LIVE, WORK, PLAY

With intentions to create a space to foster a family life, work life and social life balance, the owner–architect and his wife, an experienced design consultant, have created a space in Bali that ticks all the boxes.

The Adnyana family lives their life in the true spirit of yin and yang. SOPHIA WATSON speaks with the architect and man of the house, Widi Adnyana, to discover a design led by ‘SUJIVA’ – comfortable living.

The lives of this Bali-based family is a busy one. Man of the house, Widi Adnyana, is one of the founders and the principal architect of boutique design firm, Somia Design, while his wife Sulis – an experienced design consultant – also has a boutique consultancy of her own. Having lived, worked and met in Singapore before moving to Bali, Widi recalls “living in small apartments in Singapore, we had always dreamt of having a spacious home with a small working studio in Bali, where we could have a comfortable home garden atmosphere to start a family while being able to continue our professional practices not too far from home.”

And that’s the dream, right? Being able to design a way of life for ourselves that perfectly satisfies our needs to work, live and play – but where do you start? For Widi, it began with understanding the daily routines of his family. And from there, the design needs of their dynamic became clear.

Widi and Sulis, for instance, work 8-12 hours a day out of the studio. As a consultant, Sulis often hotdesks within the comfort of her own home, working on her laptop from the living areas, outdoor lounge, or studio to garner inspiration. In the time spent outside work, the Adnyana’s relax around the home, read books outdoors and in the living areas, watch movies in the family room on the second floor, and dine and drink in the living or bar areas with friends and family. The bedrooms are mostly for sleeping and resting, so making them expansive wasn’t big on the priority list. However, Widi discovered that it was important to have ample natural lighting and fresh air circulating in the sleeping areas in order to create a space for refuge and recharging.

To anyone else, these routines are nothing more than seemingly random pieces of information. To the Adnyana’s however – two very practiced and skilled design minds – this was the basis for creating their brief. And from this, the design concept of Asta Kosala Kosali became the driving principle.

Asta Kosala Kosali is the organising principle for traditional houses in Bali based on Nawa Sanga – the nine cardinal directions around the center point of Siwa – and the mountain–sea axis, and sunrise–sunset axis, whereby dividing the site into nine areas each serving a different and specific function. This segmented approach to living presented the perfect design response on which to frame the Adnyana’s needs.

Rather than spate buildings (which is the traditional implementation of Asta Kosala Kosali), the Adnyana’s chose to identify the purpose of each room in their home, and create design solutions to divide them from each other within a single space. “We looked at our daily routines, and began selecting and grouping spaces based on how we, as a family, were going to use them. Areas that were to be accessed by the public were collected together closer to the entrance, while private areas were positioned at the back for more privacy, ultimately using a large, expansive feature wall to clearly separate the two zones.”

Despite being broken into various sectors for work, living and play, the house is comfortably designed to meet the ideal and ergonomic needs of the homeowners. Entering the house from the black timber frame sliding glass doors, the open living area – which consists of the living and dining areas – greets the Adnyana’s with a pleasant mood through the delicate composition of a bespoke red brick wall. The walls adjacent to the garden are filled with glass doors and windows, making it easier for Widi and his family to have an indoor-outdoor experience from every corner.

Creating a balanced yin–yang dynamic was not without its challenges.

PREVIOUS | THE DESIGN IS TIED AROUND CORE CONCEPTS: LOCAL RED BRICK WHICH IS REGULARLY USED IN TRADITIONAL BALINESE BUILDINGS; THE COLOR BLACK TO PRODUCE A MODERN AND MASCULINE FEEL TO THE BUILDING; AND TO BALANCE OUT THE BRICK AND BLACK, CEMENT ACTS AS A NEUTRAL COLOUR DEVICE. ABOVE | THE MASTER BATHROOM PROVIDES AN INDIVIDUAL SCOPE FOR THE SHOWER AND THE CLOSET AREA, ALONG WITH THE VANITY COUNTER AT FRONT. OPPOSITE | PLANS.

The master bedroom is located on the east side, next to the grass-covered steps towards the garden, capitalising on the spectacular views as well as enabling the sunlight to drench the room graciously. The second-storey features two common bedrooms, in anticipation of a new family member, facilitated with a shared bathroom and a small family lounge area to act as the gathering space for the kids.

Widi explains that their goal with the Sujiva House was to “prioritise the following: to [observe] Balinese traditional zoning of holy zone, living zone and cleaning/service zone; [have] clear separation between public and private living spaces; to build on one quarter of the land area to leave spacious opportunities for a lush garden and outdoor area.”

Creating a balanced yin–yang dynamic was not without its challenges. “Combining two different (and sometimes opposing) architectural typologies – modernist/ contemporary and traditional Balinese, was difficult,” recalls Widi. “We used the modern philosophy in the shape of the building; its mass composition, layout, and detailed technical execution of the material construction. For the more traditional character, we took the philosophy of Yin and Yang to locate the position for the holy space (family temple), kitchen, bedrooms, and service areas according to [traditional Balinese] rules.”

To further serve the cultural function of their home, the Adnyana’s specified a selection of traditional materials used in Balinese houses, such as exposed red bricks, wood with natural finishing, coral accents, and tropical vegetation and landscape. This unexpected combination resulted in a well-resolved tropical–contemporary space that Widi and his family believe, “bring harmony to the people who live in it.”