Life Outside
Indoor-outdoor spaces, eclectic furniture and art, and of course an abundance of ceramic characterise the tropical Ubud home of Gaya Ceramic and Design’s founders
Almost two decades ago, Italian couple Marcello Massino and Michela Foppiani packed their bags for Bali, Indonesia. Lured by the island’s rich craft culture, they moved across the world to establish Gaya Ceramic and Design in Ubud.
The creative entrepreneurs’ new home, just eight kilometres south of Ubud, offers close engagement with the land and culture. On a sprawling site bordered by rice fields, a creek and jungle, they positioned two large limasan pavilions — a variety of local vernacular architecture — that they brought back from Java and rebuilt piece by piece. One is now the living and dining area, and the other an entertainment complex where their three sons can often be found.
The limisan has many features that are not only symbolic but also functional. The shape of the roof — resembling the rugged Indonesian landscape in miniature — facilitates airflow, which is enhanced by the structure’s lack of walls, while extended eaves keep rain out and interiors shady. The couple engaged Italian firm BAMM Architects to build a series of new blocks around the old pavilions. Each holds a singular function, such as guestroom, children’s quarters, and master bedroom suite, which overlooks an irregularly shaped swimming pool. The juxtaposition of open and closed, and decorated and minimal gives the home its idiosyncratic identity.
Interstitial gardens embody the kind of outdoor living that makes the most of the bucolic site. ‘We love living in the tropics and the warm climate here is really enjoyable. We used to live in a small apartment in Italy, so the freedom that comes with living here in open-air pavilions is a real blessing,’ Massino says.
The elaborately decorated bases of the pavilions’ original teak columns layer the spaces with a sense of the past. In the living and dining block, rectangular glass-and-iron walls enclose a generous, stainless-steel wet kitchen. A jungle trompe l’oeil mural, inspired by the work of 20th-century artist Henri Rousseau, wraps the walls of the dry kitchen. Low-hanging paper lanterns become focal points in the expansive area; on nights when the moon is full, their forms mimic the distant orb as if in dialogue. While the communal spaces’ post-and-beam architecture affords a more unbridled link to views and weather, the enclosed bedroom blocks enjoy vistas through iron-framed windows. Bathrooms offer equal measures of privacy and exposure, with open-air showers surrounded by stonewalls and lush planting. Concrete countertops and ceramic sinks complete the rustic picture.
‘The overall mood is a mix between traditional, contemporary and industrial architecture,’ Massino says. Materials are robust and their natural finish celebrated. For the furnishing, Massino and Foppiani intuitively mixed vintage and contemporary pieces in an eclectic yet harmonised manner.
Of course, ceramic features in abundance, not only as tableware or as miniscule accents, but as glazed tile ‘carpets’ on floors and colourful mosaic-like wall coverings. The use of ceramic is both pragmatic and beautiful: the material’s hardiness is well suited to semi-outdoor spaces and the glossy surfaces reflect light. Its assimilation into the family’s everyday life is the perfect manifestation of the dream Massino and Foppiani set out to create all those years ago.
Words / Luo Jingmei
Images / Stefano Scatà
