Belle Design & Decoration Magazine, October/November 1993

LUSH LIFE
Photography courtesy of Tim Bauer

’m sure he was Indonesian in a previous life,” says Sydney University architecture lecture Col James. He was talking about Michael White, the Australian architect now an international landscaper based in Bali. White traveled to Bali some 20 years ago, lived with coached tennis and wrote a weekly column, “Stranger in Paradise”, for the Bali Post. In recent times his interest in environmental design has led him into landscaping – and a series of impressive commissions including the Indonesian-styled hideaway of David Bowie on the Carribbean island of Mustique. Other projects in Bali include the landscaping of the splendid Amandari Hotel at Ubud and the new Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Jimbaran Bay.

White’s landscaping is given an entire chapter in The Tropical Garden (Thames &Hudson, 1992). How did the one time drop-out become an outstanding landscaper of international reputation? “I just stumbled into it,” White says, somewhat ingenuously.

Intermingles the traditional with the contemporary in his architecture, furnishings and landscaping. In his Balinese compound, the landscaping is extravagantly lush and romantic. Water is an important element throughout the series of courtyards. Shared swimming pool.

In fact White’s early years in Bali were spent studying Balinese language, culture and architecture. One result is Balinese Architecture – Towards an Encyclopedia, a compendious and copiously illustrated analysis which he published in 1984. Another is his own house, Villa Bebek, one of a group of three at the coastal town of Sanur. Here, White (also known by his Balinese name of Made Wijaya) has combined his skills as architect, landscaper and Balinese scholar.

The residential compound has been planned using a series of courtyards, a traditional element of Balinese lie. Once inside the compound, the courtyard gardens, surrounding the freestanding pavilions, provide the bulk of ‘interior decoration’.

Cool terrace overlooking a lotus pond
Bamboo sleeping platform	“Has always been the guard of the Balinese home’s integrity,” says White.

Working within the general guidelines of traditional courtyard architecture and its religious aspects (which determine matters like the placement of pavilions, gates and steps), white has created an exotic estate simultaneously traditional and modern. The three residences sit in their own courtyards, sharing a swimming pool.

In his own house, old Balinese soapstone carvings life alongside the pop Art creations of some of his Sydney friends. The furniture is similarly eclectic. And what better way to disguise a satellite TV dish than to place it inside what looks like a kul kul tower (traditional Balinese drum tower).

Regular rainfall ensures lush vegetation, a variety of plans and speedy growth. The landscaping is built on a basis of frangipani, hibiscus, palms and lotus