Bali Style

I was lent a beautiful coffee table book by a brand new client. She and I have so much in common, it is a little uncanny. She loves travel, feels that living with the natives is much more fun, and wants to give something back for all the riches that we experience in this country.

When she lent me the book, I instantly started tearing through it for ideas for the orphanage and school that I am building and designing in Bali Indonesia. The detail in the book is amazing. The overwhelming theme in the book is tropical dream houses. Could not be more fitting. From a large polished teak platform with translucent draperies surrounding the sleep space, and batiked pillows piled high it is easy to see gazing out from these soft surroundings with morning eyes and feeling refreshed and new. There just happens to be a lot of lounging in this cultural environ. The temperatures are warm during the day, and it is easier to take a mid day siesta and wake refreshed to enjoy the trade winds of night. Woven thatch lets out the heat, and shades you from the sun. Ceiling fans rotate continuously to a lazy drone. The foilage is lush and wet from a
recent downpour that lasted ten minutes and the sun is attempting to dry the droplets from all the broadleaf trees around you. Carvings are found everywhere into teak, or local soft wood.
The moisture of the tropical climate make it easy to carve the teak in to complicated flowers, foilage and decorative relief. When painted with traditional Indoesian paints of bright colors, the carved surfaces take on a lighthearted quality that only adds the cheerfulness of the whole culture.

The use of water in Indonesian structures reminds us that the rains, and the flow of water are part of the culture. Brief showers, pools of water, waterfalls, rushing streams and trickles of water are incorporated into most architecture. With the water comes the flowers. Orchids, any tropical flower that you have ever seen, they are all here. Nature blends into man made buildings with the softness of woven thatch supported by coconut columns, and framed with teak carvings. When it rains the water drips off the individual frons of the thatch and dripples quietly to the ground. It is quickly absorbed and leaves only green carpeting of moss, and fine tiny leaves in its place. Oftentimes lighting plays with the natural architecture of the Indonesian structure. It enflames the water, accentuates the weaving of the thatch and the detail of the carvings. Pathways are typically lit with small votive type solar lighting that can go anywhere and illuminate anything in the night. The sun is everywhere. It is powerful in this climate and bakes the natural elements to a soft patina.

Man made handicrafts separate this tropical environment from other islands. Carved stone, bamboo furniture, printed textiles, woven Ata Grass baskets, and other storage vessels are everywhere with thier architectural take on basket weaving. The Ata Grass is strong and waterproof, making it perfect for use for office storage, and architectural baskets in kitchens, and baths. Where the Ata Grass comes from is at the tip of the island of Bali. It is a strange campfire based little culture where chickens dyed bright yellow, hot pink and cerulean blue are normal pets. The campfire is central to life in this village. All the baskets are woven around these fires and carry the scent of the fire with them. When visiting the village, one must pause and pay respect to the original craft that lives here. The pace is slow, and the village is quiet. It is truly one of my favorite places on the island.

As I leaf through this book, devouring the beautiful pages and taking endless notes, I am reminded just how vast this endeavor really is. To create an expression of a culture in that culture with so many artisans nearby, I am challenged to let the artists become involved and help in this creation for the Children of Bali. Now I need to figure out how to do this in an expeditious way. The tasks laid out before me of hiring an Indonesian Architect, working with in
the framework of the needs of the school and the orphanage, and creating a place of peace and beauty sounds like a wonderful thing to do with the next chapter of my life. I am very excited about this personal challenge. Stay tuned.