This building's green tile, double-pitched hipped roof with broad overhanging eaves draws upon Hawaii's architectural past, while the arched openings and battered planters foster a ground-hugging strength reinforced by the library's nestling below the berm of the nearby golf course. A centered portico, round-arched windows, and segmental openings add variety and visual allure. The building's siting, floor plan, and multiplicity of windows afford multiple vistas of the magnificent mountains and their waterfalls, while the roofline loosely follows the pinnacles' verdant ridgeline. The capacious and airy interior features a lofty, open-beamed ceiling.
Honolulu architect Maurice Yamasato was born in Lima, Peru, and migrated with his parents to Hawaii following World War II. He studied architecture at the University of Hawaii and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. He worked in the office of Thomas Wells in Honolulu and in 1973 opened his own office. Other works by Yamasato include Hanalei Elementary School and Princeville Fire Station at 5-5415 and 5-4390 Kuhio Highway, respectively.