The client is the well-known Indonesian hotel business Ronald Akili, who back in 2010 decided to change the type of expensive vacation in Bali, a mixture of local “exotic” with maximum exclusivity, including the physical separation of the hotel from less elite surroundings.
This is how the Potato Head Beach Club (2010) appeared at the Seminyak resort, a mixture of a restaurant and a music club, which also attracted the local public, and not only hipster tourists, and the hotel for 58 suite-rooms Katamama, the work of the Indonesian architect Andra Martin (Andra Martin). Together they formed the Desa Potato Head complex, where in 2020 a hotel-cultural center was added to the OMA project: David Janotten, partner of the Rotterdam bureau, was responsible for it, and Martin accompanied the project in Bali.
Potato Head Studios is a raised square with 168 rooms, an enclosed garden and other necessary components for guests, while at ground level there is a so-called platform - a space for cultural events, celebrations, etc., open to the local community (during the day, guests do yoga and other spa activities there). A rooftop sculpture garden is available to everyone: Ronald Akili is the son of a famous collector in the country, Rudi Akili.
The building on the pillars is also a way of not blocking the beach from the island side, which is especially important since the coastline in Seminyak is almost completely densely built up.
The elevated courtyard is an Indonesian tradition, Bali is characterized by ground-level courtyards, which means that the hotel uses elements of local architecture. The textured concrete walls are made by Balinese craftsmen, the ornamental fencing of the corridors is inspired by the island teak calendar.
