmark of many, if not most, condos built in Hawaii, but you’d be wrong. Very few developers consider this oh-so-important fact of Hawaii Life into their projects, i.e., generous, livable lanais. It reminds me very strongly of Chicago’s Prairie School of Architecture. “The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. The Prairie School shared an embrace of handcrafting and craftsman(ship).” – from Wikipedia.
This in a nutshell, I believe, sums up the spirit of Park Lane. Every line is well placed, every detail well thought out. No excess of design, but simplicity of purpose, executed in the most luxe of materials hand sourced by the designers and developers.
Without doubt, the most famous proponent of this school is Frank Lloyd Wright, who felt that a “horizontal orientation was a distinctly American design motif.” Indeed, Park Lane’s own website describes themselves thus: “A High Rise, Turned On Its Side.” It is this horizontal nature that separates Park Lane from the other projects vying for your attention. These Grand Penthouses are just that.
Hale Mahina: The House of the Moon
One such Penthouse, Hale Mahina, or The House of the Moon, with its 5,668 sqft of interior space and 1,188 sqft of lanai, has 10ft tall Eucalyptus-lined walls and disappearing walls of glass that blur the line between indoor and outdoor. A waterfall island clad in Brazilian Granite in the kitchen mirrors the light bronze hues found just steps away in the sands of Ala Moana Beach Park. Textured stone flooring and sound dampening slatted wood ceilings reinforce the ‘bringing nature inside’ that is another hallmark of this most American of architectural styles.
So yes, there are ‘Aeries in the Sky.’ I’ve written about them, and I have one listed for sale, if that is your desire; but Park Lane is something else entirely, something that is unique to Hawaii Luxury Condo Living, though considering the perfect marriage of design and site that this project displays, I’m hoping will someday be not just unique to Hawaii, but uniquely Hawaiian.
More Information
For more information about Park Lane or The Grand Penthouses at Park Lane, feel free to contact me.
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