BaleBio Pavilion by Cave Urban – A Regenerative Landmark for Bali’s Coastal Communities

The BaleBio Pavilion by Cave Urban reimagines the Bale Banjar—the communal, open-sided meeting hall that forms the social heart of every Balinese village. Located on Mertasari Beach in Sanur, the project transforms a deeply rooted cultural typology into a regenerative, carbon-negative architectural prototype, merging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary bio-based engineering. More than a pavilion, BaleBio stands as a living demonstration of how vernacular wisdom, collaborative design, and material innovation can shape a resilient built future in Indonesia.

Reinterpreting the Bale Banjar for a Regenerative Era

Led by architect Jed Long, Cave Urban sought to retain the openness, elevated form, and gathering spirit of the Bale Banjar while introducing a prefabricated bamboo system capable of rapid, low-impact assembly. The pavilion forms part of Bauhaus Earth’s ReBuilt Project, a global initiative exploring pathways toward a regenerative built environment in Berlin, Bhutan, South Africa, and Bali.

This collaboration questioned how bio-based innovation flourishing in Bali’s tourism sector could meaningfully migrate into urban construction and community infrastructure. BaleBio becomes a bridge between these worlds—an architectural catalyst connecting research, local expertise, and future-ready building methods.

Architecture & Structure – Laminated Bamboo Vaults on a Stone Podium

The pavilion’s form is defined by three sweeping laminated-bamboo vaults, each spanning four meters and rising 8.5 meters above a recycled stone plinth. These arched profiles reference both the Bale Banjar and the Lumbung, the traditional rice barn, blending inland agrarian and coastal boatbuilding vernaculars into a single fluid architecture.

Key structural features include:

• Prefabricated, bolted laminated-bamboo members for rapid assembly
• Raised podium built from recycled temple-stone offcuts
• Open, elevated floor plan maintaining the generosity of communal Balinese spaces
• Arched roof geometry optimized for airflow, shading, and tropical endurance

The pavilion becomes a lightweight yet robust system—engineered with mass-timber logic but sourced entirely from Indonesian bio-based materials.

Material Ecology – Circularity Rooted in Indonesian Craft

BaleBio’s material palette is a complete expression of local circularity, combining engineered precision with centuries-old craftsmanship:

• Laminated Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) — grown in Flores, fabricated in Bali
• Paras Stone — recycled temple-carving offcuts used in gabion walls
• Plupuh (flattened bamboo) — hand-split traditional panels for roofing
• Reclaimed Ulin Ironwood — salvaged from old Kalimantan houses & bridges
• Clay Tiles & Lime Plaster — breathable, cooling finishes
• Recycled Plastic Sheets — repurposed into durable signage

Together, these materials create a regenerative assembly that continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime. The ground-level construction uses only geo-based materials, reinforcing the pavilion’s environmental stewardship.

Community, Ritual, and Collective Making

The project was built through a broad collaboration involving Cave Urban, Bauhaus Earth, Bamboo Village Trust, Atelier One, Eco Mantra, Kota Kita, Indobamboo, and students from the University of Warmadewa, alongside Balinese craftspeople.

Construction became both a training ground and cultural process:

• Local teams learned laminated-bamboo assembly techniques
• The project began and ended with Meruak blessing rituals
• Prefabricated elements enabled rapid assembly with minimal impact

These collective efforts strengthened knowledge transfer and reinforced the pavilion's role as an evolving community asset.

Carbon-Negative Impact & Regenerative Future

A Life Cycle Assessment by Eco Mantra shows that BaleBio reduces its Stage A carbon footprint by 110% compared to conventional construction—equivalent to avoiding more than 53 tonnes of CO₂, or planting over 2,400 trees. As a designed-for-disassembly structure, it can be relocated or reused, extending the circularity of its materials.

Since its completion, BaleBio has hosted workshops, community gatherings, and dialogue sessions on regenerative design, serving as both prototype and educational platform. Its success demonstrates the viability of bio-based, climate-positive construction for Indonesia’s future.

All the Photographs are works of Bas Princen