Architectural masterpiece

Villa Nyambu

These are true designer homes of the very highest class which have such a unique personality that they will undoubtedly appear in many architectural magazines and coffee table books for years to come. The location is approximately fifteen minutes inland from Tanah Lot and the Nirvana Golf Course, the houses are built on a site of exquisite natural beauty that is hard to describe properly. It really needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. The property is on a hillside that is three quarters encircled by a small river, giving the impression of a majestic jungle site such as the ancient Balinese could easily have selected for a superb temple setting. Yet, it is on the edge of a wonderful traditional village with all the security of communal village life.

The Nyambu houses are the latest creation in a string of stunning villas designed and built in a co-operation between Gianni Francione and Mauro Garavoglia, both architects of Italian heritage, who have been living and working on Bali for many years. Nowadays the word villa is much abused on Bali, but no one who will visit the Nyambu houses will dispute that these villas are in a class totally of their own and really do deserve the name.

Here the architects were give the task to design two spacious villas of roughly equal size and a slightly smaller guesthouse. Initially their client intended to oversee his investments from a small office in one of the houses, but before the project was completed he changed his plans and now manages his affairs while living on his yacht in Hong Kong, instead.

The Client's brief offered a measure of leeway that has been dream of architects throughout the ages and without any doubt this greatly contributed to the final result of the three exceptionally beautiful houses that now proudly stand on the site. When one enters the property you are greeted by an extremely pleasing display of three dimensional curves that are natural to the eye.

Although the three buildings are unabashedly modern they are not unnecessarily imposing and effortlessly blend in with the natural surroundings. There can be no doubt that the architects spent an enormous amount of time at the location before they picked up their pencils and sketched their first lines. Once they did start however, it must have been a process similar to writing poetry or composing music. Following the natural slope of the site they designed a compound of spaces cascading down several levels in an intricate but perfectly intelligent pattern and finally they covered these spaces with sweeping roofs that occasionally mirror each other perfectly.

As always the roofs are the real signature of Gianni and Mauro. The internal diagonal supports are like the anchor lines of a hot air balloon and give the roofs a miraculous lightness as if they are simply suspended in the air hovering over the house.

There is an abundant use of natural material in the finishes: local Indonesian hardwood shingles covering the roof with woven rattan matting underneath, hardwood floors, ironwood decks, cool marbles and splendid granites.

However the building techniques also incorporate many contemporary concepts of form and function and there are perfect combinations with steel, Plexiglas and other high-tech components. Most important is the fact that over the duration of the project, which was almost a year and a half, the architects never 'lost sight' of the site. The landscaping was no afterthought or finishing touch, but done before building even commenced. The flow of water through the property is as traditionally Balinese as can be and finally, the soul of the site remains perfectly intact.

Title: Freehold Land
Size: 5,700 sq.m.
Building size: +/- 1,500 sq.m.


Land size 5.700 m2 (sloping)
Units The villa conists of three units.
Number of bedrooms 6 bedrooms. 2 per each unit.
Number of bathrooms 6 bathrooms. 2 per each unit.
Number of kitchens 3 kitchens. 1 per each unit.
Swimming pool 3 swimming pools. 1 per each unit.
Staff quarters 6 staff quarters. 2 per each unit.
Ownership Type Freehold
Tags tabanan tanah lot above USD 500.000 freehold architecture
pool
Price USD 975.00