Lumi Shala is an artisanal wellness space at the Alchemy Yoga Centre in Bali designed by local architecture studio Ibuku. Located amid Ubud’s verdant landscape, the structure boasts a sculptural form with overlapping copper-clad bamboo petals.
Emerging from a stone base and mounded foundations, bamboo arches project above to enclose the space and provide a sense of tranquillity. Its form fosters well-being by combining natural materials with handcrafted and innovative systems.
Completed in 2023, Lumi Shala draws on many of the same unique elements and structural details developed by the studio two years ago in the 2022 Architecture Master Prize-winning Arc at Green School. The new pavilion showcases a dynamic new orchestration, achieving a clear span of 21 meters.
The bundled bamboo arches connect through structural anticlastic grid shells that gently overlap to create a rhythmic form. Deep trusses, built in a concealed way, fill in the gaps between the five roof surfaces, exuding a perception of airy lightness.
The configuration of the five grid shell roof petals allows natural light to flow in gradients across each convex interior, providing a space that best supports the practice of yoga while also drawing attention inward.
A palette of natural materials like handcrafted bricks and earthen walls, made with a blend of local earth, clay, and limestone, forms a set of low walls and buttresses around the perimeter of the circular design, supporting the bamboo roof.
The outer buttresses have been designed with storage facilities incorporated into the curved parts. These sections also form low-leveled seating areas surrounding the perimeter of the space, allowing the lounging and relaxing of people.
In conclusion, the materiality, form, and structural details come together to form a sensuous space that functions as a space for gathering, yoga, and meditation while serving as a sculptural landmark.
