A traditional Balinese home is a grouping of several, largely open structures. There are separate structures for the kitchen, sleeping areas, bathing areas and shrine. The buildings are surrounded by a high-walled garden.
Most traditionally built, vernacular homes of Indonesia possess a number of similar features. They are of timber construction, post and beam construction that carries the load into the ground, and have a variety of elaborate roof shapes. Houses are the center of mystical rites, religious and social activities, cultural laws, and customs that maintain the villagers’ unity. As in many societies, the house is the focal point of family and community.
A Balinese home, like other traditional Indonesian homes, is not designed by an architect. Members of the village help each other to build their own homes. Occasionally a community will pool resources in order to build a structure with guidance from a master carpenter.
The structural system is normally post and beam and lintel. Bamboo or wood is used for walls that are not load bearing. Instead of nails, they use mortis and tenon joints held together by wooden pegs. Natural materials such as bamboo and thatch fiber are used.
Pilings are typically hardwood and a combination of soft- and hard-wood is used in the house’s upper where the walls are non-load bearing. These are frequently constructed with lighter wood or thatch. The thatch may be coconut, dried grass, sugar-palm leaves, and rice straw.
Traditional dwellings evolved to accommodate the climate, especially for Indonesia’s hot and wet monsoon. A typical Indonesian traditional vernacular home is built on stilts but not as much for a Balinese home.
A raised floor permits breeze to alleviate the tropical temperatures, keeps occupants, food and stored items from moisture and dampness, and keep living quarters above the malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Hardwood piles are less affected by termites and dry rot.
The basic style is derived from Javanese, in particular the roof, but the doors are European style. Javanese and Balinese home architecture is possibly the most European influenced of Indonesian style.
A large roof, often saddle-shaped, is supported separately by strong piles and with a steep pitch to shed tropical rain downpours. Broad overhanging eaves protect the house from water and direct sun. On the humid and hot coast, homes might have several windows to provide better cross-ventilation.
