WOMhouse's chameleon villa 'disappears' within its balinese surroundings

WOMhouse (word of mouth house) architects has designed chameleon villa in the buwit area, a village in the southwest coastal area of bali. the residence overlooks a dense forest and a river below, and features large amounts of greenery that allow it to blend within its surroundings.

WOMhouse has worked around the idea of ‘landscape architecture’ to create a group of buildings that appear as part of the land itself, and sometimes disappear within it, while at other times they emerge from it. the buildings are situated on different levels of the land, while each one accommodates different functions, a typical feature of traditional balinese architecture. in-between spaces and small gardens result from the rotation of the volumes on the land and offer uninterrupted views of the forest.

all communal spaces in the chameleon villa are kept open towards the outside, whereas bedrooms and other spaces such as the office, gym and the media room are kept more private and enclosed towards the inside. the form of the main building follows the idea of rectangular volumes stacked upon each other, and are composed of an outer frame that protects the interior from the elements and provides insulation. ‘camouflage’ roofs topped with several levels of vegetation provide a cooling effect to the spaces below and assist in rainwater collection.

the villa combines a composition of volumes that are both modernist and organic at the same time, and is finished with a material palette of natural and locally sourced materials. the architects have adopted a green system approach for the project, with solar panels, water recycling and a rainwater collection system for garden irrigation.