The Modern Stone Age in Hawai'i

Hawai‘i’s epic landscapes are stories embedded in rock. Sometimes the story is told implicitly, in the massive emerald cliffs buckled with time. In other places the story is told explicitly, in the form of prehistoric petroglyphs. Big Rock Manufacturing Inc. of Honolulu lets homeowners take these stories into their own backyards. This highly creative company is the place where nature's magnificence meets with manmade masonry, offering landscaping solutions that complement the distinctive aesthetics of the Islands.

At Big Rock, a stunning outdoor showroom teems with fountain rocks, waterfalls and koi ponds reminiscent of a classic Japanese-inspired garden. The company's masonry and cast-stone products have been created here for 25 years with a process equally attentive to design and durability. Big Rock's stone products look as real as the majestic boulders of O'ahu's Ko'olau ridges or the sea-sculpted contours that edge Kona's black lava fields.

Contributing to this authenticity Big Rock's formula includes lightweight volcanic aggregates, iron oxide pigments and Portland Cement. A nuanced casting process that preserves pigments in the concrete ensures the stone resists changes in color over years of weathering. Custom stone veneers from Big Rock appear nearly interchangeable with the natural tones and textures of Moss Rock, ocean-reef Coral and Lava. All can be affixed to any existing interior or exterior surface.

Installing natural stonework, many might assume, requires heavy equipment and back-breaking labor. That is where Big Rock has the advantage. While all of the stonework is cast from natural stone and contains the same basic ingredients as its natural counterparts, it is 80% lighter. Flat undersides on Big Rock’s boulders eliminate the need to dig placement holes.

Big Rock Manufacturing vice president and co-owner Bonnie Cooper translates the magic of rock into inspiring “dream gardens” for clients. Through consultations, clients have access to her creative vision in assessing a property and creating custom installations. With Big Rock, Bonnie says, “you can stay within your budget while improving the appearance and adding real value to your home.” Cooper sees her role as an agent of transformation, citing the power of stones to permanently reshape a landscape, adding relief, design balance and tranquility.

Along with co-founder Brian Joy, Cooper warns against cast-stone imitations that look similar, but are not designed to weather gracefully in the Hawaiian climate. Time actually enhances the pigments in our products and they maintain their authentic hue. They are almost indistinguishable from the real thing,” she says.

Big Rock is the only cast-stone manufacturer actually manufacturing Hawaiian stone veneer in Hawai‘i, cast from Hawaiian stone originals, and using Hawaiian products.

Examples of Big Rock installations can be seen at the newly renovated Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikïkï and also at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, where the company provided the custom planters and ponds, the coral grand staircase and all of the street level entrance veneers. These creations can be incorporated on a smaller scale into home and office landscape designs. By localizing their product, the owners have made their stones extremely popular with Hawaii contractors, landscapers and do-it-yourself homeowners.

The most coveted designs include faux moss-rock stepping stones and hyper-real boulder replicas. The boulders are one-fifth the weight of their real counterparts. With Big Rock, customers can have the majesty and the maneuverability. The cast stone veneer has other benefits, including improving insulation and resisting termites. Its low-maintenance promise holds out, requiring only a simple hose or brush-down to clean.

The basic elements of landscaping include walls and enclosures, waterfalls and ponds, pathways, planters and statues. Big Rock offers pre-manufactured stock items as well as custom solutions for each element, all with their signature casting. Today, the company’s popular product lines are shipped throughout the Islands, to the mainland and the South Pacific. Joy and Cooper attribute this success to years of dedication to quality, and to their excellent customer service.

The company can also offer its years of experience on what will work for the specifics of a space. Waterfalls are not for everyone, nor are stone sharks and giant urns, but there’s something for every taste. For Cooper, making a scene “inviting” is a key to the success of any rock installation.

Big Rock continues to evolve by combining ancient and modern elements. Their petroglyph lava stepping stones are a simple way most homeowners can infuse some ancient Hawaiiana into a modern garden. The design is a natural, free-form shape, customized in size to the area covered. Staying true to the Big Rock promise of graceful aging, the stones will never be worse for wear; rather they’ll beautify with the years as they gather what Joy and Cooper call the “patina of nature.”

The rocks of Hawai'i bear the signature of the ages – from ancient eruptions to windswept millennia of water erosion. These Island “stories in stone” are also told in petroglyphs, and Big Rock pays homage to these primitive art forms through designs featuring Turtle, Crab, Fisherman, Single Paddler, Double Paddler and other custom requests. These are cultural concepts made concrete – so to speak.

Products also include signature styles you’ll find nowhere else—lava rock benches, lightweight boulders, stone bowls, pool edge waterfalls, rock-slab benches, tikis, moss rock edgers, pots, urns and an inventory of decorative statues of Buddhas, turtles and dolphins.

“Our products are exclusive, and our formula is one-of-a-kind,” says Cooper. Now that Big Rock has hit the quarter-century mark, the statement rings true. But in rock years, they’re just getting started . . .

Big Rock Manufacturing Inc.
1050 Kikowaena Place (in Mapunapuna).
Honolulu, Hawaii
1-866-344-ROCK
www.bigrockhawaii.com