The Rice Fields
The Wabi - Gfab Architects
“We like the idea of invisible architecture…” says Hetta Thyne of Gfab Architects, the firm set up by noted English architect Gary Fell.
Wabi is a development comprising nine villas amidst the rice fields of Umalas, a popular and picturesque area close to Seminyak. “Our challenge was to give the villa owners as much feeling of space and privacy (as possible) on a relatively small plot, yet allow the building to tie into the environment as if it were carved from the site.” This is precisely what Gfab did, using rocks quarried from the adjacent river to build the villas’ walls, placing them in strata layers.
The flat roofs feature grass and water, echoing the surrounding paddies; moreover, because the villas are stepped downward, following the natural topography of the site, neighboring buildings appear as extensions of the villa’s garden.
“You’ll always have neighbours; one of our challenges was to make the neighbors disappear,” says Hetta. Gfab have achieved this on a 4.5 are plot, providing each villa with a 15 metre pool, with extensive Architects gardens and lawn space. “The villas are an extrusion of the site… a migrating bird might not realise we were there,” Hetta concludes.
