A former London city slicker, Simon Evans made the move from an
urban apartment to this Indonesian tropical home among the trees. He
worked with local company Bali GreenWorld
to design and build his new home — a two-story 377-square-foot
structure made entirely out of locally sourced materials. And he
cleared out all the dividing walls on the top story to create a full
360-degree view of the surrounding forest. "Words fail me when it comes
to describing the extreme natural beauty surrounding me, and the
unbelievable generosity, warmth and kindness of the local people," says
Evans.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Simon Evans
Location: Mount Batukaru, Bali, Indonesia
Size: 115 square meters (377 square feet); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
That's interesting: All the building's sustainable materials were gathered within 2 miles of the house.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Simon Evans
Location: Mount Batukaru, Bali, Indonesia
Size: 115 square meters (377 square feet); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
That's interesting: All the building's sustainable materials were gathered within 2 miles of the house.
A food forest, maintained and
owned by members of the local village, surrounds the home. The house's
open architecture allows the endless stream of passersby from the
village to stop for a friendly chat. "I do not worry about security at
all, as there is always someone from around the area to keep an eye on
what's going on," says Evans. "It is a complete contrast with London,
where I locked my windows every night for fear of being broken into."
A bench seat created from recycled boat wood faces out to the food forest. Bamboo
blinds serve as walls on both stories of the house and can be tied down
if the wind picks up. "If it gets cold or I feel like a bit of privacy,
dropping the blinds changes the house entirely," Evans says. "When
my blinds are open, you really are in the middle of it all — the
rainforest and Mount Batukaru to the north, with a view down the sea to
the south."
Upstairs, Evans'
office consists of a laptop and a beanbag overlooking the forest.
"Living here is like a dream," he says. "The design of my house really
allows me to experience all of nature up close."
The top story has a lounge area with simple daybeds for relaxing with a book or just enjoying the view.
It's no surprise that this oasis has convinced Evans to stay in Bali. "Although London has so much to offer, the price of living in a metropolis is a lack of immediate community; it felt very anonymous living there," he says. "Having now lived in an extraordinarily close community, I would find it very hard to give up that closeness."
It's no surprise that this oasis has convinced Evans to stay in Bali. "Although London has so much to offer, the price of living in a metropolis is a lack of immediate community; it felt very anonymous living there," he says. "Having now lived in an extraordinarily close community, I would find it very hard to give up that closeness."
Linda Van't Hoff,
a local expat and a designer at Bali GreenWorld, enjoys a cup of tea
with Evans on the bottom story. Having lived in the area for 20 years,
she knew how to design the house to fit in with the local environment.
"From the bamboo and rocks which form the frame, through to the tali ijuk — the string used to tie the bamboo — which was hand made from local palm tree fibers, everything that could be locally sourced was," Evans says.
Local fruit and flowers provide splashes of color to the minimalist and clutter-free interior. "It's a beautiful feeling inside Simon's house," Van't Hoff says.
"It's a bit like being in a bamboo grove, with the warm yellow tones of
the bamboo dominating the space in a very natural and peaceful way."
The roof, made up of 30,000
shingles, was the most laborious part of this project and took the
longest. Each shingle had to be made, cleaned, treated and placed
individually. The massive amount of these handmade pieces meant that
much of the work had to be outsourced to surrounding villages.
"It was a spectacular
process to witness," says Evans of the roof-building process. "The piles
of shingles appearing outside each family compound and lining the local
roads were a constant reminder of not only the scale of the project,
but also the ease with which the local Balinese people work together."
Evans had all of the locally sourced bamboo treated onsite with boric acid. To ensure that bugs stay out of the bamboo, he occasionally smokes the house with a portable fireplace.
The ground-floor kitchen is open to the elements. Evans often cooks using food he's grown on his own patch of land. "Every
week I am able to reduce the amount of food I need to buy, with well
over 50 edible plants already growing organically on my land, and more
gardens and food plants being added weekly," he says.
The home's only fixed walls
surround the ground-floor bathroom. Bamboo shutters open directly into
the garden. A nearby spring feeds the Bali rock bowl and bamboo tap.
The house is set about 325 feet from one of the entrances to a protected rainforest.
Its presence stops poachers from entering the forest unnoticed and
prevents off-road biking and other damaging activities.
The house's shape mirrors the silhouette of Mount Batukaru behind. The
home sits on 2,000 square meters (more than 21,000 square feet) of
land, which used to primarily be a coffee grove. Now the land hosts a
wide variety of fruit trees, vegetables and other useful plants,
including Western salad leaves and herbs.
(Sumber video : http://greenworldbali.com/)
[ Sumber : http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4977809/thumbs/zulfikri-s-ideas ]
Referensi Terkait :
(Sumber video : http://greenworldbali.com/)
[ Sumber : http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4977809/thumbs/zulfikri-s-ideas ]
Referensi Terkait :
No comments:
Post a Comment