Restless Spirits Ep. 6: Craig Steely
Alongside an unwavering passion for all things outdoors that’s largely informed the company’s product design and overall identity, AETHER has always possessed a proclivity for the creative arts, whether that be painting, poetry, film, or architecture. And with a unique ability to pen structures that seamlessly integrate into their natural surroundings, the work of architect Craig Steely has long been on AETHER’s radar. So, on a recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, we were thrilled to get the opportunity to sit down with the award-winning architect to discuss what makes his projects special, how his structures celebrate the land they’re built on, and a shared appreciation for avant-garde architecture.
Established around the turn of the millennium, Craig Steely Architecture is responsible for a plethora of projects that are as visually impressive as they are modern and idiosyncratic. What really sets his work apart from other architectural firms, however, is Steely’s innate ability to deliver custom homes that fully embrace the land that they’re built on and celebrate their natural surroundings rather than subjugating it—being bespoke for the site, not just the client. This means constructing homes that are neatly and thoughtfully integrated into the land they’re built on while also highlighting and showcasing their surrounding views and natural beauty.
Having now developed a distinctive, almost brutalist-inspired motif, Steely’s trio of latest works perfectly encapsulate his firm’s hallmark style of homes—with these three projects being the D Fin House, the Musubi House, and the Pāpa’aloa Homestead.
Above and beyond their clean lines, flawless integration into their surrounding landscape, and ample use of glass and cast-in-place concrete, Steely’s homes also stand out from the crowd due to their size.
Rooted in classic modernist tradition, these recent projects in Hawaii clock in at under 2,500 square feet. Despite their square footage, they feel quite a bit larger than they actually are thanks to the way they seamlessly blend into their surroundings, intentionally blurring the line between where the building ends and nature begins. What’s more, these structures are often erected as net zero homes, some of which operate off-the-grid and are completely self-sufficient, establishing an even greater connection to the land they’re constructed upon.
“I think there’s a scale where you can really bring architecture into it,” Steely tells us. “So I think that’s something that sums up these houses as they’re not big, but they feel big because you’re unsure whether you are inside or outside.”
When speaking with Steely, our discussion slowly shifted from talking about his own architectural works to chatting about some of his personal favorite pieces of architecture. This happens to include AETHER’s San Francisco brick-and-mortar location, which is custom-built from stacked and staggered shipping containers and is outfitted with a belt-driven, dry-cleaner-style vertical conveyor system, enabling the store to make the most of its minimal footprint.
“What’s interesting about AETHER’s space is that it functions like the Musubi, like D Fin, like Pāpa’aloa Homestead, as an object, but also as architecture,” relays Steely. “It’s not like a typical showroom, inside in space, or outside in form. But both of them I think promote this connection to the outside.”
For more information on Craig Steely, you can check out his firm’s website, or explore his excellent architectural coffee table book, Real and Make Believe. Until next time, stay restless.
All photos courtesy of Darren Bradley.
