In the small village of Buwit, with a population of just around 3,000 souls, in the sub-district of Kediri, Tabanan regency, Bali province, Indonesia, lies a very special resort hotel. It consists of a property with 20 “eco-luxury” villas that can accommodate up to 47 guests. Among the many awards the accommodation has earned since it opened in May 2020, we highlight the UNESCO Prix-Versailles Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2021. The tourist resort, particularly suitable for “wellness retreats” is set in a forest between extensive rice paddies on one side and a spectacular river on the other. We are talking about Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort.
According to its website, Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort was born out of the love of its founder, Dino Magnatta, a native of Toronto, Canada, for the “Balinese people, their culture, religion and spiritual beliefs“, to whose knowledge his long years of business travels in the country led him. When in 2019 he met Charlie Hearn, “a green architect”, and came into contact with his architectural studio, Inspiral Architectes, the coincidence of their ideas in “eco-lux heaven” led irremediably to the development of the “eco-retreat”.
One of the objectives of the project from the outset was to ensure its unity with nature, which unequivocally determined first the design approach and then its construction. For the latter, materials taken directly from the resort site were used, such as bamboo, natural stone and recycled wood. For the construction of the ground level walls, for example, earth from the excavation of the site and the ecological rammed earth system were used. The result is curved walls which, thanks to their “physicality” and the colourfulness of their layers, treat the guests to a unique beauty, deeply connected with the environment. In addition, these rammed earth walls offer very useful insulating and structural properties. The developers recruited the people of the nearby village “to work on what has become the most substantial rammed-earth project in Indonesia“.
For their part, and thanks to the flexibility of local bamboo, the architectural firm was able to create “spaces that echo the abundance of life in the tropics”. In this way, as the architects put it, the buildings “seem to biologically morph from the surrounding elements, in effect growing from the ground and sprouting among the rich vegetation”. It is no wonder that by occupying one of these 20 villas, we have the sensation of inhabiting a cocoon, as if we were a chrysalis, or that we fantasise about having undergone a metamorphosis that has transmuted us into a kind of insect.
Finally, Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort prides itself on “eco-conscious practices” in the “day-to-day” operation of its facilities. These include its adherence to the “farm-to-table concept” through its ecological orchard, the use of filtered well water, a hydro turbine system that uses the flow of the nearby river to produce electricity, complemented by solar panels located in the parking area, and so on. A restaurant, a “river spa“, tree-top villas, a gym, a yoga pavilion, a naturalised swimming pool and a conference room complete the eco-friendly Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort.
Sources: Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort, Inspiral Architects.
Images: Inspiral Architects.
