Balinese themselves are reinterpreting the island’s culture in a more international way doesn’t undermine the original essence of Bali.
We believe that the designs in this book are simply one facet, one “layer”, one stage of the journey in Bali’s development; in the future, different spaces, different interpretations, different structures will evolve. Perhaps that is why the island continues to beguile visitors and residents alike. It may not be Tropical Paradise any more, but it certainly isn’t Paradise Lost.
In one of the guest bedrooms at the home of architect Ross Peat is a self-portrait by well-known Melbourne artist Jody Candy.
Partial view of the core of the home, the central courtyard, looking towards the main living/dining pavilion. The grassy court is surrounded by semi-transparent, flat-roofed buildings and a variety of plants and trees. Because of the “see-through” nature of many of the pavilions, the property feels spacious yet there is still a certain intimacy about it.
VILLA TANTANGAN
Finding Design in Nature
Architect Valentina Audrito, Word of Mouth
Location Nyanyi Beach
Date Of Completion 2011
Built on an isolated piece of gently sloping land overlooking a secluded beach, this holiday home is a wonderful example of how architecture can truly be integrated with landscape. Comprising a series of “boxes” that sit on different levels, the home is light and airy, open and spacious, but intimate and inter-connected nevertheless. There is also an overriding organic aspect to both house and site that makes one feel that the buildings completely “fit” into their environment.
Italian architect, Valentina Audrito of Word of Mouth, explains that she oriented the various buildings around a central courtyard so they had “a more inward feeling towards the inside and a more open one towards the outside”. Furthermore, by treating them like “big planter boxes with landscaped roofs”—some have plants, others sport ponds above—she ended up with a type of “landscaped architecture where the boundaries between garden and buildings are very blurred, allowing the architecture not only to sit on the land, but to be part of it”.
The orientation and interaction of spaces is key in this project. There are two main views—one overlooking the ocean at the front and one to the side as the land slopes down towards a river and jungle. Each of the strictly rectilinear boxes (there’s even a box within a box in the central living space!) overlooks one or the other or over the central courtyard, and all are joined by paths and walkways—some open, others covered—that dissect the site at right angles.
The integration of house and land is furthered by the use of natural local materials—semi-transparent lines of bamboo, creamy silakarang stone, handmade chick blinds, recycled teak and ironwood, and a bespoke all-wood furniture collection. Similarly, the palette in this house is as organic as its materials: grey, cream, off white, café au lait, biscuit, with touches of color in the bathrooms and upholstery.
A sweet seating area set above the pool and between a pair of pandan trees gives views out over the garden and swimming pool to the Indian ocean beyond.
The owners, a Belgian couple who live in Tokyo, were keen to build as sustainably as possible. Even though the design was left up to Valentina, they did specify a desire for contemporary style, “something simple but elegant, a combination of geometric and organic” and something that impacted on the environment only minimally. “I wanted to have as much ‘green’ as possible incorporated in the architecture,” explains the owner, “See the tree in between the study and guest bathroom, for example. Also, I liked the idea of the planted roofs—we were inspired by some houses in Japan and the planted walls of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.”
Because the house is three kilometers away from the nearest electricity source, it runs on a combination of solar panels and batteries supported by a generator. The planted roofs insulate rooms and keep them cool, reducing the need for excessive air-conditioning, and lighting was designed by Reginald Worthington of NuQu, an alternative energy company that specializes in low energy and LED lighting design. As such, this is possibly one of the most energy-efficient houses in this book.
All the furniture, made to designs by London-based Josette Plismy from Gong, was made in Bali. The impeccable, manual techniques and hand-crafted workmanship of George Nakashima are admired by the owners and his influence can be seen in some of the natural-grained wood lamps, for example. Similarly, the palette is intentionally organic with cream and/or grey upholstery with some splashes of pale sea blue..
At the entrance to the compound, the house reveals itself in stages. Water on roofs is a cooling feature, while the garden was designed by Irish horticulturalist, John Pettigrew of Design in Nature, one of Bali’s leading landscape designers.
The office is a practical room with two sofas that can be converted into beds if further accommodation is required. A custom-crafted shelving unit adds visual appeal with diagonal struts.
The kitchen sports teak cupboards and drawers with terrazzo counter tops and enough stainless steel to give a modern vibe.
The Beach View bedroom is clean and spare with a white-on-white palette and a tree of life stencil in yellow on the walls. A planted light well behind the bed brings nature and light into the room.
The Sea View bedroom features in interesting starburst picture window and ceramic artworks by the well-known Japanese artist Fujiwo Ishimoto. Ishimoto, surprisingly, lives in Finland and is the face behind many designs at Marimekko.
Departing from the style of the other bathrooms, this bathroom features colonial inspired colored tiles made by a supplier from Java. They contrast with the waxed black polished concrete of the centerpiece box and shower room.
Japanese washi paper, traditional paper hand crafted from the bark of trees, makes an attractive artwork on a wall in the Sea View bedroom.
The complex reveals itself in stages with a low key entrance pathway finished with loose pebbles and large slabs of kebumen stone. To begin with one sees a wall, then a roof with reflecting pond (see page 21), a gradual opening, a glimpse