General Archives - Page 4 of 5

Accentuating Design Element: A Project in Gili Trawangan

02/12/2019

by Kairana Gassani with No Comment General

Our on-going project is located in Gili Trawangan. It is a restaurant and bar under Blackpenny management. The island is one of the three big Gilis of Lombok Islands. It is a hotspot for travelers from all over the world not for those looking a peaceful island retreat. It is filled with bustling lines of lounge bars, hip guesthouses, and ambitious restaurants – hence we want to bring something that stands out among these lively spots.

In order to deliver design that in sync with the whole ambience of the location, it is necessary for us to visit and spend some time on site. Back in August, we had our first site visit to Gili Trawangan. The island itself was mesmerizing. We stayed there for a couple days to really absorb the ambience.

The island is busy with bikes and cidomos (small horse-drawn carriage)with no motorized transportation. Even with minimal machinery and its small size, Trawangan has developed into a hippy party paradise destination that attracts people from all ages. We went around the island by foot to see for ourselves how vibrant the island is. We want to create design that reflect and accommodate the needs of the travelers.

After a lot of research and observation, we concluded there are few points to create an attention-grabbing design for this restaurant and bar. Although it has limited space, we maximized it through innovative design, colors and detail accents. There is already an existing building on site which we need to renovate. We transform this building by adding a massive dented cube roof with wooden pillars underneath. The giant cube acts as the focal point for this project. Additionally, this design came up as visual representation. It can accommodate the growing trend of social media through its crooked and unusual design.

Next to the main building, we design a pizza bar to present an open kitchen concept. We want to offer something new to the island by bringing this concept. The roof takes on a boat-like shape with a little chimney from the stone oven. The design is inspired by the things around the site, like fishing boats that are anchored at the beach.

Aside from the design, we pay extra attention to tones and colors of the project. Color is one of the important elements to attract attention aside from the design. It was rather tricky to decide on what color would stand out in an island that has already vibrant and full of color. Most of these lines of restaurants and bars chose bright colors to attract people. However in contrast, we use black and white (monochromatic) and a hint of natural wood color on our massive roof installation. The neutral colors seem calm and soft yet different from the rest among these colorful streets of Gili Trawangan.

Last but not least is the touch of accent. We always pay attention to details in any of our design to add more value hence we show it through its interior. The site is not big, but there are several seating options to choose whether at the bar, inside the building or outside facing the street. Daybeds and bean bags are displayed in pastel colors inside and outside at the beach area. Cozy ambience is created with warm light from string and hanging lamps across the restaurants. The combination of wooden interior and warm ambience is well put together in a monochromatic background.

Currently the project is still under construction with the estimated time of completion is by the end of this year. So far, there is not much trouble during the construction work. The design is aimed to be outstanding yet classy as we want the element to complement each other creating brand new design experience.

Cheers,

SHL Asia team

One More Award Celebration: Citadines Berawa Beach

24/10/2019

by Kairana Gassani with 4 Comments General

Following up our celebration with the IAI award last month, we are thrilled to presents you with another recognition from Indonesia Property Awards in architecture landscape design category for our on-going project, Citadines Berawa Beach Hotel in Canggu. Indonesia Property Award is part of the regional Property Guru Asia Property Awards program that has been held since 2005. It is considered one of the most respected and sought after award for property, design and developer companies.

This project is located in a coastal village of Berawa, Canggu. The area is one of the newest discovered hotspots for surfer addicts and hippy travelers. Since it is located close to the beach, the weather can get very hot and humid at times thus encourages us to create the shady jungle atmosphere in a coastal area where guests can enjoy the best of both worlds.

The lushness mainly comes from the volume and the selection of plants. We implement the concept of Green Building – visually – that is presented through the different type of arrangements and selection of the plants. There are forests inside the hotel and the vertical garden which will cover most of the exposed roof and wall. This is also an effort to minimize the building’s massive impression with the surrounding environment.

Different types of forest take place in different area within the hotel. Guest can experience mini forest in inner garden area near to the lobby and jungle (different variety of plants) in the rooftop area where it will eventually portray the trees coming out from the roof of the building. Although guest can enjoy this different kind of rainforest in many spots throughout the hotel, there are also variations of simple gardens like in pool area to accommodate all activities in the pool as well as in restaurant area where we design quite a spacious lawn for the playground.

To enhance the tropical feeling, we apply big foliage plants that are typically found in the jungle such as Alocasia, Monstera, and broad leaves tree. We also insert water element into the landscape through indoor curtain waterfall and pond. The water element within the landscape will offers a cooling effect and relaxation. Local materials such as kerobokan sandstone, lava stone for its hardscape and also utilizing recycled materials like ironwood for the deck.

The overall concept offers different experiences of tropical hideaway in the midst of buzzling crowd of Berawa, Canggu. We want to present a diverse concept with our project while considering the clients, the location while still in tune with the surrounding. Through this recognition, aside from being an achievement, we want to also make it a motivation to deliver better products and services for clients, developer and all parties involved.

Cheers,

SHL Asia team

SHL Asia Anniversary Celebration: Years of Servings the Hospitality Design

02/09/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

This year we celebrated our 9th year being in the industry. Wow. It is almost a decade we are serving the architecture and landscape hospitality design. It honestly feels like it was just some time ago we wrote our gratitude and celebration of the 8th year anniversary and now here we are, older, more mature and (hopefully) better.

9 years is not a long time for an architecture firm yet it is established enough to already know what direction it is heading to. Of course, it was not an instant result for us but we do learn in the process. A number of trials and errors are necessary but also accomplishments that have made us to keep going.

It seems like we have not gone far, but looking back made us realize of all of our achievements – small or big – that have shape us into the SHL Asia today. Other than that we do owe to a lot of people that have helped us along the journey – clients, respected partners and loyal friends – who have been with us since day one or who we met on the way until now.

27 July marked the exact birthday date of SHL Asia, but due to some reasons (including the Galungan and Kuningan Holiday) we had to push back the party to first week of August, so everyone could come and celebrate it together. We did not think anything fancy, just an intimate celebration with all the team. So instead of going out finding restaurant, we chose Workspace and Culture as our venue.

Since we also just moved to Workspace and Culture, it could also be another thing to celebrate it. We chose to celebrate this special day in this special place. We shared many things from work to life lesson between all team members like a family. On this day, besides celebrating our anniversary, we celebrated so many things and overall we were just being grateful of all this 9 years.

Cheers,
SHL Asia team

Behind The Scene SHL Asia : The New Means of Workspace and Culture

01/06/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

It is almost half way through 2019…and some amazing things had happen in SHL Asia, but the biggest achievement so far is the completion of our new office, “Workspace and Culture”. We started the construction working for this project since November last year. Although it is not 100% done by the time we moved, but most of the rooms and interiors were ready. Workspace and culture is the manifest of our new office. Not only a new building but we also wanted to create new culture in our new office.

Physically the building has a concept of a “local urban village.” It is compact with many rooms and a one lane hallway just like a common urban village. Other than that, we also experimented with exposed bricks (bata) concept by using it for walls and floor. ‘Bata’ is such a humble yet complicated material. It requires a long process and a lot of elements are involved, but it is used in almost every house across the country.

What we initially aimed is to present the art of brick as a material that is unique and close to our daily lives. We want to elevate the simplicity of bricks with aesthetic design that is contemporary but also familiar. An all-white color scheme is applied because we wanted to achieve a clear and clean impression. Later, we can utilize this blank canvas for various art or multifunctional space. Rather than just plain white walls, we play with a little bit of texture by painting an exposed brick wall with white paint in both exterior and interior wall.

Since the space is limited, there was not much room for a normal garden and front yard. We maximized the space by creating a vertical garden in front of the office room. Following our concept, bricks are used to create little niches that act as “pots” for the plants. For uniformity and good carrying capacity, the bricks are arranged in an angle of 45 degrees. Once it has done, we filled each slot with different kind fern and shrubs, such Fishbone fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia), Giant swordfern (Nephrolepis biserrata), Lilyturf (Ophiopogon jaburan), Mousetail plant (Phyllanthus myrtifolius) and Rattlesnake plant (Calathea lancifolia).

Besides the physical form, Workspace and Culture is also the manifesto of a new working culture. We want to alter the mindset about working in general. We believe when being in a right environment with supportive circumstance we could be more driven and productive in doing work. The intention is to make work fun, innovative and creative. Moreover, in this new culture we also encourage our team to do collaboration. The important of collaboration work is enriching ones experience and knowledge in real time. As they say, the more the merrier, often by doing collaboration we produce something that one could have not imagined. These new habits are the new means of Workspace and Culture.

Cheers,

SHL Asia Team

Image Courtesy : Widi Okantari of SHL Asia
Data Courtesy : Putu Mika of SHL Asia

Bringing the Local Vibe through the Balinese Landscape and Artwork

28/04/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

Ubudarea has always had something to offer, from lush jungle, the flowing white river and even the vibrant culture ofUbudian. These Ubud’s traits attract people from all over the world, making it on the top list areas to visit. With the abundant tourist coming to the area, Ubud is one of the melting pots of villas and resort in the island. The cool crisp air in the morning and a million dollar view of greens and valley are two of the reasons why staying in Ubud feels more exclusive and secluded. It might be one of the reasons why Tanadewa Villa and Spa has opened its branch in Ubud, Gianyar.

Our landscape project, TanadewaVilllas and Spa has recently completed its construction progress. It is built right at the edge of a valley with a small creek and a natural riverbed as the backyard. It is nestled quiet hidden, away from the bustling main road but still very reachable. However, having a stunning backyard and isolatedarea also comes with a price.

Because the project is situated on the incline and an uneven land contour, it became quite a challenge. Moreover, the site has a big amount of water flowing down into the river. It then became another challenge as the high pressure of the water broke down the structure. We then applied cut and fill method to even out the contour and implemented gabion embankment to still allow the water flows through.

The landscape concept of course complemented the architecture concept, Bali contemporary style. Inspired by the localness, we preserved the existing plants on site. We have Teraptrees (Artocarpusodoratissimus), Coconut trees (Cocos nucifera)and native Bali plant like Majegau tree (Dysoxylumdensiflorum) on site. We also added various kinds of tropical shrubs and trees that were handled by our reliable landscape constructor partner, Suksma Garden.

As for the artwork and most of the hardscape, itis aligned with the architecture Balinese contemporary concept and incorporating the local culture, such as the carving of the Balinese traditional dance and the placement of angkul-angkul in each villa entry. A lot of wall carving and statue was done and displayed by our trusted partner, 66 Pottery Bali.

Overall design, the project reflects the Balinese contemporary design. Even with the modernity that it offered, we still made sure the guest would feel the Bali vibes. The arrangement and placements of the plants truly liven up the ambience of Bali and the artworks that is inspired from Balinese folk stories. On last week of April, we proudly presented our project for architecture student visit from University of WidyaMataram Yogyakarta. They came to study the architecture and our landscape work that truly echoes the Bali feel.

Cheers,

SHL Asia Team

Preserving Bali Hospitality: The Restoration of Hyatt Regency Bali

06/04/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

On March 21st, we were invited to the Housewarming Party for the Grand Opening of Hyatt Regency Bali in Sanur. The resort had gone under a renovation since late 2013 and finally revived after 5 long awaited years. Being loved for an international resort with its traditional Indonesian style and design, the resort reopened with better and fresher look this time. It is back and upgraded to its premium brand, Hyatt Regency Bali.

Previously named Bali Hyatt, it has got to be one of the first pioneers’ of upscale international resorts in Bali. It presence had elevated the standard of resorts in the island. The majestic garden of Bali Hyatt was the heritage of the famous tropical landscape artist, the late Made Wijaya. It spread on a 9 hectares land with a picturesque hundred of meters white sand beach-front view. We were fortunate enough to be participated in the renovation process along with other well-known names, such Tierra Design of Bangkok in architecture and a collaboration landscape work with Rimba Bali Garden.

Bali Hyatt has always known for its Bali charm. The architecture and especially Hyatt’s garden is such a masterpiece and truly reflects the Bali feel. It has always given the old nostalgia feeling to the guests. Anang Rahman, one of the principals of SHL Asia, had been trusted in handling this project with Ketut Suratman of Rimba Bali Garden. The landscape team collaborated in bringing back again the nuance of the past through the renovation of the famous Hyatt’s garden. The overall design and concept has already astonishing thus we did not want to drift away from its original concept. The purpose of the renovation was not to change, but only to restore what was there.

For the landscape design plan we added few touches to give the landscape a new life. We added plenty of local plants to resuscitate the tropical lush haven of Hyatt Garden. We preserved most of the existing plants, especially the mature ones, including (but not limited to)Tabebuia trees (Tabebuia chrysanta), Sacred Fig trees (Ficus religiosa) and lots of Frangipanis (Plumeria). We also initiated ‘Bali Forest’ as part of the Hyatt’s garden. The area is aimed to be the home and conversation area for some of the rarest and endangered local plants.

*One of the existing trees in Hyatt’s garden.*

So as preserving most of the original artworks throughout the resorts, we did not replace the artworks. Though it wasn’t possible to create the exact same artworks, what we did was to make the replica with similar design and style with the existing artworks. In result, the overall design blends really well, the original and the new ones. The resort is refreshed but still does not miss the nostalgic Bali vibe.

The restoration of Hyatt Regency Bali has finally finished and it is now open for public. We are pleased to be involved in the renovation process of one of the most iconic architecture in Bali. Moreover to take on and preserving the work of a legendary landscape artist in Bali hospitality, we feel challenged but truly honored.

Cheers,
SHL Asia Team

Talking About Detail: Architecture Façade

16/03/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

On January 2nd 2019 IAI Bali or Indonesian Architect Association in Bali held the second SERASI exhibition in Sanur Prime Plaza. Just like last year, they also had a Pecha Kucha Night in this year exhibition. All the exhibitors would present their panel for only 3 minutes each. The theme for this year was “Architecture Façade,” where they mainly focus on the face of the building. We were also participated as one of the exhibitors, along with 30 others participants.

*Over 30 exhibitors participated in SERASI exhibition held by IAI Bali*

Before getting into our projects, first of all, let us talk about what actually a façade is? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, façade is the front/face of the building, especially a large or attractive building. It is a foreign loan word from the French word, façade, meaning frontage or face. Façade became one of the most important aspects in architecture. As the face of the building, it is normally the first thing to be seen by people. It will set the whole personality and character for the rest of the design.

Because of structural regulations in some cities, many buildings go with standard design but often lack of characteristic. But in other places, architects can have the freedom to design a façade to be eye-catching and full of personality, emphasizing the overall building design. In designing the façade, there are a lot of things to be considered to; a couple to mention is visual and functional values. We will talk more about that as we explain about our projects.

For the exhibitions, we submitted two panels from two of our projects, Jelita Sejuba Resort in Natuna Island and Coco Plaza Mandalika in Lombok. These two projects have different type and function for their façade.

The first project is Jelita Sejuba Resort. We have mentioned it on our previous blog article, but basically the resort is located in the border island where it has an astonishing landscape and virgin nature. The most prominent characteristic is the hundred years old gigantic boulders. The rocks are very unique and it will give a distinct characteristic to the whole building. Because they are scattered throughout the site, we don’t want to mess around too much. We basically just blend the building with these rocks to create more natural and aesthetically pleasing façade for the resort.

As for the other project, Coco Plaza Mandalika, it is located in the Special Economic Zone where there are some regulations that we need to follow. One of them is to apply cultural values to the buildings. For SHL Asia, we love incorporating cultural element on to our design, and we have been experimenting with various designs inspired by Sasak (traditional Lombok tribe) culture. Because the project will be a commercial building, we had to not only consider the visual value, but it also has to be functional. Hence we design the façade to capture to essence of traditional Sasak house by applying square patterns that will display the inside of the plaza. Furthermore, we apply the pattern of traditional Lombok woven fabric on the roof to add a colorful touch. Therefore not only the façade will follow the area’s regulation, but it will also fulfill its visual and functional values as a commercial building.

Spirit of The New Year: SHL Asia Reflects on The Previous Year

18/01/2019

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General

First of all, a new year often provides opportunities to look back and reflect. 2018 was quite of a year. To sum up, it was somewhat like a roller coaster ride, we had a lot of ups and few downs. We try to focus on the good as we got some amazing projects going on, we have tried things we have not done in the past, we explored new places, and we have made new friends but some people also left.

One of the most impressive feats was probably that we have rebirthed once again. We developed the new philosophy and transformed ourselves with the new look, calmer and more mature. The journey of SHL Asia’s transformation is the combination of ideas and efforts from a lot of people that had put into this project. We collaborated with an amazing graphic designer and brand developer, Esha Satrya, to create the ‘Campuhan Script’ philosophy.

We basically just added more values to our old Campuhan philosophy. We applied cultural and art values into our design and way of doing business. Our aim is to deliver the A-grade services but still down to earth just as reflected in our new logo, a Balinese kawi script of “a/ha” in a lowercase letter. To know more about our rebranding journey and the person behind it, do check our second issue of Design by Style in the link below.

Design by Style Issue no. 2

Another highlight of our projects last year was Jelita Sejuba Resort that will sit on the border of Indonesia. It is our architecture project in Natuna, Riau Islands. We made a huge step by exploring new places we have never been to before. Natuna is yet another slice of untouched paradise that is located in most northern part of Indonesia.

We are humbled and thrilled at the same time because Jelita Sejuba Resort will be the first ever resort in Natuna Island. The government encourages people to visit and discover Natuna, and of course we are more than happy to take part in it. For more details, watch the video of Jelita Sejuba Resort and more of our projects from last year in our Youtube account.

These two are just a couple of milestones we have achieved last year, but 2018 was more than just these projects. It was also the laughter, the many hours of works and deadlines and especially the togetherness we share as a team. Like always, we wish to be better than before and we are super excited for many more exciting things this year.

Introducing: Workspace and Culture

30/11/2018

by SHL ASIA with No Comment Company Updates General

SHL Asia is introducing you the new space to channel creativity and culture. Through Workspace and Culture we want to present people the new side of us. People can find numerous landscapes and architecture consultants in the country, but what distinguishes us with the rest is how we present our brand as a whole. So people will not only recognize us through our landscape and architecture work but also through our platforms where we bring up topics about design, cultures and arts.

It all started with our new office (look forward in the first half of 2019!). This will be one of the representations of the big theme “Workspace and Culture”. The definition of workspace is simply an area which we work in. Nowadays, some people might confuse a workspace as a creative space. It is because the term ‘workspace’ corresponds with a place that supports one to be productive and creative to work. So, why not we just use the term ‘creative space’? Although it is somewhat true, but this could mislead the word ‘work’ into a not-so-good connotative. Some people would think that ‘doing work’ is boring, dull and simply not innovative enough. When in fact being creative, innovative as well as making engagement are parts of ‘doing work.’

In creating our ideal workspace, we will incorporate the element of culture into our studio and work. Culture can be presented in many kind of form, for example a studio with an open display gallery, whether it comprises with local paintings or ethnic artworks. We will present cultural awareness, collaborative talk, trend design as well as a closer look of what SHL Asia really is. Culture awareness is crucial for us in the creative industry, as most of our works are influenced by especially the Balinese culture.

Moreover, we will introduce the new culture in the new workspace. The purpose is to eliminate the bad working cultures, preserve the good ones and add the new working cultures. The culture will not just be any culture, but it will be based on our philosophy, The Campuhan Script as it also applies in our new logo. We will implement the river philosophy as a good work ethic which will give us the positive energy and creative workflow like Campuhan (the point where the two rivers meet) to our new workspace. While the (Balinese) script will be applied as well to our new working culture, which means that the Balinese social life and architecture culture will be inserted into art and design form for the output in our work and studio.

Creating a distinct cultured workspace is a challenge as well as an opening. It is not an easy job but definitely a good opportunity to reintroduce the new means of ‘working’ in the creative industry. With the new culture, we wish to deliver a better service and product as well as raising our brand awareness.

Cheers,

SHL Asia Team

Artwork: The Storyteller

30/10/2018

by SHL ASIA with No Comment Company Updates General

Art As Part of Us

Art has been a part of human culture in some capacity or other since ancient times. It serves as a medium of not only personal self-expression, but also as a way to communicate the artist’s view of reality to other people. Working in the design industry allows us to create our own medium to express our idea. We can convey it not only through architecture and landscape design but also down to the pieces of the artworks. Artwork is an inseparable element in architecture and landscape. Some say it is the soul, others say it is the characteristic of the design as a whole. Artwork communicates the concept, and often the display of artwork more than pleases the eyes, but also touches the heart. Furthermore,not only for aesthetic values but the display of artwork is functioned as many things including for lighting, water fountain and even stepping.

We always incorporate many kind of artworks into our landscape design following each concept. Artwork can be translated into many forms including statues, sculptures, paintings, photography and installment. Depending on the space, 2 dimension artwork like painting and photography often displayed inside the building. While 3 dimension artwork such sculpture and art installation is normally exhibited outdoor as it typically takes up space. We mostly display statue, sculpture or water feature since we have numerous number of landscape project.

The Artwork of SHL Asia

Each project of course, has different concept with its artwork, some of the examples include our Natya project, Tanadewa project and Hyatt project. Following its landscape concept which is incorporating the village’s life of Bali and elevate it to the hospitality level, the artworks in our Natya resort project inspired by the things we often see in the villages. These things could be objects like chicken cages and cow bells or even the village people themselves, as we portrayed them in a relief on a wall along the pathway. The relief tells stories about daily activity in the village like a mother feeding their children or the farmer harvesting his crop.

Our other project, takes on the concept of the gods and goddess from the folk story. As like the name “Tanadewa” from Tana (land) and Dewa (God) which means Land of the Gods, the design of the artworks portrays this concept. We display a relief of the dancing goddess in some spots inside the resort. There is also a relief of Balinese mythology about Arjunawiwaha which is the story about Arjuna getting rewarded with 7 beautiful apsaras (female spirit in a Hindu culture) after accomplishing some tasks. All the statues and relief are nicely done by our artwork supplier, 66 Pottery Bali.

Different concept and artwork is displayed in Hyatt Regency Sanur. This resort is one of the pioneers in the island. We are restoring it without erasing the original characteristic of Hyatt. Working on the landscape design, we are collaborating with Tiera Design from Thailand and Ketut Suratman from Rimba Bali. In creating the statues and sculptures, we team up with the local Bali sculpture, I Wayan Sugawa from Taro Arca Dewata which has more than 20 years as a sculptor. All the newer artworks including statues, water fountains and fire torches are implementing the classic Balinese style, with the more antique feels.

Most of our landscape designs integrate tropical Balinese concept, with lush vibrant softscape combines with natural materials like woods and different kind of stones for the hardscape. Therefore our pieces of artwork are also mostly influenced with Balinese style and characteristic. We enhanced it with the flair of local values such tropical wildlife and nature, Bali daily life, or folk stories. We let our designs act as the storyteller to enhance people different life experiences. The aim is not necessarily to create the artwork that would be loved or not loved, but to add something new to the whole design and make people think about it.