Land and Building according to
JOHN HARDY

Throughout the Indonesian archipelago the ‘traditional’ often carries strong stereotypes associated with poverty and an antithesis to modernity. John Hardy asks why. FRV discovers how he breaks stereotypes and fosters tradtional creativity.

A towering structure rises from a bed of wet rice paddies like a butterfly twisting free from its cocoon and spreading its wings in anticipation of flight; thin bamboo poles stretch upward, lean to the sides, and cross each other in an interlocking matrix of organic symmetry. Kapal Bambu at the John Hardy workshop, on the sprawling grounds of PT. Karya Tangan Indah in the predominantly agrarian community of Mambal, Bali, is an exciting, innovative, visually pleasing, and environmentally-sensible structure built entirely of bamboo and alang-alang grass.

Kapal Bambu is the newest addition to a property that has quietly become among the vanguard for experimental architectural design with organic materials in Southeast Asia. Its soaring, cathedral-like interior resonates with the soft melodies of falling water, as breezes skid across nearby fields and fill the interior with a cool freshness. Nearby is the IT studio, an air-conditioned structure of bamboo and packed adobe. Across a rippling pond lie the design studios, also of bamboo and other natural materials; and along the many winding paths that twist between tall trees sit similar bamboo structures.

The Hardy concept of Sustainable Luxury stems from a decades-old love affair that John and Cynthia Hardy have had with Bali, its people, and environment. The Mambal workshop is not only the center for the design and production of the luxury jewelry that the name John Hardy has become synonymous with, it is also an organic farm, a haven for creativity, and a center for experimentation.
In a Bali that is increasingly being developed and built-upon, perhaps some of the elements that fostered its reputation and image as a peaceful and attractive destination for travelers, artists, writers, and scholars are being lost. “I think that the day will come when Bali is paved end-to-end. People will say: God! What happened?” exclaims Mr. Hardy as we amble slowly along a path of smooth river stones. “We created rice fields around the Kapal Bambu. The creation of those fields was very powerful. There are not many people creating rice fields in Bali anymore, but I certainly know a lot of people paving over them.”

Sustainable Luxury is an outgrowth of Balinese ingenuity. Everything in the workshop complex, from the daily operations of the kitchen, to the produce of the organic farm and the towering mud walls that line the property speak of an inherent creativity.

The Kapal Bambu was jointly designed without architectural drawings by Mr. Hardy and the Malaysian architect Cheong Yew Kuan, famed fot the design of the Begawan Giri Estate amongst others. Together with a skilled bamboo carpenter, the three sat on a porch and fashioned a model, which was then passed to the building team.

“The strengths of bamboo as a building material are that it is lightweight, very strong and flexible,” explains Miya Winter Buxton, an American architect who has worked with the Hardy’s on several projects. Bamboo can be treated via a process developed by Linda Garland and the Bamboo Foundation, and manipulated with poured concrete and other innovations to provide longevity and durability.

“The drawback is that one must be skilled to use bamboo correctly. Although it is possible to draw a bamboo building in AUTOCAD, the builder and designer have to know that every bamboo pole is different, and the relative strength of each pole depends on the species, where it is grown, the season it is cut, and how it is treated. You need a team that understands these aspects,” elaborates Ms. Buxton.
The bamboo structures that Mr. Hardy and his colleagues have built and conceptualized also incorporate contemporary conveniences and safety functions, such as electric outlets, plumbing, specific energy-saving light bulbs and fixtures, sprinkler systems, and sound foundations and structural support.

One of the largest hurdles they have faced, according to Mr. Hardy, is the association between bamboo buildings and poverty. Unlike in China, where an appreciation for bamboo is deeply ingrained in the culture, Indonesia remains largely hesitant to embrace bamboo fully, despite the fact that its skilled labour force and vast bamboo resources could make it a world leader in bamboo-based technologies.
According to Mr. Hardy, “These buildings are beautiful and inexpensive. The downside is that compared with concrete it is obviously not going to last forever. But the whole idea of owning land and building upon it is really an illusion. The land is not going anywhere, but humans are. The whole idea of ownership over land is an illusion. A bamboo structure makes it easy to make way for new ideas, new peoples, and new uses for that land. If our buildings needed to be reconverted into fields, it would be a very simple process.”

As guests of this island, the Hardy’s have been instrumental in fostering an appreciation for natural materials and local expertise; and in a world that is being increasingly made smaller and more connected, the ideas resonating from Mambal are catching on. “It is, essentially, entirely about fostering Balinese creativity and talent. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate that?” Smiles Mr. Hardy as we shake hands before parting. On the return drive to Denpasar I pass by large construction sites of steel and concrete. If this is modernity, half of me begs to return to Mambal.