The Fathil Residence: An Islamic Twist on the Malaysian Vernacular

A luxuriant swathe of ground cover on the south side of the Batik Lawns is punctuated by blue ceramic lanterns.

The thatch-roofed bale cinik sits serenely in the midst of a man-made pond.

Section through the Bale Cinik Garden from the blue rest room to the bale cinik pavilion. Water, taken from the public canal upstream, is piped into the pond and flows out over the infinity edge wall at the back of the pavilion.

THE BALE CINIK GARDEN

A bale cinik is a small Balinese pavilion backed by a spirit wall, often placed directly behind the gate to a temple or village compound to screen off the interior and obstruct the entry of malevolent spirits. . At Villa Rosha, our bale cinik also has a spirit wall at the back but sits in the middle of a small pond created by siphoning water off an existing stream by gravity and letting the water return to the stream over an infinity edge. The only way to reach the pavilion is by boat, adding to its romantic allure.

A small sculpture indicating the entrance to the male rest room.

This stunning little pavilion is simply an open-air rest room.

KARAWACI RESIDENCE FAR FROM SUBURBIA

Our team designed this expansive residence, situated in a quiet, green cul-de-sac in Lippo Karawaci, a pioneering planned township in Tangerang, 30 miles (48 km) west of central Jakarta, for the same owner of the getaway weekend estate, Villa Rosha, profiled on pages 72–95. The owner first approached me in 1996 for a design for the garden of his Karawaci house —his first home. The architectural plans he showed me were for a traditional two-story house placed squarely in the middle of a block of land, with a pool out back. I asked him frankly if he wanted to live in a box or in something more exciting, and he agreed that the original design needed a major rethink. Our discussions revealed, in fact, that he much preferred a more indoor–outdoor concept, with more exposure to the beautiful 18-hole golf course bordering the site. Our client’s first taste of Asia was Thailand in the 1960s, so it is not surprising that this home is flavored with Thai architectural spice. He hired Thai architect Lek Bunnag to design the actual house, while Indonesian architect Ketut Hardika followed up with the architectural detailing. Bensley Design Studios was engaged to do the interiors and gardens. The collective result was a family home with a difference.

These three torchères, carved in stone from central Java and adorned with Thai motifs, directly face the formal living pavilion from the motor court entrance.

Located at street level, this courtyard fountain, inspired by an exquisite bronze bowl purchased many years ago in the Thieves Market in Phnom Penh, is perfectly centered with the bed in the guest room on the left.

Security can be an issue in Jakarta, and it is usually necessary to erect a high wall to keep people out. This automatically blocks the ground-floor view of a conventional house. Lek’s solution was to elevate the entire site by 8 feet (2.5 meters). At the new raised level we built a garage surrounded by pavilions constructed of plantation grown teak, including a formal living room with a lofty pointed roof entered via a series of small pavilions with overlapping roofs in the style of a Thai temple, and an octagonal outdoor dining room. A covered arcade or walkway connects the living room with the dining pavilion and with the rest of the house. The approach to the house is up a winding path, around a stone-paved motor court resplendent with water and fire features to the entrance of the formal living room. The floor of the porte-cochere, decorated with a pattern of smooth pink pebbles from the Indonesian island of Flores, makes a perfect foreground for an antique statue of Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, that I found in Chennai, India. The “fire” behind the statue comes from three stone torchères on the other side of the court some 26 feet (8 meters) away. The grouping of statue and torches is in direct alignment with the massive front door of the living room reached along a short arcade. Flanking the front door, which was rescued from a bank in Yangon, are two pairs of very old Burmese stone elephants bearing cheerful Balinese temple umbrellas on their backs. A splendid antique Thai garuda, a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology, gazes down from its perch inside the door to the living room beyond.

Painted scenes from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, glow in these niches, three of a series of 24 lining the covered walkway between the formal living pavilion and the rest of the house. Balinese painters were commissioned to render 24 regional interpretations of the famous epic.

Four very old Burmese stone temple elephants adorned with Balinese temple umbrellas crouch in obeisance at the front door to the formal living room pavilion.

A swing pavilion in front of the master bedroom allows views of golfers in action on the course beyond.

The formal octagonal-shaped dining room and the Thai temple-like living pavilion behind appear to be suspended over the swimming pool, creating a resort feel. Both structures are made of plantation grown teak.