Located close to Sanur iconic beach, the harbour point from Bali to the Nusa Islands, Canvas Cafe embraces the contemporary tropical theme into the design. The name “Canvas” is chosen to show the “playful” character of the cafe -- where it’s supposed to feel more like a home full of creativity, a hub for creative people.
The design implementation
Before we begin with the design, we always start from the site analysis. It always helps to determine how the building should respond to the surrounding.
From the analysis, we decide to put the elongated side of the building aligned with the main road to maintain longer attention from the visitors -- and to keep an open access for the private house entrance at the west side of the land.
Considering the heavy circulation from the west (main road) and the east (the beach), we create two entrances. One from the main road, that is integrated with the parking lot to accommodate the heavy vehicle circulation, and one from the beach to be more open for the pedestrian.
We put the main point of interest on the west side of the building to gain the first attention. And another point of interest on the east side for the pedestrian access, using the existing tree as the center of attention.
From there, we then play a little with the circulation analysis, and differentiate the access for public and service.
To add the playful character towards the building, we create a dynamic roster wall as not only the building facade, but also the divider between the public & cafe area. The dynamic screen block wall is created from mortar-coated lava stone, which is installed in a playful manner. The purpose is to not look massive, is welcoming enough, and not blocking the view into the building. To portray the playful character, we play with light & shadows -- so the screen block wall can produce a unique character, a different pattern throughout the day. On terms of functionality, the wall can also become the shelvings for decorative items.
The tropical modern style determines the material selections for the whole building. The main color palette is wood, grey, and black color -- with additions of a lot of indoor plants.
The main concern regarding the front seating area is the heat. We understand that covering the seating area with solid roofings will make the area feel dark, so we design a glass roof with wooden shingles for the sun-shading. As we are preserving the Beach Almond Tree, our roof installation also follows the form of the tree -- that also helps as a natural sun-shading element and the point of interest.
The indoor bar & seating area is a bit small (6 x 9m), so we propose a high ceiling that follows the pitch roof, to achieve a more open & airy feel to the indoor space. The bar counter is cladded with handmade pattern ceramic tiles, while the top bar counter is cladded with wood - to enhance the tropical feel.
We then add an opening at the west wall to generate more natural light into the building. The opening is designed to follow the pitch roof, so we can put a mural on the wall. The wooden slat is also added on the ceiling to evade a rather dull and raw white ceiling looks. It also can add more warmth and give a fair repetition to the wooden roof on the side seating area.
