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