1. Introduction
Located along Ayung River landscape, the 6-storey bamboo house is constructed per
contemporary Balinese Architecture. This style is appropriate to Bali as per its climatic and
geographical conditions. Sharma Springs aligns with all the building principles of traditional
Balinese architecture. However, the choice of material for this house has caught the attention of
many.
This report analyses the use of bamboo in the design of Sharma Springs as a nature response to
solve site issues in Green Village, Bali.
2. 1.0 What is the contextual architecture style in Bali, Indonesia?
Balinese architecture is a vernacular style of architecture of Balinese people residing on the
volcanic island Bali in Indonesia. Balinese culture dating centuries, highly influences their
culture coming from Hindu, Javanese elements, pre-Hindu elements of native Balinese
architecture.
Modern Balinese architecture is a combination traditional aesthetic principles, natural materials
available in Bali, craftsmanship of the people, international architecture influences and new
techniques.
1.1 Principles of Traditional Balinese Architecture
Traditional Balinese architecture depends on ancient principles which create balance, harmony
and propriety between building, microcosmos and macrocosmos, man and his God (Budihardjo
1995). This Bali-Hindu philosophy can be observed in traditional built environments.
1.2 Building Principles
The underlying philosophy of Balinese architecture in three basic building principles (Budiharjo
1995):
1. Hierarchy of space
2. Clarity of structure
3. Truth of materials
1.3 Hierarchy of space-Tri Angga / Tri Loka
Tri Angga signifies “three parts”. “Tri Loka” signifies “three places”. Both mirror the tripartite
nature of the universe in Bali-Hindu philosophy. It ranges from the philosophical threefold
quality of “god-man -demon”, “pure -neutral –impure”, “heaven –world –hell” to the location-
based quality “up –middle –down” and the time-based quality of “future –present –past”. These
qualities can also be observed in nature.
3. 1.4 Clarity of structure
The structure of a building is always clear, as can be found in Figure 6: the stone foundation of
the pavilion, the supporting wooden columns including their stone bases, the screening walls as
well as the wooden roof construction. The clear structure is flawlessly joined by the principle of
“truth of materials”.
1.5 Truth of Materials
Materials are exposed so that their essence is uncovered. In Bali, natural beauty is valued.
With this truth of materials, harmony between nature and buildings is improved.
4. 2.0 What is the design intention of using bamboo as a natural response in Bali,
Indonesia?
The architect of the Sharma Springs wanted to imply the characteristics of a typical Balinese
Architecture into Sharma Springs. Balinese architecture normally uses materials that is able to
harmony with the environment, and also the materials chosen are normally organic. The organic
material will normally be used entirely for the building. Besides that, the materials chosen are
also natural, for example, bamboos, timber, stones, etc. The designers or architects of Balinese
architecture also uses local materials to help construct buildings, structures and houses, in this
case, the architect uses bamboo.
According to the site context, the trees are surrounding the building, Sharma Springs, hence, the
use of vertical bamboos. The materials used are also raw and organic, blending well together
with the trees around it. This is so that the form and façade of the building can sit well in the site.
Also, bamboos were used as a natural response because not for away from Green Village, there
is a place that harvests bamboos, which supplies all the bamboos during the construction of the
Sharma Springs.
The problem that the architect faced when she was using bamboos to construct Sharma Springs
is that the buildings around the site context do not use bamboos literally for the façade, and also
the neighbouring context is mainly built by bricks, where it is a village/ kampong area. In order
to counter this problem, the architect isolates Sharma Springs from the kampong by placing it in
5. a more jungled area, where it is surrounded by trees. This is so that the building can fit the site
context and also not being different from the neighbouring buildings. The other problem that is
faced by the architect is that the area is prone to earthquake where the average magnitude is
around 5 M-s. The architect solved the problem by adding excessive amount of bamboos to
withstand the force from the earthquake. This way, the architect is able to “kill two birds with
one stone”, because the excessive amount of bamboos is able to represent the verticality of the
trees which fits the site context and also able to counter the problem of the earthquake.
6. 3.0 How did the climate affect the architecture and usage of bamboo effective
in the responding to the thermal comfort in Sharma Springs?
The Sharma Springs is situated in Bali, Indonesia, which is a tropical site. Climate in Bali,
Indonesia is hot and humid, which causes the architecture have a lot of openings in order to
achieve natural ventilation. The Sharma Springs mainly uses natural ventilation, which makes it
a sustainable building in relation to its context.
With a specific end goal to conquer the warmth because of the way that it is situated in a mid
year nation, the designer has chosen bamboo as the primary material for the development of the
Sharma Springs. According to Figure 2, the vertically arranged bamboos allowed openings on
the façade to the building which allows cross ventilation throughout the interior of the building
and eventually it will decrease the temperature in the building (Guadua Bamboo, 2016).
A dry bamboo, which is the material used in Sharma Springs, has a 12% moisture content which
is higher than that of the other common building materials (Bamboo, 2013). Raw bamboo has a
higher moisture content but dry bamboo was chose to become the building material because dry
bamboo has higher mechanical properties than raw bamboo that cause dry bamboo to be more
suitable to become the building material (Bamboo, 2013). Thanks to the moisture content in it, it
could prevent severe heat penetration towards the interior of the building. On the other hand, the
moisture content could also help to lower the rate of heat gain in the building.
Bamboo is cylindrical in shape and it has a hollow core which allows a higher rate of heat loss
from the interior (The Indian Textile Journal, 2013). Furthermore, bamboo has a very low degree
of crystallinity and it is very well extraordinarily hygroscopic and has excellent moisture and
management properties than other building materials (The Indian Textile Journal, 2013). The
thickness of the bamboo could affect the moisture content and the mechanical properties
(Bamboo, 2013). In order to achieve both thermal comfort and satisfying mechanical properties,
the bamboo used are usually around the age of 3-7 (Bamboo, 2013).
7. 4.0 To what extent is the usage of bamboo an advantage to the construction of
Sharma Springs?
The usage of bamboo provides many advantages to the construction of Sharma Springs such as
cost effectiveness and availability, buildability, maintenance and what the bamboo provides to
the environment.
4.1 Cost effectiveness and Availability
Bamboo is abundant in Indonesia. Being a tropical country, Indonesia provides a conducive
environment for bamboos to grow healthily. Also, the large acres of forestry in Indonesia
contains 135 types of bamboos and half of those species of bamboos are suitable for constructing
buildings. Hence, since the bamboos are grown locally, the pricing of the bamboos are cheaper
rather than obtaining bamboos from exports which may be costly. Also, the bamboos in the
construction of Sharma Springs are obtained 1.5 kilometers away from Green Village making
availability of materials quicker, easier and also for an affordable budget.
4.2 Buildability
Bamboo is easy to work with as it is lightweight thanks to its hollow section. Bamboo is also
easy to cut, handle and reposition without the requirement for complex devices or hardware.
Bamboo is also flexible and can be shaped anyhow with expertise. Hence, Sharma Springs was
built by local craftsmen and carpenters that are familiar with the characteristics of bamboo and
how to work with it. Also, bamboo is a flexible material for the construction of Sharma Springs
because it can be combined with other construction materials like reinforcing materials for
foundations.
4.3 Maintenance
The surface of the bamboo is smooth and clean, with an alluring colour which does not require
painting, polishing or scraping. Unlike other materials that require coats of paint to be
aesthetically pleasing, overtime, the colour of bamboo changes which gives it an eye-pleasing
8. brown surface which makes the Sharma Springs blend in with the trees that surrounds it. Also,
the durability of bamboo is so dependable that the constructed bamboo in Sharma Springs are
repaired every 6 months to ensure any cracks and faultiness are taken care off. Replacing a faulty
bamboo is also easy thanks to the availability of bamboo.
4.4 Effects of bamboo to Sharma Springs
Bamboo is non-contaminating and does not have hulls or parts that can be viewed as waste.
Rather than adding to the issues of dirtying area fills like traditional building waste, any part of
the bamboo that is not utilized is reused once again into the earth as compost or can be prepared
as bamboo charcoal. These extra parts are used to build furniture and other ornaments in Sharma
Springs. On the other hand, in each of its nodes, bamboo has an isolating or transverse divider
that keeps up strength and permits bowing in this way avoiding cracking when bowed. On
account of this awesome trademark a bamboo development offers superior earthquake-
resistance. This ensures the Sharma Springs, being a big-scaled building to stay erect even after
minor earthquakes around Green Village.
9. 5.0 Limitations and restrictions of bamboo construction in Sharma Springs
There are some limitations and restrictions which can be found in any projects, however it is
important when it comes to work with bamboo, there many challenges that it was faced while
building this construction, however, the moderate bendability of this material certifies an exclusive
form and attractiveness.
One of the significant restriction of this structure was to generate an insulated wall or roof scheme
by structural bamboo, in its construction’s detail the joining part of bamboo cannot use many
jointing techniques which existed cause it have little structural efficiency. Moreover, there is
another shortcoming to mention which is the damages which can happened by insects, however,
until late leaps forward in bug spray treatment, bamboo structures were viewed as temporary
structures, since bugs and termites would in the end decimate them. Ibuku's bamboo is treated with
boron, in a low-poisonous quality arrangement that renders the bamboo inedible to creepy
crawlies. The solution for this disadvantage is a mixture of borax and boric acid, therefore dying
or bleaching may lead to reduce structural integrity. Furthermore, moisture is the main weakness,
however this limitation may be considered as one disadvantage to be solved and if we can find a
way to treat this structures can last a generation.
Furthermore, it is important to discuss about special skill which was required to build this structure
and it can be another drawback, it can be tough to find workers and contractors with sufficient,
experience in bamboo construction. Therefore, this extraordinary expertise which mention set that
the normal temporary worker may not have, consequently, construction process carry restriction
of choosing workers
10. References.
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2. Advantages of Building with Bamboo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from
https://www.guaduabamboo.com/construction/advantages-of-building-with-bamboo
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http://bamboo.wikispaces.asu.edu/4.+Bamboo+Properties
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Bamboo/ Lyocell Union Fabrics. Retrieved
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