#bali-architecture

#bali-architecture

"There was so much beauty, so much more than enough for everyone, that it did appear to be a vain activity to try and make a corner in it." This quote captures the essence of Villa Beatrice, where beauty and luxury converge in a breathtaking setting.

Set within the dense fabric of a bustling urban neighbourhood and constrained by a modest 4,000 sq. ft. plot, Jali House reimagines the potential of urban residential architecture.

Rather than representing a simple return to the past, this renewed interest reflects a broader reconsideration of how architecture engages with materials, local resources, and environmental conditions.

As an American who's traveled to 44 countries over the last 30 years, I've seen my fair share of unforgettable places. But if I had to choose one place to visit again and again, it would be Bali, an island and province in Indonesia that combines vibrant culture, natural beauty, and a pace of life that feels both energizing and restorative. After spending a month on the island in 2023, I fell in love. Here's what made my trip to Bali so special.

Everybody's dreaming about being a digital nomad these days, especially since so many of us got a taste for remote working during and after the pandemic. While there are certain spots that are more popular for those dreaming of a change of scenery - Bali, anyone? - more and more countries have been launching their own digital nomad visas , giving remote workers far more options than were available just a few years ago.

The 26-year-old real estate project manager from Munich came to the surf camp to improve her skills on the water. I came to talk with adventurous travelers about their big ideas, from new businesses to life after layoffs.

Yoga retreats are admittedly amazing. Imagine an entire block of time to tune in to your mind and body as you move, reflect, and perhaps explore your surroundings while honing various elements of your yoga practice. There's a reason the global yoga travel market is projected to reach $222 billion by 2030. That said, you may be seeking a vacation that includes a collection of friends or loved ones-including non-yogis.

On paper, it looked like a step up. In reality, it was the first sign that the way I was structuring my life no longer fit. I helped lead the company's move - setting up the office, hiring staff, and building operations from scratch. Malta had what I thought I wanted: sun, ocean, and easy access to the outdoors. Socially, something was missing.

The building is organized around a series of repetitive vertical concrete fins that define the primary system. These elements operate as climatic filters, spatial thresholds, and structural components, establishing a rhythmic articulation across the elevation. Their spacing creates varying degrees of permeability, regulating natural light while framing controlled views toward the distant topography.

For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it's time we took it seriously as a building material, too. This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be bamboo-ready as they published a manual for designing permanent buildings made of the material, in an effort to encourage low-carbon construction and position bamboo as a proper alternative to steel and concrete.

Haruka Kojin (artist), Kenji Minamigawa (director), and Hirofumi Masui (production manager) are the founding trio of 目[mé] (which means "eye" in Japanese). Their approach? "To create works that allow us to relive the 'world as it is' that constantly unfolds before our eyes," they explain on their website. This rather mysterious intention has nonetheless led the Japanese collective, created in 2013, to exhibit at the Japan Society in New York and the Centre Pompidou-Metz, which have presented several of their installations. Japanese private homes seem to be a favorite disruptive space for the artists, who have previously integrated an extremely minimalist art gallery into a dilapidated house on another Japanese island in 2020. Other notable works include giant inflatable faces installed above natural landscapes and the recreation of monumental waves.

Encasa Archstudio completes its Vault House in Kerala, India as a three story tropical residence that brings exposed concrete vaults into dialogue with sunlight and greenery. Conceived for a multi generational household comprising a couple, their daughter, and parents, the home reflects a clear client ambition for a unique yet livable environment shaped by daylight, breezes, and plant-life. Located in the heart of town, the house precisely negotiates level changes of its sloping site.

Located on the southeastern edge of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Economics and Business, AlIqtishad redefines the role of a campus Mushola, shifting from a discreet endpoint to a civic and spiritual threshold within the FEB UI Masterplan.

Designed by Habitat Architects, the Solan Hill House is a private residence embedded into a sloping site in Himachal Pradesh, conceived as an architecture that grows out of its terrain rather than resting on it. Completed as a response to complex gradients, access conditions, and visual exposure, the project uses the landscape itself as a generator of form, structure, and spatial sequence.

Kulhads, also known as terracotta mud cups, once defined the everyday ritual of tea at railway stations across India. Used briefly and discarded soon after, they accumulated along tracks and coastlines, leaving a quiet record of consumption. For this pavilion, more than 18,000 of these cups were gathered from local communities in Dharavi and reused as a building material with structural purpose.

Hiroyuki Oki + 13 Principal Architect: Vo Trong Nghia, Nguyen Tat Dat Design Team: Nguyen Van Tung, Tran Thi Khanh Anh More SpecsLess Specs Hiroyuki Oki Text description provided by the architects. This project is located in Ben Tre, Vietnam, and was completed in 2021. With a total area of 430m2, the project includes 3 bedrooms and one living room, each with a view of the nearby river.

This elongated entrance sequence establishes a gradual transition from the public urban environment to the private domestic space. Enclosed by stone walls and a timber ceiling, the passage leads into a double-height living area that opens onto the central courtyard, creating immediate visual and spatial continuity across levels. The courtyard functions as the core of the house, mediating environmental performance and spatial organization.

With its elongated facade of perforated brickwork, Zero Studio's Haven House sits on an elevated site within a quiet neighborhood in Valiyannur, India. From the road, the dwelling reads as a low, horizontal volume that settles into the terrain and harness the trees, overgrown plantings, and sky as a lush frame. The architects shape the project through proportion and texture over sculptural gesture.

Perched high above the Pacific coastline in Bahía Ballena, Costa Rica, Ojo de Nila is a house that feels less like an object placed on land and more like a continuation of it. Designed by Studio Saxe, with interiors by Atelier Sandra Richard, the home was created for a Swiss couple seeking a slower, more elemental way of living shaped by air, light, and landscape rather than mechanical systems and rigid enclosures. A clear modular logic guides the architecture.

From a single material, a Hyderabad-based design studio creates a wide range of site-specific installations, furnishings, and decor. It's all in the name of the firm, The Wicker Story, which was founded in 2019 by architect Priyanka Narula. Capable of being formed into everything from abstract constructions to functional objects, the natural material lends itself a huge variety of pieces that vary in size and complexity.