Balinese Architectural – Landscape

What is the Balinese Garden?
Integration
Living room into the open space
Spirit of the communication

Balinese garden can be the integrated between the house or building with the open space outside. That the unity, If we talk about Balinese Architecture, we must talk Balinese Landscape/Garden also, that the integrity. We can’t separate of them, like salad without mayonnaises.

Balinese house is a compound building, separated function in deference building, and the garden around it and central of it, like a indoor space in outdoor space. Like a put family room into the garden, living room in the outdoor space. The Balinese Garden like an extension indoor function, I think in Thailand and Malaysia too.

As you know the Balinese garden is a spirit of a communication between the human and the nature. And the Balinese garden are not just a classic or tropical spirit, also a romantic places.

Is there a rule for the placement of statues?
Felling and Taste
Theme of the garden
Experience of Pond

In Balinese, the architecture traditional rule, most of them like a logically-construction, if you like you can just put it on? But sometimes it isn’t match with the situation and function. Not just a look like. In architectural traditional rule in Bali we call Asta Kosala-Kosali, we can look where we can put the sacral statue, where we can put the garden low wall and the gate, where we can put the water garden.

Also the statues, if we design the recreation garden or romantic garden feature, we will now which statues we will put on. We can make a contemporary garden or tropical garden and the statues just like a point of view the theme of your garden

As my experience with water-garden or pond in Bali, I will learn why the Balinese need it in their garden, some of them I found close from the gate. Because, some of people in Bali is a farmer, a soil-culture, when they arrive from id farm or rice field, they come with their tool, and they need a space to cleaning their tool, their hand and feet before they in. And the small water garden has a result for it.

What is the Balinese concept of harmony with nature?
Tri Hita Karana
Basic spirit
Philosophy

Yes of course, the point of the Balinese concept is respect to the nature, we have three philosophy the Balinese concept, respect to the nature. The other is respect to the Mother Nature, God or Spirit, last one is respect with the human or people or neighbor. In Bali and Hindu religion we call Tri Hita Karana, the basic relationship between the human with the nature, God and people. All of them must be balance and harmony.

Respect with the nature, God and human being, that is the basic spirit of the Balinese concept. Not just in an architecture, also in how to living, the habit, and the art.

Balinese concept looks sacral, probably not really like that, almost every side of the architectural or the garden they put a philosophy, put the meaning. That the way, the Balinese concept full of spirit.

What are the must-have elements in the garden?
Structure of garden
Feeling and taste
4 elements
Floating and characteristic

Normally like every garden or landscape, we can separate the classification of the material or element of the garden. Hardscape are base of the landscape or garden concept, where we can put base of the water garden or base of the statue. The second is the softscape, the category of the plant and shrub, and the third is lighting.
Three of element must be match in the garden.

The tropical Balinese garden is like extraordinary garden, almost everything we want to put, many plant and then like a jungle. To minimalist look like a jungle, we must have concept and matching with the building.

The basic feeling concepts in the garden are the sense of sensual, lighting (not just in the night, but also playing with the shadow in the day), natural fragrance and sound of water. Those 4 elements are how to make the Balinese garden perfectly. The best is how you can float space and characteristic of nature.

How does nature and landscape play a part in Balinese style and the architecture?
Living in verandah / open space
Living in part of the garden
Reduce the scale feeling

If it talk much general, Balinese architecture is like living in the verandah, living in semi-open space. That is Balinese style or concept. You can see minimalist wall, they need the wall but not every side of the building, sometimes like just covering from where the wind come. Outdoor and indoor in the same place, you can not find the real border or limits between that.

Every room is into the separate building, and once of the building is a central of the compound. Like a sun and its planet. And space around it is a garden. And sometimes the people are like living in the part of the garden.

Now in Bali, you can see many building with many floor, like a hotel, some of contemporary villa. And the garden is important to reduce the scale –feeling of the building.

What are they uses for the Balinese Garden?
Peopling the nature
Human scale
Many materials
Ecology garden

Luckily in Bali is we can find many soft-stone, many wood materials, they can make a nice thing with it. But the important is creative and creation people. In Balinese art we can learn or see how the observing, adoption and adaptation many thing into the Balinese art. Like sample, pattern, we can find Java pattern or Egypt pattern, India pattern, or Chinese pattern here in Bali. They make a new style what they look, and adjust in Balinese concept. The art in Bali is how to peopling or humanism into the Bali concept of art, almost all of thing, God, nature, sex and everything.

Balinese garden is an ecology garden; we don’t need big or strong structure to build it. The theme of the garden is very important, and from that we can put the plants, shrub, flower, artwork or sculpture, and that is a point of view and the theme of your garden. That is a simply, but sometimes to make a simple is very difficult. The Balinese garden is very best is we feel comfortable to stay inside, and that full of feeling.

About the author:

Kadek Wijaya is the founder of http://www.arcamaya.com a blog focusing on architect, resources and articles. This site provides detailed information on architect. For more info on architect visit: http://www.arcamaya.com