Excerpt: The Jiwani by Alexis Dornier is conceived as a sculptural retreat where architecture, landscape, and craft converge, merging Japanese clarity with Balinese tradition. Its horizontal expression and crafted details balance weight and lightness, allowing modern living to evolve from vernacular wisdom while remaining open to the oceanfront and tropical garden. The house feels simultaneously anchored in place and open to the horizon.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] On the serene northern coastline of Bali, The Jiwani emerges as a sculptural retreat where architecture, landscape, and craft converge. Designed by Alexis Dornier, the residence embodies a dialogue between Japanese clarity and Balinese tradition, forming an L-shaped composition that frames both the oceanfront and the lush tropical garden.
The lower level unfolds as a communal stage — living, dining, and gathering areas seamlessly connected to the beachfront, with a basketball court extending the sense of play and community. Above, private quarters are set along the upper wing, their orientation choreographed to capture panoramic ocean vistas while also opening towards the green hinterland.
The house’s architectural character is defined by its horizontal expression, recalling the prairie houses of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wide overhangs and deeply pitched eaves create a hovering roofline, shielding the interiors from Bali’s sun and rain while giving the impression of a structure in flight. Exposed rafters and beams are not merely functional but celebrated as ornament, lending rhythm and craft to the overhangs and ceilings. Natural stone flooring, timber cladding, and carefully detailed joinery root the building in the tactile.
This balance of structure and ornament, weight and lightness, speaks to Dornier’s philosophy: a pursuit of contemporary luxury that remains grounded in Balinese vernacular wisdom. In The Jiwani, modern living does not compete with tradition, but rather evolves from it — allowing the house to feel simultaneously anchored in place and open to the horizon.
With its merging of architectural disciplines, material honesty, and tropical landscape, The Jiwani is more than a private residence; it is a meditation on how design can translate cultural threads into a coherent living experience.
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