Blog : seaside

Innit Lombok: A Hotel Built into Nature, the Roar of the Surf and Sparkling White Sands
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Innit Lombok: A Hotel Built into Nature, the Roar of the Surf and Sparkling White Sands

/ Lombok, Indonesia /

/ Story: Kor Lordkam / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Courtesy of Design Hotels Virtual Press Office /

Innit Lombok is a luxury oceanfront hotel overlooking sparkling white sands on Ekas Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, a Tropical paradise island east of Bali known for being a great surfing destination. From here, the roar of the surf can be heard loud and clear. The quiet and secluded retreat offers seven modern villas with a private beach and well-thought-out design that syncs with its natural surroundings.

Innit Lombok

By and large, Lombok is more than just warm-water great waves. It’s also home to some of the most beautiful hiking routes with the Lombok volcano offering the best place for trekking and adventures.

In terms of design, each villa on the property has two hotel rooms located upstairs, while the lower floor holds an open sitting room with ocean views for relaxation. Total areas come to about 170 square meters apiece. To provide the best hotel customer service, there’s a beachfront restaurant nearby, separated from the residential zone by a swimming pool covered in black tiles and spacious terraces positioned to catch the sun.

Innit Lombok

The beachfront villas boast the beauty of box-shaped architecture that’s simple yet attractive, thanks to natural building materials being used that blend seamlessly with surrounding landscapes. They include concrete, glass, stones and timber. Worthy of note is the building envelope built of hardwood that’s organic, renewable and climate smart.

Innit Lombok

For strength and durability, the platform next to each building is built of hardwood, while the perforate façade is covered with wood panels consisting of Raju wood strips put together with spaces in between for good air circulation. Together they go to work creating a beautiful shaded retreat and doubling as a privacy screen.

The building facade consisting of Raju wood strips with spaces in between allows just enough natural light into the room while doubling as a privacy screen.

Raju timber used to build the external envelope is sourced locally from Lombok and nearby islands, while interior construction and furniture is made of teakwood native to the Region.

Inside and out, it’s a design that puts harmony with nature high on the list of priorities. This results in visual continuity that effectively blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.

Innit Lombok
The open lower floor space boasts the simplicity of a living room, dining room and kitchen set on soft beach sand floors that effectively blur the dividing line between indoors and outdoors.

Innit Lombok

The same treatment applies to the open lower floor without a wall. There is just enough furniture in the room with a view of sparkling white sands and the ocean beyond, plus a kitchen island for food preparation and dining area set on soft beach sand floors designed to bring the outdoors in.

Innit Lombok

As the architect intended, it’s a design embracing the belief that nature has a profound positive impact on human lives. Like so, it makes perfect sense to integrate natural elements in the building plan. And this gorgeous hotel in Lombok, Indonesia has shown that to be the case. Innit?

Innit Lombok

Architects: Andra Matin, and D-associates (by Gregorius Supie Yolodi, and Maria Rosantina)

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L2 Residence: House on the Rock with Spectacular Ocean Views in Samui
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L2 Residence: House on the Rock with Spectacular Ocean Views in Samui

/ Surat Thani, Thailand /

/ Story: Ottomaan / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Sungwan Phratem /

If relaxing on the seafront is your idea of paradise, here’s a house overlooking a quiet stretch of sand away from the crowds. It is not often that we come across a home perched on a pristine hillside. This captivating house on the rock stands out amid lush greenery in Samui, a popular resort island in the Gulf of Thailand.

A well-rounded balcony juts out from the master bedroom and comes to rest on a big boulder in complementary shape.
A well-rounded balcony juts out from the master bedroom and comes to rest on a big boulder in complementary shape.

The house sits tight on a slope just shy of an acre in extent, hemmed by huge rock faces and views of exuberant vegetation. From afar, it’s hard to tell the shape of the building as it’s situated at a lower level than the road in front of it.

The landscape strewn with large boulders forces the home to be built in multiple separate units, each anchored to a rock face to secure its place. Overall, it’s a crisp, clean and modern design, with neat exteriors under a shed roof.

Because of conditions that cannot be changed, asymmetrical shapes are used, while the typical rectangular shapes are avoided so as to achieve the form, color and texture that blend well with the natural surroundings.

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The second floor connects to a sundeck with al fresco dining room and panoramic ocean views.
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The main entryway appears light and airy. Where appropriate, the walls are made of strips of timber evenly spaced to allow light and ventilation.

The separate units of construction are set at slightly different levels depending on ground conditions. The shed roof above the main villa creates a wide open façade looking out over the ocean. To arouse visual interest, diagonal lines are applied to the exteriors, a clever hack that gives the home a friendly, warm and welcoming appeal.

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The semi-outdoor sitting room holds a modern sectional sofa with wood and upholstered furniture in complementary colors.
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The dining room boasts the beauty of a long dining table crafted of slab timber resting on tree stumps. A zebra graphic pattern at the far end adds a touch of nature to the interior.

The main villa has two levels. The upstairs living room is bright and breezy with panoramic ocean views. For indoor thermal comfort, the exterior walls are covered in timber strips evenly spaced to create gaps in between for air passing through.

Where appropriate, parts of the building envelope are built of bricks covered with plaster for a neat appearance, while windows are glazed using transparent glass to get a better view. The upper floor also extends to connect with a spacious sundeck used as al fresco dining room.

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A manicured garden with stepping-stone pathway connects three buildings. To the left, patches of greenery paired with a building façade made of timber strips in earth-toned color help soften the harsh appearance of nearby cliff faces.

The ground floor connects to a lush lawn, with trees and foliage plants growing luxuriantly on one side. Nearby, floor-to-ceiling windows fill the home with light and remove anything standing in the way between indoors and outdoors. There’s also a lounge where people can sit and relax a short distance away from a semi-formal dining room and contemporary-style pantry.

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Viewed from the opposite side of the lawn, the main villa boasts the beauty of striking trapezoidal roof design.

Opposite from the main villa stand two outbuildings accessible via a stepping-stone garden pathway. One is a single-story unit holding a bedroom with a semi-outdoor bathroom en suite, while the other sits slightly lower than the rest. At a glance, the floor plans and general appearances are reminiscent of sundecks on a cruise ship.

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An open-concept floor plan gives more natural light, better traffic flow and flexible use of space.
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The master bedroom lies in a smaller building, separated from the main villa.

The master bedroom is comfortably ensconced in the smaller building anchored to a huge boulder. The edge of the building can be seen projecting outward to soak up the sea view.

For safe walking from one building to the other, areas with uneven ground are smoothed out to make room for a lawn with garden pathway. With the passage of time, nature gives the large boulder and nearby rocks the perfect weather-beaten faces that blend with the house and surrounding landscapes.

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In another building, another bedroom quietly enjoys the soothing glow of soft, natural light.

Taken as a whole, it’s an intriguing amalgam of natural touches and well-thought-out planning that makes this house on the rock a perfect place to be.

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Lacy shades provided by overhanging trees keep the open-plan bathroom and shower room nice and dry all day long.

Architect: Kusol Im Erbsin

Visit the original Thai article…

บ้านโมเดิร์น ทรงเหลี่ยมๆ บนหินทรงกลม ๆ

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Baan Somjai: Where Time Seems to Stand Still on Pha-Ngan Island

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Baan Somjai: Where Time Seems to Stand Still on Pha-Ngan Island
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Baan Somjai: Where Time Seems to Stand Still on Pha-Ngan Island

/ Surat Thani, Thailand / 

/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Sitthisak Namkham /

Peacefully ensconced in a coconut grove by the sea, “Baan Somjai” is both a vacation destination and private residence located on beautiful Pha-Ngan Island. Everything goes by slowly on this side of the world, so slow it feels like time is standing still.

Pha-ngan Island

Pha-ngan Island
Nature’s A/C system at work. A water pond runs the entire stretch of the building, lowering indoor temperatures as winds carry water vapor into the room.

The seaside resort is the brainchild of Nattawut Piriyaprakob, of the architectural practice NPDA Studio. He’s both the designer and son of landowners Banjob and Somjai Piriyaprakob. The property on Pha-Ngan Island is an inheritance from Nattawut’s grandmother.

Back in the day, it was nothing but a family-owned coconut orchard. Nattawut could still recall traveling back and forth often to tend trees on the property. Nowadays travel to and from Pha-Ngan has become more convenient. That’s reason enough for the family to put in a home here.

Pha-ngan Island
A wide-open hall used for public gatherings has movable furniture for ease of care and flexible uses of space.

As Nattawut put it: “Mom and Dad had worked in other provinces for a period of time. They returned home to Pha-Ngan after retirement and started out with a homestay called Coconut and Noom Resort.

“The hospitality business had welcomed all kinds of tourists, from backpackers attending the famous Full Moon Party, to well-to-do European families looking for peace and quiet on an island paradise. As luck would have it, Mom and Dad decided to put in a permanent home here, and the rest was history. They enjoyed meeting new people every day.”

Pha-ngan Island
Vertical fins and roof lines fixed at a tilted angle work in tandem to protect the porches and guest rooms from the sun.

Pha-ngan Island

Pha-ngan Island

Pha-ngan Island
Diagonal plaster stripes in glossy red contrast with the brick foundation in flat finish, adding visual interest to the exterior wall.

Nattawut said that he designed the buildings on Pha-Ngan Island from experience, memories and knowledge of indigenous building materials. “The homes are built by local builders using local materials and wisdom. Together, they culminate in a unique design that stands out.

“Take for example eco-friendly bamboo items and paneling that are easy to find. The walls are crafted of red brick and flooring is made of polished concrete finishes.”

The designer intentionally added vivid colors into the work. He said: “As you can see, I chose bold colors for the building, such as the bright external envelope. The shadow cast by coconut trees makes the landscape even more interesting.”

The sundeck that is Banjob’s vantage point offers a 360-degree view of the coconut grove and the sea to the further side.

Benefiting from the sea breeze, the rooms are nice and cozy. Solid walls facing west shield them from the afternoon sun, while the cooling pond helps disperse the heat. Together, they go to work creating a light and airy atmosphere even when the weather is hot.

Remembered for its good design, warmth and southern hospitality, Baan Somjai Seaside Resort on Pha-Ngan is welcoming visitors to their home. It’s not only the home to the Piriyaprakob family. It’s also a dream destination for travelers from across the globe

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Architect: NPDA Studio (www.npdastudio.com)

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