Arkana Architects has completed Villa Sipat & Sauh, a striking residential project in Bali that features a distinctive facade of glowing glass blocks. The villa sits on a compact site and was designed to meet the unique challenge of creating a rental property that maintains the warmth and familiarity of a private home through thoughtful spatial design and carefully selected materials.
Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by a small foyer framed entirely by glass blocks, which immediately establishes the villa's distinctive character. This transitional space opens directly to the sky above, allowing natural light to shift throughout the day while occasional tropical rain helps shape the atmospheric quality of the interior. The foyer leads seamlessly into a kitchen featuring a modest island counter, an arrangement that strategically places daily living rituals at the center of the home's circulation and creates an immediate sense of comfort and ease.
The villa's layout unfolds in a carefully orchestrated sequence, with dining and living areas organized around luminous courtyards that serve as the heart of the design. Arkana Architects employed a timber and fluted-glass partition system that diffuses light while maintaining fluid sightlines between spaces, creating a gentle gradient that connects one room to the next. This screening technique allows for both visual connection and subtle separation throughout the interior.
At the center of the floor plan, a pool courtyard functions as both a circulation hub and a source of natural light and ventilation. This open-air core brings brightness and fresh air deep into the villa's interior spaces while serving as an anchor point for movement throughout the home. A staircase rises alongside the water feature, providing access to the upper level and reinforcing the courtyard's role as the villa's organizing element.
The architectural approach carefully balances intimacy with a strong structural framework, using the central courtyard to mediate between the social spaces positioned at the front of the plan and the more private sleeping quarters located toward the rear and upper levels. Views throughout the house are carefully curated through strategic use of glass, timber elements, and purposeful openings, ensuring each room maintains a sense of connection while preserving its distinct function.
The villa's exterior presents a geometric volume defined by expansive glass block surfaces that serve both practical and aesthetic purposes. This distinctive material choice lends a soft, luminous glow to the facade while filtering interior silhouettes to provide privacy for residents while maintaining visual interest for passersby. The glass blocks give the villa a unique identity within its neighborhood context while supporting the overall design philosophy of restrained elegance.
The material palette throughout the project remains deliberately measured and consistent, emphasizing proportion and texture over ornamental details. Glass blocks play the central role in establishing the villa's character, serving both functional lighting needs and expressive architectural goals. Their diffused illumination complements the interior's timber elements and creates gentle reflections off the pool's surface, contributing to the villa's calm and composed atmosphere. Each material selection serves a specific purpose without excess, reinforcing the building's steady and thoughtful design approach that successfully introduces domestic scale and comfort to a rental property setting.
