Kebun Mimpi: The Garden of Dreams

This section through the Purple Garden, Golden Cave, swimming pool, Wantilan and dining pavilion illustrates the relationship of the built-up areas of the swimming pool and Wantilan to the original ground level, indicated by the dark line at the bottom. From the pool on the west (left) side, the Wantilan appears to be a single-story building, while the east (right) side drops away to the dining pavilion below. The Golden Cave, with its waterfall facing the Purple Garden, is also illustrated here.

THE RICE PADDIES

We used rice fields on the upper terraces of the estate to tie in seamlessly with the neighboring farmlands and hillsides. These step down towards the Wantilan in small increments. The natural stream entering the estate is first dropped through a waterfall and then channeled down a round boulder stream to the Wantilan’s pond, where it is split into a narrower aqueduct and falls into the pond at five waterfalls. From here, the water flows past the master bedroom alongside the lower paddies, through the Kulkul Garden, and out of the property.

We harnessed the public irrigation waters to make these ponds, waterfalls and streams. Towering false agaves (Furcraea gigantea) make an awesome sight.

From the deck of the master bedroom one can see the stables beyond the rice paddies.

Overlooking the stepped retaining walls of the Batik Lawns and on the same axis as the eighttiered meru at the far end, an imposing cantilevered day bed on a raised plaza makes a dramatic statement (see page 8). It is here that the owner entertains his most important guests. The “Gone With the Wind” staircase at the side of the platform, flanked by balustrades formed from thousands of stones, also confers a grand sense of entry. Fire torchères of braided sheet metal atop tall stone bases provide lighting for evening functions.

THE BATIK LAWNS

Part of the client’s brief was a spectacular garden where he could entertain hundreds of people. We designed the Batik Lawns for such an occasion. In plan view (page 74), the stepped Batik Lawns mimic the very popular Javanese parang (“broken dagger”) batik motif. We formed the edges of the pattern with seat height walls and filled the centers with lawns. Encircling the batik pattern are more than 50 sadang palms (Livingstonia rotundifolia) to reinforce the idea that this is a separate “room” within a palace of gardens. At the far end of the lawns is a reinterpretation of the traditional Balinese meru, which symbolizes the legendary Mt Meru of Indian mythology, the abode of the gods. It is usually made from wood and raised on stilts on a masonry base and surmounted by an uneven number of thatched roofs of diminishing size. Our secular meru is made of cast aluminum and has an even number of roofs.

Two silver meru models, also with an even number of roofs, stand in front of the large meru.

The Batik Lawns at Villa Rosha are planted with dozens of sadang palms (Livistona rotundifolia) to form a natural enclosure to the property, but the profusion of colorful, carpet-like ground cover steals the show.

Section through the meru and the Batik Lawns to the “Gone With the Wind” staircase and the giant day bed.