
When designing resorts for the hotelier and hospitality industry, our key aim is always to immerse our ideas in lifestyle because the ultimate guest experience has to be memorable.
#Crafting Timeless Harmony
One of the interior and artwork design for @themadawabali is the grand dice bar, centrally located within the restaurant. This installation takes the form of a colossal lantern constructed from Kamasan paintings enclosed within an expansive golden brass cage. It narrates the epic tale of the Mahabharata, where the Pandavas faced defeat at the hands of the Kauravas in a fateful game of dice, leading to the humiliation of Draupadi. We chose to interpret this concept through Kamasan paintings due to their narrative focus, often weaving multiple stories and perspectives into a single composition. Kamasan painting is a classical Balinese art form known for its meticulous attention to detail, aiming for perfection in lines, forms, and color composition.
Where Culture and Luxury Converge
Immerse yourself in our interior design masterpiece—a harmonious fusion of cultural elements and opulence, drawing inspiration from a segment of the Mahabharata epic that exudes intimacy and seclusion. We elevate the essence of the Mahabharata story, a treasure of Balinese culture, by creating a space that not only celebrates its rich heritage but also exudes an unmistakable sense of luxury.
With exceptional craftsmanship, our Kamasan lantern is meticulously crafted, capturing the mesmerizing details of the Mahabharata narrative. This painting encapsulates varying perspectives, offering a broad spectrum of interpretations for visitors seeking a deeper understanding of this epic tale. From the opulence of the golden cage to the richness of colors within the painting, every element within @themadawabali has been thoughtfully designed to create an unforgettable experience for our patrons.
We highly value close collaboration with our clients. Our goal is not only to create an impressive interior design but also to ensure that the rich cultural elements of the Mahabharata are elegantly reflected in every aspect of the space. This endeavor represents our commitment to seamlessly intertwining culture and luxury, making each visit to @themadawabali a profound journey into Bali’s cultural heritage while offering a high level of exclusivity.
Our interior design crafts timeless harmony, reflecting a rich narrative and presenting unmatched luxury. This space is a beautiful amalgamation of art, culture, and opulence, destined to provide an unforgettable experience for all who enter. As a dedicated team, we take immense pride in presenting @themadawabali as a testament to our creativity and expertise in creating truly exceptional spaces.
It is officially 2 more months before the end of the year. When the pandemic hit earlier this year, many were shocked and wasn’t sure if they would make it. We are lucky to be surrounded by inspiring and positive friends, partners and clients that continue to support and keep us going throughout the year. With each baby step we took, we grew stronger and the universe slowly coming to our side. We were thrilled when we got the opportunity to be featured on Lumion Indonesia’s official website.
SHL Asia has been using a registered and licensed Lumion software program for years from the official Lumion distributor, AppliCAD Indonesia. We figured that 3D visualization is a highly added value beside some neat and thorough block plan or schematic drawings for a design consultant. It explains the concept better with striking visual and much easier to be understood for non-experts. With this in mind, we have developed Art by SHL Asia that specialized in making 3D visualization for images and videos.
When we were asked to submit to Lumion Indonesia, we considered few different projects but ended up choosing Adiwana Jelita Sejuba Natuna and a Private Villa design in Sidemen. Adiwana Jelita Sejuba Natuna is a boutique resort project located in Natuna, Riau Islands. It is our first ever project in the area and we feel absolutely excited to be involved in developing its potential. The site seated right at the shoreline of beautiful Jelita Sejuba beach with magnificent giant boulder stones and crystal clear water all the way to the horizon. It is quite surreal, almost as we are transported into a prehistoric time.
On the contrary, the second video presents a private villa nestled in the peaceful Sidemen village, in the east of Bali. The location is right by the river with serene nature around the area. The style of the villa gravitates more to hippie manner with the concept of star gazing under the clear sky of Sidemen. There are a lot of big opening with tall glass windows and glass roof over the woven wooden roof. It has white tone exterior that gives see-through effect to the building. The architecture is open and airy allowing direct view to the river.
On both videos, we emphasized on the design experiences rather just focusing merely on the design. The video indicate different lighting at different times of the day, there are people’s interaction and also ambience when the project is completed. We create storyline for each video to enhance the design and bring them to live. For a complete story, check out our featured videos on Lumion Indonesia’s official website.
Here in Bali, the Balinese red bricks characteristic is slowly shifted to other different materials, such as concrete. Although concrete is not common in traditional Balinese buildings but it has made its way to Ujung Water Palace (Taman Ujung) in Karangasem where it was used its renovation after Mount Agung eruption. The palace was originally built by the King of Karangasem, I Gusti Bagus Jelantik and it is a privately owned by Karangasem Royal.
In modern architecture of Bali, concrete is usually left in its exposed state in order to create a raw, industrial statement. Using concrete to form simple but striking volumes of different shapes and sizes is a common approach, often designed to create architecture that contrasts with nature, yet feels grounded within its context.
Concrete is now becoming more popular in the island. One of the reasons is due for its reflective nature. Concrete reflects heat as opposed to absorbing it, making it suitable in this tropical climate of Bali. More commercial buildings, art spaces even private houses are now implementing raw concrete finish and often adorn with tropical softscape. This concept is also known with the term of “Tropical Brutalism.”
Some of the most interesting architecture today lies in the architects’ ability to find a connectivity of buildings and nature by combining it with other materials like wood, glass and steel for that twist of design. Concrete and wood is particularly popular pair in Bali. Combining woodwork adds warmth and ease to a massive concrete building impression. It also picks up more texture and pattern to the concrete backdrop.
The concept is implemented for a private residence in Tabanan area, a collaboration on-going project between an international architect, Nicholas Schuybroek, as the principal architect and SHL Asia as the local architect. Nicholas’s architecture style is heavily influenced by minimalism and simplicity. His projects often use concrete material, including the one in Bali. SHL Asia will add more tropical feel to overall design through the simplistic tropical garden. Although the design looks modern and minimalistic, the details are exquisite. It may seem cool from its exterior, but the interior and furniture give warmth throughout the house creating a sense of balance.
With the endless possibility that concrete can offer, it is no wonder that it gotten more and more popular in the architectural map across the country especially in this island. The challenge for architects will be to ensure that such innovation would not replace or overshadow the vernacular architecture of Bali, rather it can be combined and integrated with such harmony creating an extraordinary contemporary design.
When talking about hospitality design, one must enhance its visual as well as its functionality that fulfill the needs of users. Hospitality designs generate an experience. Although there are many factors that contribute to that experience such as service, dining and cleanliness, it always starts with the first impression: the design. When guests first arrive, they see the façade, and then start to explore the lobby. If they feel off or even unimpressed, that could set the tone for their stay. If the design energy amazes them, this could secure the guests who will not only return but also tell others about their experience.
As one of the top tourist and hospitality destinations, Bali offers numerous places to stay ranging from boutique hotels, private villas and high-end resorts. Many of them portray Bali style which incorporates traditional Balinese architecture to the design. The famous “Bali style” was introduced and popularized by foreign architects such as Peter Muller, Geoffrey Bawa and Kerry Hill. The knowledge transmission of local architecture became their tools to carry on local tradition and stood equally to the most sophisticated architecture work while still holding onto local values. They have broken doubts from the society that Balinese architecture was merely houses and sacred buildings. This also have encouraged other architects to then study and develop Balinese architecture more, just like us.
As a Bali based hospitality design consultant, our work is both functional and visually exciting. We always strive to integrate local culture into our design. It could be the architecture, folk stories or even nature surrounding, it is all part of the Bali culture. We want to create a journey experience that can be long remembered even after the guest leave just like exactly the purpose of hospitality design is.
One of our on-going projects reflects all these needs, a secluded boutique hotel, Adiwana Jeevalokha by Adiwana hotels. Jeeva means live/soul and lokha means a world/place. The word is derived from Sanskrit which basically means a world or place for the soul. Adiwana Jeevalokha was designed as the sanctuary for the souls, a place to unwind from the hustle and bustle of modernity.
The project is located in Ubud, a village in Gianyar. The village is long known for cultural and art center as well as beautiful lush landscape. Nowadays, however, the village and even Bali in general has slowly shifted away from its tradition. A number of newly built architecture takes on more modern approach that is far from Balinese architecture. With that in mind, we want to create a sanctuary where guests can experience how Bali truly is, the Island of Gods, a peaceful place.
Architecture wise, the building implements various Balinese architecture elements to truly reflect how Bali in the past. Although the overall typology of the building is a simplified Balinese architecture, the details, however, speak for themselves. Right from the entrance, guests are welcomed by an inspired Candi Bentar gate, a gate to enter the outer area of a palace or temple in Bali traditional layout zone. Going in to the inner area, there is Candi Kurung gate, a gate between outer and inner area of the hotel. Other than that, the hotel is designed into few building compounds implementing the natah concept in Balinese houses. The architecture harmoniously uses local materials such as red bricks and natural stones to really accentuate the feel of traditional Bali.
To complement the architecture, the landscape is inspired by the rich culture and beautiful nature around the site. It is designed to be tropical and lush just like the environment on site. It is aimed to feel like natural jungle hence we play around with a lot of layering and composition to make as if its nature-made. The landscape is also completed with some water element for calming and rejuvenating effect through a natural waterfall where the stream flows across the site. By staying to Bali’s root and close to the nature, Adiwana Jeevalokha creates an experience that not only distinctive but eases the soul. All these components have come together to deliver a whole design experience that last for the guests. A moment to disconnect and find peace at Adiwana Jeevalokha.
It has been almost four months since the first outbreak of covid19 in Indonesia. The government has announced health protocols which resulted for most offices working from home and quarantining in all the states throughout the country and so is Bali. Although things have gotten slowing down for many of us, but SHL Asia team is still on grinding as ever.
The team is working on some of the design-phase projects such as Sanna villa in Ubud, few of our projects in India and the new Adiwana Hotels project. While most of our on-going design phase projects still going, some of them need to put on hold until undetermined time. As much as it is hard to admit, we have to understand the situation. With this pandemic happening, tourism basically has been shut down and so have many hospitality projects. However, with every storm comes a rainbow. We got the chance to reevaluate our company and preparing a grand comeback once the condition is (new) normal.
Set that aside, our construction projects are going according to schedule but of course followed with bunch of adjustments on site. The team have been kept busy following up issues and coordinating with all parties involved. Some of the projects include our collaboration project with Nicolas Schoeybroek for a private villa in Tabanan, a project with Tierra Design Thailand for Andaz Bali Resort and a collaboration project with Yoka Sara Byrdhouse Beachclub in Sanur. We do conduct frequent site visit to these projects for supervision purposes. All activity on site is done carefully following the health regulation due to the outbreak.
Going back to SHL Asia studio, things have slowly gotten back to (new) normal. Our small team has been working in office with strict health protocols such controlled hygiene practice, mask usage and physical distancing. While safety and health of our staff is our top priority, at the same time we are still committed in delivering a high quality products and services for clients. Yes, it is a hard time for all of us but that does not mean we give in to the situation. We are trying our best to keep things going and do our own part to make it better.