landscapedesigner Archives

SHL Asia 2019 Rewind

28/12/2019

by SHL ASIA with One Comment Company Updates

Finally, we are arrived at the end of 2019, another more year before the decade ends. It has been a crazy journey for SHL Asia team. Not only we parted with some of our friends but we introduced with more new friends. We managed to accomplish some things we didn’t do the year before and even achieved unexpected things. Here is the SHL Asia 2019 rewind

We started off this year with few architecture exhibitions, SERASI by IAI Bali and Bali Architecture Week initiated by Popo Danes. We exhibited some of our ongoing projects and shared them with public. Meanwhile, our project in Natuna Island, Jelita Sejuba Resort, began its construction work after we previously flew off and had our first ever site visit to that beautiful island. On March, our collaboration landscape project in Sanur, Hyatt Regency Bali, with Ketut Suratman from Rimba Bali and Tierra Design had finally finished its renovation. The landscape presents the ambience of nostalgic Bali, we could not be more thrilled with the result.

A month later we got another chance to come back to Natuna Island for site inspection, although there were some issues on site there was not anything major and the progress is still going well until now. After months of designing and building, we finally moved to our new office studio, Workspace and Culture in May. It was not 100% done yet but we managed to get things done after some time. We feel really good about and definitely look a lot more representative with WAC. A month later, our office was packed with interns, the most we had in the history of SHL Asia. We had 7 interns, with 3 of them from abroad (Netherland and France). We felt really merry in the first half of 2019.

The second half of this year was even better with our participation in IAI Bali Award 2019 and finally got nominated. One of our projects, Folk Pool & Garden, was then announced to have won the award in restaurant category. This award was meant for all the team not just 1-2 people in the company so we were really proud of it. Not to mention, we got a surprise news on our landscape project in Citadines Hotel Berawa has won Indonesia Property Award and later another winning on Asia property Award. The joy was real and we couldn’t be happier for SHL Asia team as well as our client that has been super cooperative.

We also got the opportunity to be featured in the Yak magazine on their printed and online platform in their September issue. While all that was happening, our projects kept going at the same time. The architecture project in Ubud, Adiwana Jeevalokha, did their Groundbreaking ceremony in October. We are very excited about the project to be completed smoothly. Another our project is Blackpenny Sunset Bar that just recently had their opening night. It is a restaurant and pizza located in Gili Trawangan, Lombok Islands with the view of sunset and white sand beach.

These are just some highlights of 2019 since we could not mention everything one by one. One word is not enough to sum 2019 up for SHL Asia. But to underline is we either made progress or learned something from trials and errors in the past year. No such thing is perfect and we can only try our best to make things happen. As always, we keep on aiming to deliver better service, design and product while creating balance between human and nature. Furthermore, we would like to express highest gratitude to all partners, clients and friends that have been walking by our side. Here is to 2020!

Cheers,

SHL Asia team

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

The Weekend House Project: A Balinese Style Architecture in the City of Rain

20/09/2018

by SHL ASIA with No Comment General Project Updates

Indonesia has thousands of islands with multicultural traditions that embellish every corner of the island. Every city holds different custom and characteristic that distinguish them from one another, but it doesn’t necessarily belong to one. Taking this architecture project as an example, the owner wanted to bring the Balinese architecture in to the City of Rain, Bogor, in West Java. Although Balinese architecture is influenced by ancient Javanese elements, this centuries-old style of design is also heavily influenced by Bali’s Hindu traditions making it very distinctly unique as well as appropriate in the highland of Bogor.

This private weekend house nestled amidst the beautiful nature of Bogor. Living in a big city, the owners yearned for relaxing exclusive retreat surrounded by nature and tranquility. The location is hidden from the buzzling crowd of the city but is still reachable. It was built for their weekend getaway when they want to spend peaceful quality time with their family and friends. Hence we designed the house to be spacious with a lot of features to maximize the user convenient and comfort, such as large living room and dining room, a greenhouse for gardening and a reading/lounging corner.

In a 3 hectares area comprise of rice fields and plantation land, the buildings stand amid the stunning surrounding of pine forest and a crystal clear river. Because of its amazing view, we wanted to preserve the nature and keep the building area just enough to accommodate all the needs. We built the house on less than 10% of the whole area. The house was also built on a mound land area where it used to be an existing building, without ruining the agricultural land. The owner wanted to keep the rice fields and most of the existing plantation and trees as they are so the land workers can still work on the agricultural.

Although the owners are not originated from Bali, they take a huge interest in Balinese culture. As a result we designed the building very much influenced by the Balinese architecture style. Like on most houses in Bali, we implemented some of the Balinese building’s characteristics. We implemented pepalihan, a form of stair-like shape arranged repeatedly in three levels upward or downward that function as a design feature. Another feature is Balinese houses’ exposed ceiling, where we can see the wooden roof structure (usuk).

Following the concept, we applied materials that are commonly found in the Balinese structures, such kerobokan paras stone for the walls, exposed red bricks and sirap roof from ironwood. For the roof, we employed knockdown roof structures that we brought over from Bali. Most of the materials used to construct the buildings were carried straight from Bali so they would really give the authentic feels. The artworks also take on Balinese characteristic with wooden statues and a lot of carvings.

Surrounded by beautiful lush greeneries and trees, we designed a lot of opening for the buildings. Each building has big windows and door glasses for view purposes and as a direct access to the nature. These openings also allow light and air to circulate into the building. The establishment of Balinese style houses in West Java landscape is just one of the displays of the harmonious diversity of Indonesia architectural culture. We could not be anymore pleased than to project Balinese architecture style in a land outside the Island of Bali.