The Ulaman Eco-Retreat resort made mainly of bamboo is here to show you that sustainability can be well integrated into luxury.
Designed by Inspiral Architects, this eco-resort is located in the village of Kaba-Kaba in Bali. It was built from materials that are located directly on the site and the immediate location, which helped the resort to be created without any damage to our planet. The design of the hotel is very interesting. In addition to bamboo, ramped earth was used for the ground floor of the resort.
Ramped earth is a wonderful green alternative to concrete which is responsible for more than 8% of the construction industry’s emissions. Traditional compacted soil is obtained from soil rich in clay, water and natural stabilizers. The resort displays the qualities of a packed soil in a luxurious setting and illuminates it more in the hope of making it a popular choice, at a time when the whole world is turning to eco-friendly alternatives.
Each guest villa has a curved roof that resembles art from any height or angle. "We have to be inspired by the spaces we live in, both the built environment and their harmonious existence," says the team from the Inspiral Architects studio. By using available natural resources such as the flow of a nearby river, the resort is able to supply a hydroelectric generator.
"Because we built very intensively, we managed to recruit people from a nearby village to work on what has become the largest project of a packed soil in Indonesia," explains the Balinese architectural team, describing the curved walls on the ground floor. Bamboo was the right choice for this tropical resort because it is sustainable, flexible, cost-effective, resistant to seismic changes and fire. Also, bamboo brings a cultural element of abundance and happiness into the space, which makes it more authentic.
The luxury resort includes all facilities, but the two most interesting are the yoga studio and the pool. The yoga studio floats from the edge of a cliff with a cantilever structure that supports a parabolic bamboo pavilion, and the winding pool resembles a nearby river, which also feeds the resort.
