Bali’s Bamboo Spaces: A Salutogenic View
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29284/ijasis.12.1s.2026.122-135Keywords:
Architecture, Bali, Bamboo, Phenomenology.Abstract
This study examines bamboo architecture in Bali through a phenomenological and salutogenic perspective, positioning it as a spatial practice that transcends material sustainability and engages deeply with human experience and well-being. Rather than treating bamboo as a mere construction resource, the research interprets it as an architectural mediator that connects body, environment, culture, and perception. The Balinese context provides a distinctive framework where bamboo is embedded within ecological abundance, craft traditions, and everyday spatial practices, allowing architecture to emerge as a relational and lived condition.
The study adopts a qualitative methodology combining phenomenological analysis, salutogenic interpretation, and sketch-based observation. Analytical hand sketches function as methodological tools to reveal spatial atmospheres, material logics, and environmental interactions that extend beyond measurable performance. These visual analyses are integrated with thematic readings based on spatial legibility, environmental adaptability, and experiential meaning, enabling a comprehensive understanding of how bamboo spaces are perceived and inhabited.
Findings indicate that bamboo architecture in Bali operates through spatial permeability, material authenticity, and environmental responsiveness, fostering sensory coherence and embodied orientation. Semi-open configurations, visible structural systems, and the integration of natural elements such as light, air, water, and vegetation contribute to environments that support psychological comfort and experiential continuity. Architecture is thus understood not as a closed object, but as a dynamic threshold that frames human presence within nature. The study concludes that bamboo architecture in Bali offers a philosophical and spatial model in which well-being emerges through relational dwelling, sensory engagement, and ecological alignment, providing insights relevant to contemporary discussions on sustainable and human-centered design
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
