I still remember purchasing Mades Wijaya's 1983 book, Balinese Architecture: Towards an Encyclopedia. The book was comprised of large photocopied sheets containing sketches, typed fonts, and scrawled notes by its author bound in a big, black, hand-made hard cover. The pictures illustrating the book were either black and white photocopies or the occasional actual color photo, printed at the corner shop, and then glued inside the book. This undeniably interesting tome was a photo album cum scratch book that managed to give new meaning to a "work in progress."

Thusly, 20 years in the making and just published by Editions Didier Millet & Wijaya Words, as Balinese Architecture: A Source Books of Traditional and Modern Forms, Made Wijaya's latest book is destined to become the definitive compendium on Balinese building design.

With over 360 illustrations, the book offers the authoritative view of the design protocols of a traditional Balinese village, the buildings process, the layout of a Balinese community compound, and the range of materials used. It also offers a fairly exhaustive review of ornamentation, both the "real thing" and the "Baliwannabee-ism" that pervades in so many local hotels and resorts.

Made Wijaya

Made Wijaya, also known as Michael White, literally first floated ashore in Bali 1973 after jumping overboard from a passing yacht. In the intervening 30 years, he has championed Balinese garden and architectural designs, both in Bali and in various projects around the globe. When he's not designing a house or garden for a member of the glitterati, he's busy chronicling the cultural life of the island in Poleng - his private circulation arts magazine or at his website strangerinparadise.com.

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