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Pantulan
News
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| A
Simple Home in Bali |
A
Place of Reflection |
An
Environment in Harmony |
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| Pantulan
- An Environment in Harmony |
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| "Building
this house was a magical experience.
The site gave us cues to create an environment
in harmony with the surroundings and
we enjoyed the freedom to make decisions
and changes as they were felt, not dominated
by the rules and regulations so prevalent
in many projects." |
| Architects
Marita Vidal and Tony Gwilliam |
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Reflection can mean ‘meditation’
or ‘pondering’
or even ‘observation’,
and any of these are appropriate names
for this contemplative house in the
rural and quiet village of Lodtunduh.
‘Pantulan’
is on the signpost marking a narrow
lane leading to its front gate. Pantulan
means ‘reflection’
in Bahasa Indonesia; however, in this
language, this single meaning relates
to the reflection of images and how
light plays at different angles, echoing
visual impressions of its surroundings.
Architects Marita Vidal and Tony Gwilliam
designed Pantulan
with strategically placed planes of
water. They wanted to mirror the rice
fields, the buildings and the magnificent
starlit and moonlit skies of night or
reflect the glorious clouds and sunsets
of the day. The view from the entrance
takes in two ponds – the first
lined with dark green stones; the second,
a lotus water garden – then the
view continues to the swimming pool
with an infinity edge and finally, to
the mirror surface of the wet rice fields
beyond.
 Architect
Vidal explains:”We
wanted to work with the site, to work
the pavilions into the landscape and
treat the house as part of the village.
Pavilions are traditional Balinese concept
but instead of closing the house off
from the landscape, we opened it to
the island. This required very careful
placing of the buildings to preserve
the trees and views. The main garden
is the ever-changing rice fields; the
house is orientated towards this magnificent
vista. Other outdoor spaces are treated
as special, intimate and magical corners
belonging to their pavilion.”
Vidal and Gwilliam had worked with owners
Martin Rubin and Jacqueline Wales on
building a previous home in the United
States and were familiar with their
preferences. They understood their need
for social interaction with friends
and family, and particularly their need
for private spaces. Jacqueline is awriter
and Marty needs a quite space for meditation.
They knew the couple’s passion
for good food and entertaining friends,
so the living areas of the house needed
to interact with the kitchen.
Since Jacqueline’s interests include
developing healthy, nutritious menus
with exciting tastes, the kitchen not
only had to be a joyful space to work,
it had to be equipped with all the modern
conveniences. Unlike traditional Balinese
houses, this kitchen is integrated into
the main pavilion but separated from
the dining area by a custom glass-and-teak
cabinet designed by Vidal and made by
construction supervisor Wayan Nama.
Glass doors permit light from the kitchen
to reflect on the beautiful serving
pieces stored in the cabinet. Interestingly,
when standing at the end of the dining
table looking towards the cabinet, the
image of the Buddha figure that sits
on top of the cabinet is reflected twice
in the polished surface of the dining
table. This is truly a sight to behold.
According to the architects, the plan
of the house is based on three elements:
a floor platform without interruption,
wooden posts on a strict axis and a
thatched roof over all pavilions. This
floating-pavilion concept gives a feeling
of being on a protected island surrounded
by a sea of rice, each island connected
to the next by a covered walkway. Another
precept was to minimize energy use and
eliminate the use of air conditioning.
This required an open design with overhanging
roofs to maximize the prevailing airflow
while providing shade and shelter from
rain. The only enclosed, air-conditioned
room in the house is the audio/visual
media room.
Long, connecting passageways with strong
Balinese architectural elements, such
as the alang-alang roof, structural
posts and batu paras walls, give the
house a strong, masculine energy that
is softened by the use of warm merbau
wood. This wood is used throughout the
house as structural wood and for custom
doors and window trim details. Terrazzo
and stone are flooring materials for
ground floors while merbau wood is used
for the flooring in the bedrooms upstairs.
Pantulan reflects
traditional Balinese architecture in
its open pavilion style and in the massive
bamboo, wood and alang-alang roof.
Wayan Nama felt a positive atmosphere
working on this project – everything
seemed possible to him. The local construction
team that he assembled was willing to
experiment and try new ideas. The villagers
of Lodtunduh contributed their traditional
knowledge and learned new skills to
create a beautiful, unadorned, hybrid
Balinese–Western house.
Jacqueline recounted a charming, heart-warming
story about the batu paras wall in the
sitting pavilion. She and the architects
held many discussions on how the wall
would be treated since it was such an
important focal point that led from
one pavilion to the other: should they
hang a painting, a wall textile on it...what?
The homeowners and architects were away
for a few days and upon their return,
were surprised to see what the local
villagers had done to it: they had carved
a relief of a Balinese landscape on
the wall. Beautifully conceived and
executed, all agreed it was the perfect
solution and a beautiful gift from the
villagers.
Pantulan’s open-air pavilions
allow fluid movement from one area to
the other and provide the perfect gathering
places for friends and family. The clean
lines of this Balinese architectural
adaptation reflect the considerable
taste and talent of the owners and architects,
their understanding of traditional techniques
and how they have applied these techniques
successfully to a modern concept.
|
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| Barbara
Walker . Jay Graham |
| Gatheringplaces,
Balinese Architecture - A Spiritual
& Spatial Orientation |
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