Uluwatu, Bali

This resort-inspired home in Bali’s iconic surf destination, Uluwatu, puts a contemporary spin on local materials and architecture to create a luxurious modern holiday home deeply attuned to its beautiful surroundings.

SAOTA designed the project to accommodate a resort- inspired layout with separate suites and living spaces. A series of courtyards, gardens and other planted terraces are skillfully woven into the architecture, combining structured and naturalistic planting. The design was partly inspired by the way in which rocky ruins are, in time, reclaimed by the landscape, and come to seem almost as if they are part of it.

A large palm-lined entry courtyard creates a dramatic entrance, with a grand staircase floating over a cascading water feature. Monolithic stone-clad walls act as key design elements, pulling in the overall aesthetics. A large courtyard to the west provides an enclosed counterpoint to the vast views to the east. In the main living areas, the distinctive vernacular timber pavilions typical of Balinese architecture have been reinterpreted using glass curtain walling, and the local lightweight timber roofs have been re-envisioned as a floating concrete roof form, beautifully crafted with board-marked concrete. This subtly playful reference to the timberwork prevalent in the local architecture has once again been elevated in keeping with the scale of the project. The eye-catching slope of the roof is a climatically appropriate response to the east west- orientation of the house, inviting in the morning light, while providing shelter from the harsh afternoon light.

Throughout the house, the texture of the concrete and natural finishes such as local stone have been overlaid with distinctive timberwork. European furnishings and finishes introduce a sense of understated luxury with a contemporary take on pared- back mid-century design.

Kettal, Moletenic&C