Monthly Archives: August 2024

Over the last decade, a new destination has slowly emerged to the north of Ubud. This area is often associated with Ubud’s historical fame. Just 10 km to the north from Ubud town, this region has the authentic natural scenery much like the untouched Ubud of the past. This region is known as Payangan.

Often, people choose to reside in this area with its hilly environment, still blessed with the Tukad Petanu river. Resort development is underway in this area but aims to maintain its true connection to the surrounding environment—otherwise, there will be nothing left for future generations.

In this writing, we want to share how we embrace the locality for a retreat house in Bukian, Payangan crafted very specially for our client. The site is highly contoured and posed a challenge for utilizing building mass and distributing facilities. Vertical circulation must be carefully considered for safety and convenience.

“However, aside from the technical challenges, we began the creative process with research on the cultural and traditional values of Bukian. Through this, we discovered a unique traditional craft found only in Bukian: the art of making umbrellas, known as Payung Cukup and Payung Lunas.

The craft is already rare in today’s era, and information about it is equally scarce; not many academic papers discuss Payung Lunas. We managed to study a paper released by Segara Widya Journal written by I Made Suparta, I Nyoman Suardina, and I Wayan Murda entitled ‘The Craftsmanship of Payung Cukup and Payung Lunas in Bukian, Gianyar’. This paper is the primary source of information on how this art form is crafted.

It is gathered from the information that, in current usage, Payung Lunas is often built in much smaller proportions to meet the demand for resort or hotel decorations. However, its actual size is meant to fully cover the body when worn on the head.

Source image Google Search, a man is using Payung Cukup

This craft is originally crafted from bamboo skeleton and skin tied with bamboo fiber. It has several parts: neb, pengawak, sengkulung, sebeh, and kampid. A short definition of this parts:

Neb is is the bamboo blade positioned at the top and is the shortest in size. Pengawak is the body comprises bamboo blades arranged upwards, with the size gradually increasing towards both the top and bottom from the neb. Sengkulung, positioned underneath the inner part of the umbrella directly below the neb, has a half-oval shape with asymmetric dimensions. Sebeh refers to the side edges of the umbrella, which are made from woven or carved bamboo strips that serve as reinforcement. Kampid or ‘wing’ in Balinese refers to the side sections positioned to the left and right of the neb and pengawak, arranged vertically.

The parts is the same for Payung Lunas and Payung Cukup, only it differs in size. Payung Lunas is smaller. We are now truly inspired by this craft. To think that we can apply its form to architectural design is a strong possibility. Naturally, it serves a function similar to that of a roof, and from a design perspective, it could provide a unique shape while reintroducing the ‘payung lunas’, which is starting to disappear.

The top of Bukian Villa’s roof is the interpretation of Payung Lunas and the whole proportion too. We try to reinterpret the surface with light coloured shingles roof to match with Payung Lunas original material – light bamboo skin. See as a whole, this villa is like a Payung Lunas that has house body. This mass is become a major façade the very first we enter the site and if this property is pictured from across the river.

The design is now under tender process and we are thrilled to anticipate the construction. We believe, architecture can be perceived wider than only a leisure facilities. If we sensible enough to take a look at local value, there is always something unique to discover and inspiring.

We imagine an outdoor space nestled in the heart of Sanur village and capturing the essence of Bali’s ‘Morning Glory’ where we welcome the sunrise in Sanur’s horizon.

On the driveway along Sanur’s coastline, we wander along Danau Tamblingan road under a line of trees canopy covering us from the heat of the glorious sun. Very close to the pedestrian way, a modest signage is carved with “Andaz” indicates our arrival at the main gate of Andaz Bali.

Stepping into the property, the outdoor atmosphere subtly transforms with giant canopies from Trembesi trees (samenea saman) and our path adorned by russelia and hymenocallis swaying on the surface of ‘kerobokan’ stone. Guests seek the feeling of entering a wilderness and anticipate a warm Balinese welcome. As we approach the reception entrance, the grand Majapahit gate shows a sense of prestige – we are like royals arriving to our heritage home. Take the journey deeper until we see the coast horizon, there will be a story we want to tell. 

Tierra Design provided us the masterplan to come up with softscape story and alongside us Rimba Bali Garden will execute our design as landscape contractor. During the process we preserved many big trees that we deem valueable. The masterplan also already adjusting its flow to surround the existing trees instead of cutting them down. Sustainability is a shared goal at Andaz, aligning everyone toward a common vision.

When SHL Asia embarked on the project in 2018, we take our story from the spirit of the region’s values. We imagine an outdoor space nestled in the heart of Sanur village and capturing the essence of Bali’s ‘Morning Glory’ where we welcome the sunrise in the Sanur’s horizon. At the same time, everything needed to stay clean and modern that there are enough sunlight in the outdoor to give a light and refreshing mood.

The brainstorming anchored in the tagline of ‘The Sanur Village’ is a testament to an authentic ambiance of the traditional coastline community. They live close to outdoor activities and can feel the salt air. The resemblance is caught when we pass the main lobby; we will be facing the courtyard plaza as the center of open space. Balinese architects, or ‘undagi,’ always emphasize a central courtyard called ‘natah’ as the balancing harmony among building masses that often serve a multifunctional purpose for spiritual or communal occasions. To decorate the courtyard’s background, there is a ‘Bale Kulkul’ and existing Bodhi Tree adornized by hymenocallis as its soft pedestal. Arrival to this plaza has signify a transition to start our landscape journey.

Passing the courtyard plaza, buildings radiates warm ambience because of their wood finishings. We share the common vision from architect and owner that we need to soften the building geometry with lee kuan yew vine (Vernonia elliptica) combined with ‘mousetail plant’ vine (Phyllanthus myrtifolius). The vines falls in wildery manner like a natural curtain and its volume is covering the hard edge of the building structure.Everybody loves how it turns out make the building blend perfectly with the greenery and the combination gives the impression of less monotounus vine. It adds the artistic value in term of plants volume and proportion – but we have more in our mind talking about artistic.

Andaz clearly requires an artistic touch in various areas. It means exhibit the local skills of the Balinese and making it a center to narrate our story. We propose to our clients that our narrative should revolve around well-known Balinese folklores and spiritual mythology that ordinary Balinese are familiar with. This concept is executed with satisfaction through collaboration with local artists, carvers, and craftsmen.

The water fountain in the inner courtyard features four elephants with fishtails facing four directions inspired by ‘Gajah Mina’ as the conveyance of God Baruna – The God of Oceans. The fountain provides circulation for a large fish pond before we enter the reception lobby. 

Another pond if we wander further, there is ‘The Pancuran’ sculptures consists of three water fountain in the shape of Balinese shrine.

Related to Hindu mythology, there is the sculpture of ‘Lembu Nandini,’ depicting the reverence for Shiva as Balinese practice Shivaism Hindu in their religious belief. Also, ‘The Ganesha’ sculpture represents the wisdom of God Ganesha.

From local folklores, there is a sculpture of ‘Men Brayut’ strongly tied to Sanur’s legendary figure, Ni Pollok, a woman who dedicated her life to the art of dance and elevated Sanur in the eyes of Westerners

When relaxing in the swimming pool, water features also tell stories with sculptures depicting a frog family called ‘Katak Dongkang’ and ‘Boma’ sculptures—a Barong figure that neutralizes negative energy. Both represent a natural ambiance full of the sounds of frogs (‘Katak Dongkang’) and protection (‘Boma’).

The journey reaches its peak when Andaz is behind us, and we step onto the beach sand to face the sunrise horizon. The circulation between guests and mere passersby on the beach is not troubled, despite Andaz being meant to be a private space. There is no intention to design intimidating boundaries other than a dense sea grapes tree (cocoloba uvifera) to signify the separation of private and public areas. When designed correctly, the landscape has the role of connecting outdoor spaces without altering the nature too much. Andaz is a source of pride for us, and now that it’s already operating, it continues to attract tourists interested in experiencing the new style of modern tropical Bali and finding tranquility in the morning glory of Sanur.