It is hard to believe that from a tiny seed inside a fig grows the giant Banyan tree. This timeless tree, with its enormous trunk, far reaching branches and its voluminous thick roots runs deep into the earth and can grow across many human generations.
Like trees, we are the mediators between the seen and the unseen, the Balinese believe, and the new Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort’s design, inspired by this very tree, provides a heavenly shelter in this tropical paradise.
STORY & PHOTO BY Will Wiriawan
An impossible schedule with a not-so-ideal site would usually be a deal-breaker, but not for Agung Podomoro and his design partner WATG. As the last available site in the Nusa Dua Complex, the project is situated right next to the new toll road’s exit. With obvious security and convenience advantages, the site was preselected by the Indonesian APEC organizer to be the Indonesian delegations’ base and the main venue.
The original brief was received by the design team in November 2011. The Client’s initial objective was to develop an independent, high quality residential product that would be supported by the hotels back-of-house and infrastructure, but this element was removed from the brief during the completion of the conceptual design.
“Initially the client wanted to preserve as many of the existing, uncompleted Villas as well as the Main Building components. It significantly limited our option for the layout which ultimately did not achieve the density which the client wanted.” said a WATG representative. “Ultimately we were able to retain only seventeen of the existing ones, including the Presidential Villa.”
After exploring a number of their limited options, the architects settled on an inverted U-shaped master layout. It places the Main Building in the middle of the curve, at the furthest side from the beach. At the center of this three-storey structure, is a wooden centerpiece that inspires the entire design strategy. Made from Glulam, a type of structural timber product comprising a number of layers of dimensioned timber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives, five twenty-meter curved columns are supported individually by a concrete base, forming the banyan-tree-like formations from the ground, up to the atrium’s roof. The north and south wings on each side lays the guest rooms, sixty percent of them bearing ocean views. This was achieved by pointing the windows at a forty-degree angle while maintaining a rectilinear form of the guest wings. The geometry added complexity to the construction, especially the roof, but it also echoes the centerpiece icon from the main atrium, throughout the entire structure.
To obtain a seamless view from the viewing platform, the designers, working side by side with the landscape consultant Belt Collins, decided to push the all-day dining & recreational areas to the entire length of the property, covering them with green roofs to hide the structure while giving a continuous cascading rice-field-like landscape. This also reduces the distance between the two wings and viewing platform to the ocean.
Due to its impossible deadline, the project was broken into a series of layers that proceeded at different paces. Construction began shortly after the final concept artwork was submitted for review, but it was rejected for being too modern and lacking some Balinese ideals. Foundation work was already underway, so the design team came up with more traditional surface and facade treatment that eventually got the final approval from the Bali Tourism Review Board. “We applied the Balinese rule of foot, body and head components to each building façade, and historical elements were integrated into the design by using local craftsmanship.” touted Ron Van Pelt, Senior VP, WATG. “We also use a combination of flat roofs, that are covered with landscape mimicking the rice fields, and pitched roofs that were designed to be in the traditional thatch or ironwood shingles, both of which are indigenous to the region.” he continues.
All of the existing wooden roof structures were dismantled and reused as trellises and paneling on the guest room balconies, larger I-beams from the original building were rewelded to the structure of the new ballroom, doors and plumbing fixtures were reused in the service area, and trees were temporarily relocated before replanting them to the current landscape.
There’s a very strong sense of exoticism drawn from the visual and textural treatment of the final product. Perhaps it’s the Banyan Tree concept that visually expresses the nuance of these ideals. Natural colors were tastefully chosen to complement the spectacular landscape; the green cascading garden, and the blue water features looked vibrant in contrast of the indigenous limestone and near-black basalt flooring. Partially stained wood finishing brought a calming feedback against the brass signage and dimmed warm-tone light. Simple elegance that extends to every corner of the hotel, down to the guest rooms.
Luxury is identical with small-scale, boutique treatment. But by carefully choosing the right material, cherry-picking every furniture and art piece, a subtler kind of luxury kicks in without being intimidating. “We want to evoke the feeling of being home, in, or outside their rooms,” said Tommy Trisdiarto, Director of Marketing and Communications, “As the operator, we are responsible to carry on with this tasks after the construction have finished.”
Unlike most hotels, Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort employs simple circular standing height tables to receive guests, rocking chairs were spread across the looking platform next to it. In the room, guests are greeted by the similar touches they have seen outside, including the public areas, like the lounge, or the business center that looks more like your study than the usual business hotel.
The APEC may have helped put the Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort on the world map, but judging from the all-out effort by the parties involved, they won’t have a problem getting as deeply rooted in Bali as the Banyan tree.
More of this article from March/April 2014 issue