Lloyd’s Inn, Bali — Design Anthology

Nature is at the centre of Lloyd’s Inn Bali, a sleek and rustic resort designed by FARM

A close relationship with nature is the mantra of the Lloyd’s Inn brand. First established in 1990, the boutique hotel was given a facelift in 2014 by Farm Architects, offering tranquillity in a raw, minimal shell nestled amid greenery just off the cusp of the popular Orchard Road shopping street.

‘The new branding took advantage of the domestic-like setting of the existing garden to focus on the relationship between the guest and nature, which is understood as light, openness, greenery and material beauty. Adopting a “minimal existence” approach, every aspect of the hotel is designed to be fuss-free for guests,” says FARM co-founder Tiah Nan Chyuan, who worked on the project.

This approach continues in the brand’s second property, Lloyd’s Inn Bali. Absent are the thatched roof and ornamental carvings typical of resorts on the popular Indonesian holiday island; here, the brand’s signature aesthetic of raw cement flooring, white walls, timber accents and minimal gestures is a breath of fresh air, placing the focus on the greenery.

While the similarities are obvious, there are also some distinctive differences that give Lloyd’s Inn Bali its own character, such as strong contextual influences and organic lines that weave through the site. ‘We’re conscious that the context is entirely different from Singapore. Firstly, the relationship with nature in Bali is more immersive compared to Singapore, which tends to be more visual. So for almost all the hotel rooms, we created opportunities for meaningful outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces like sky gardens, outdoor showers and indoor gardens,’ says Tiah.

There was also the challenge of translating the identity and intimacy of the 34-room boutique hotel in Singapore into a 100-room hotel in Bali. Tiah’s strategy was creating layered encounters by decentralising the various programmes across different levels and locations within the site, connected by multiple circulation loops. ‘We believe this will create a more journey-based experience with possibilities for discoveries,’ he explains.

From the beginning, this experience of ‘discovering’ plays out. Guests enter through an alleyway from the main road and through a voluminous, textured stone wall. Beyond, a cascading tier of guest rooms flanks a central courtyard, the curves in the plan allowing more daylight into the rooms. An upper-level bridge snakes across this bucolic sanctuary, which is also home to the all-day-dining restaurant and which offers new vantage points.

Another way guests can engage with the site is though the local materials used. Balinese lava stone forms the walls, capped by a pitched clay tile roof. Sukabumi tiles line the pool, marble clads the guest-room interiors and pebble wash provides texture underfoot. ‘In Bali, we had the opportunity to push the boundary between the interior and exterior even more,’ concludes Tiah.

Text / Luo Jingmei
Images / Studio Periphery