When invited to create a new hotel and cultural centre in Ubud, Bali, Indonesian architect Andra Matin soon realised that his assigned plot didn't offer direct access to the street. Set further aback, the building was to be created behind an existing gallery that was taking up the obvious place where a ‘grand entrance' would be. Yet when asked about the project's ‘main challenge', this unorthodox situation didn't quite make the cut; shifting plans that led to budgetary and timeline changes were the project's key obstacles to overcome, says the architect.
The hotel's lack of street frontage was seen more as an exciting opportunity, an architectural puzzle, solved by creating a vertical entrance, as the visitor goes up and into a 45m-long, high bridge, on the other side of which is the main Titik Dua complex. ‘The bridge connecting the main road to the site creates a special experience to welcome the guests and at the same time establishes a visual connection with the surroundings,' says Matin.
Located in Bali's centre, in the town of Ubud, Titik Dua comprises several functions; conceived as a creative hub and hospitality hybrid, where the arts, film, architecture, graphic design and music can find a home on the ground floor, and hotel guests can stay in rooms on the upper level, the project combines the private and the public. There's also an amphitheatre, a multi-functional room, and a bar, as well as a restaurant right under the scheme's pitched roof – ‘a space often unused in many Balinese buildings,' says Matin.
Originally intended to be created in reused shipping containers, the project now features natural brick and a timber roof in forms that blend modernity and the traditional Indonesian vernaculars. Steel was also used to ‘add a modern palette', but at its heart, the architecture was designed so that guests can enjoy the island's pleasant climate, merging inside and outside, and allowing the breeze to go through and cool down the interiors naturally where possible.
‘The boxy look of the building echoes the original plan, which was to reuse shipping containers to construct the whole structure,' explains Matin. ‘The bricks are arranged in a wavy configuration in some areas of the hotel, mimicking the façade of a container, with details that allow for air circulation and natural sunlight.'
Since 2007, when Matin and his firm were featured as a relatively young, emerging practice in the Wallpaper* Architects Directory, things have changed for the Bandung-based office, whose reputation has been reaching far beyond its country's borders. Recent accolades include an honourable mention at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and a shortlisting for the prestigious Aga Khan awards in 2019.
‘We’ve slowly grown from an office of about twelve people in 2007 to one of more than forty,' says the architect. ‘At the same time, we try to be consistent in exploring our architecture which is based on context, climate, user, space and material.' Work has grown in scale too, with airports, preservation work and sports complexes now featuring in the practice's portfolio. Yet housing remains a typology close to Matin's heart. ‘Residential was the first typology that we started out designing, so coming back to residential projects is always interesting for me,' he adds.
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