Bamboo dwellings: The priceless jewels
Bamboo dwellings: The priceless jewels
DENPASAR (JP): Charming dwellings hide within a tranquil valley in Nyuh Kuning, south of Ubud. The estate's owner has elegantly decorated the simple structures, transforming them into priceless jewels.
The owner is interior designer Linda Garland. She has lived in Bali for almost 20 years. Working closely with Indonesian, particularly Balinese, artists and craftpersons, she has created a 10-hectare masterpiece. Garland sees her estate as a "monumental land sculpture" created with the help of some of the world's most talented sculptors.
"The art is in the placement of the houses in the landscape," claims Garland.
A three-tiered structure, called the bale gede sits in the middle of her estate. The structure was initially built for her two sons, and she had planned to place her own house in front of it. However, once built, she couldn't bring herself to construct another house near it. The site "seemed so beautiful, like female breasts in Henry Moore's sculptures," she explains.
Garland uses Indonesian arts and crafts for her international projects. In her own house, she blends Asian and European motifs with Indonesian decorative elements. Giant bamboo, which she uses for her well-known gigantic bamboo sofas, is used for the internal stairs. It is a functional sculpture which leads to her bedroom.
The other buildings have all utilized the talents of the local craftspeople from the farming village of Nyuh Kuning. They prepared the terraces, dug the decorative ponds, erected the bamboo pavilions and prepared the paths and connecting bridges.
To the north of the bale gede, are special huts for cooking, dining, bathing and sleeping. At present there is one large chamber which functions as a master bedroom, with three additional smaller rooms. The sleeping chambers, constructed out of bamboo of course, are adapted from traditional Balinese forms.
"This type of structure is easy to make here, as locals are versed in its construction. People have made them for centuries," Garland says. Each hut is carefully placed to capture the breeze coming off the valley and the river that runs alongside the estate. They also have views of the rising and setting sun.
Volcanic mounds, discovered when the southern part of the site was cleared, have been carved with jungle scenes by Balinese stone carvers. The decorations clearly originate from the reliefs at Goa Gajah and Yeh Pulu, near Ubud. The carving of volcanic rock is an old Balinese tradition.
In the west, just above the river, is a large structure called the school house because it was once used as an informal classroom. Although in front of the bale gede, this house is hidden on a lower terrace. Nearby, Garland has placed a West Sumatran rice barn. It stands elegantly in the midst of yellow coconut trees, as a metaphor of the estate in the yellow coconut grove of Nyuh Kuning.
-- Amir Sidharta