H o s t e l ,   G i l i   T r a w a n g a n ,   I n d o n e s i a

In collaboration with Andy Wheatcroft
A Papuan longhouse gave the hostel its spatial composition on this narrow deep site. The main facade opens up on the Strip of this tropical island. By lifting the floor a meter above the ground the ventilation is provided from underneath the building. The ceiling in the rooms is a bit higher allowing for a good air circulation and the rooms keep pleasant inner temperatures even without the air conditioning.
The roof sticks above the village roofscape and it should have been a significant feature of this building. To gain a well ventilated common room we decided to open up the attic and use it as a terrace. The client wanted to use a traditional Toraja roof covered by the alang-alang, Balinese dried grass . A study trip to Toraja region on Sulawesi was made in order to become familiar with these structures. The greatest challenge was to keep the saddle-like-shape of Toraja roofs and to free the attic as the traditional truss structure takes up all the space of the attic. The solution became a modified raised tie truss. The maximum length of the roof members needed to be under 4 meters as everything was delivered on the site by the jukung, an Indonesian fishing outrigger canoe.

Place: Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia
Client: Andy Wheatcroft
Stage: built
Year: 2011