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Design is science and art coming together as one. The ratios of these two fundamental ingredients tend to differ with application. Designing a piston is going to be predominantly if not entirely scientific whereas a sculpture may be equally weighted on the side of art.

But it is Architectural design we focus on here, where arguably science and art are equal partners. 3D modeling has aided Architecture immensely. The client wanting a walk-through of his or her new home can now have one before a shovel touches the soil. But is it realistic to expect that a design can be 100% complete prior to construction, without any further tweaks and interations, without further refinement, yet still come together as brilliantly as a design that is refined and improved as it is built?

We suggest not..

In justifying our position, let’s look at some of mankind’s greatest Architectural accomplishments, and what went into them:

St. Peter’s Basilica: You don’t go through half a dozen of history’s greatest Architects without major iterations to a design. With construction spanning 120 years, it’s simply a fact that the majestic attributes of this masterpiece are the result of a century plus of refinement. One may argue that Architects of the 16th & 17th centuries did not benefit from computer generated 3D modeling as we do now, but such a view largely discounts the brilliance of men like Michelangelo, who without doubt had an incredible, almost supernatural ability to visualize a design in his head prior to actuating its construction.

Vote 1 for iterations.

Taj Mahal: The 17th century was a big one in Architecture. Papals, Emporers, Kings & Caesars sought to carve their grandeur in history by creating iconic Architectural tributes to themselves, their gods and on occasion their third wives. With a relatively quick construction period spanning just over two decades, some might argue that the architects, largely recognised as being headed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri must have had a remarkably clear and unwavering design locked down from the onset, with relatively few or no modifications made to it throughout construction. A closer look at history however points to the fact that the Taj Mahal was built in stages and the labour force of roughly twenty thousand workers was probably more likely the factor behind the relatively short construction period. These stages meant that the team of Architects were presented with continual, ongoing opportunities to revise and refine.

Vote 2 for iterations.

Fallingwater / Kaufmann Residence: We change themes on this final masterpiece, moving to a private residence rather than a religious monument. In the 1930’s legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright took it upon himself to lament in time the framework upon which most modern architecture is based; a framework so pure and uncorrupted most modern architects still worship, aspire to and defend its principles today. Presented with a challenging topography, Wright designed Fallingwater - a masterpiece that set the principles that man need not and can not outdo nature in design, man need only embrace it. Clean lines and integration to the natural contours of the site speak to it’s grandeur, rather than floral carvings on a wall. As pure and precise as Wright’s original design was, a challenging site and ongoing disputes with contractors and engineers meant revisions, refinements and resolutions were abound.

Vote 3 for iterations.

While it’s great to have an initial design you love locked down before you start building - don’t be disheartened or feel your architects have let you down if they propose revisions and improvements along the way, such is the path to amazing works..

Ever wonder how some atrocities end up being built? Sure, there’s taste - but taste aside, some buildings are just wrong and such can often be quantified; not so much by aesthetic factors (as they are indeed very subjective), but more so by functional arrangements, utilisation of natural lighting, proportionate form, etc.

So how do these monsters come to be? There are likely a number of contributing factors, but one we in the industry tend to see rather often is the ‘interference’ factor.

When someone is ill, they go to a doctor. They tell the doctor what’s wrong with them and the doctor attempts a diagnosis based in part on the symptoms presented by the patient together with his or her experience in the medical field. The doctor may or may not proceed in writing a prescription, but most certainly the doctor will prescribe the next course of action, even if such is only a referral to a specialist. Ideally the patient does not tell the doctor what to prescribe or think that they have the unwavering ability to self diagnose. But while we say the patient probably shouldn’t, we all know that the patient very often does just that.

A client-architect relationship isn’t all too different from the above mentioned example. A client should tell their architect their needs, not dictate designs and arrangements. Once the architect has the clients needs in hand, the architect can couple those needs with his or her experience and deliver the client a quality design. Sure, this may take iterations. But if after several iterations you find yourself in the position of wanting to dictate the design arrangement to your architect, you’d probably be best to find another architect. Simply put, if your architect is unable to extrapolate from your requirements and his or her experience, a design that tickles your fancy, then you’re probably not well suited. ‘Interfering’ by telling your architect ‘I want it this way and that way’ makes you the architect - which you’re probably not.

Remember, whatever your architect puts in front of you, they should be able to justify and explain the logical rationale behind every aspect of their design.

So..

- choose an architect carefully
- express your needs fully
- trust your architect’s experience

… and help rid the world of architectural monsters making their way through to construction.

You can learn about Populaire’s services online @ www.populaireresidences.com and be sure to follow us on Facebook to receive news on our latest designs and builds @ www.facebook.com/buildersarchitects.

Best Wishes,

The Populaire team..

www.populaireresidences.com

Populaire Group has been building luxury residences across Indonesia for almost four decades..

Much of what you’ve endured up until now will go without visual reward. Now however, you’re ready to move to the above grade structure.

Depending on your structural design, your sloof may be below grade, with another tie-beam structure at grade (Colloquially referred to as a “ring” on-site in Indonesia), or the sloof themselves may be at or on grade - which means that you would have needed to have all of your drainage pipes, etc mapped out, with sleeves penetrating the sloof, for the later installation of below slab drainage.

However, more often than not, sloof are below grade, and above those sloof a riser wall is installed. This riser wall, takes the sloof axis’ up to grade and will be the footing for the “ring” at slab elevation - which will connect again to your columns though pre-installed rebar anchors coming out of your columns at ring height. Column risers from below grade pile caps will have been poured to your slabs elevation and the riser walls will have your drainage and other utility like infrastructure penetrating them, as your pipes cross the building. Once your riser walls above your sloof are in place, the voids in between them will be filled with a quality fill - often limestone in Bali.

At this stage, one of two things will come next. Either your Engineer will specify that you now pour your on grade slab, or, more commonly, you’ll continue with the pour of the columns, around the rebar that is already protruding from the depths of the pile caps. These columns should be brought up to the height of the underside of your first storey beams (balok) - this example of course assumes two storey construction.

Caution must be exercised in all structural undertakings to ensure that your Engineer and Architect are on the same page. For example, reflected in Architectural drawings may be columns with a dimension of 25cm * 60cm. The Engineer must know that these columns will need to take a finishing, and therefore his structural members must be smaller. Just how much smaller? That will depend on the finishing - plaster and paint for example need less than stone and marble.

Once your columns are up at the elevation of the underside of your slab’s beams, your foreman will quickly set to work erecting all the formwork for your first floor slab and beams. While thin plywood is more economical, it’s also far weaker and it requires more framing. If your project will be employing the use of vibrators (necessary) and / or a concrete pump (potentially), you may very well find that your 6mm plywood formwork provides you with an epic failure - and such failures are not easy to rectify during the course of a pour. Thin plywood will also bend more under the weight of the ‘mud’ (wet concrete) - essentially loading your structure with unnecessary weight as slabs and beams bulge to their underside. 9mm plywood (triplek) is the recommended minimum and beware of suppliers trying to sell you compressed particle boards at a lower price - they are cheaper yes, but they lack the tensile strength that laminated plywood provides.

After the formwork is in, the steel rebar starts to get assembled, the drainage and conduit cut-ins are made to the formwork and we find ourselves back again, ready for a pour.

But before we get to the pour stage here are some things to consider while everything’s going in:

• ribbed steel rebar on suspended slabs is more expensive, but it’s a higher quality grade of steel and also provides better long term traction within the set concrete
• ensure all rebar at beam joints and column-beam joints is inspected by your Engineer thoroughly
• overdo your minimum rebar overlaps on beam and column joints
• bathroom walls should have concrete risers poured to assist with waterproofing - 30cm up the wall if possible
• long spans encounter greater deflection forces. Your Engineer should calculate these and advise your site staff before they start erecting the formwork if any offsets are needed (this involves rising the formwork and rebar in the center of the span by a number of centimeters to counter the deflection when formwork is removed

After all the above is done, we’re ready to pour - and we’re back to the pouring basics. Prepare, pour, vibrate, float and cure. Don’t rush to pull out your underside formwork - three weeks is the minimum, but this is definitely one area where the old adage is true, “the longer, the better..”.

That’s a very high-level overview of the first above grade structures that tend to go in - in our next piece in this series, we’ll further discuss the components all the way to your roof and if you have any questions regarding the structure of your home, please don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at info@populaireresidences.com.

Pools, Basements, Water Tanks, Fish Ponds, Balancing Tanks - they all have one thing in common; an overwhelming desire to leak, and there probably isn’t a place on earth with more leaking below grade structures than right here in Bali. Why? Almost as compelling as the nature of water to escape or intrude is the nature of some folks to cut corners and save money - not realising that these savings will amount to massive future outlays.

All of these structures should be waterproofed, reinforced concrete - period! There’s no getting around that - and given that waterproofed, reinforced concrete is many times the cost of bricks and cement plaster, it’s no surprise that the poor old red brick is often summoned to perform the task - but it can’t, and it won’t. It’s like trying to use a fork to transfer broth. So not just must these structures be from reinforced concrete, they also will require significant foundations (refer to Part I) and often basements will warrant specialised drainage provisions to minimise water sitting on the face of the wall - all of these factors add up, making below grade structures a considerable chunk in the total cost of your home.

So what are some means of ensuring a good outcome?

Firstly, think excess - that’s right, concrete is your structure, and together with reinforcement (AKA “rebar”, typically steel) it forms a monolithic material that literally changed the face of the earth. While its monolithic nature makes reinforced concrete a modern day Engineer’s best friend, the monolithic nature of it dictates that failure in either element (the concrete or the reinforcement) renders it failed. With any concrete work, particularly below grade applications, our first priority is protecting the rebar - and one of the simplest, most practical ways to ensure such is to make those walls just an inch or two wider, offsetting the rebar to the inside - this gives us an extra margin of safety, assuming that we pour it right. So instead of forming up our wall at 15cm width (12cm isn’t even an option), we form it up at 18cm. Sure, that’s an extra 20% added to the volume of mud you’ll use, but it will not go unrewarded. We keep the rebar in the same position we would have it in if we were doing a pour of 15cm, and gain our extra 3cm on the outer face. Your internal rebar (particularly in pools, ponds, balancing and water tanks) must still have at least the minimum coverage, typically taken as twice the width of the rebar - but again, throwing an extra 10mm of coverage on the inner face won’t be a regrettable decision. Wider form-work will also reduce the risk of honeycombing by allowing installers to better vibrate within the form-work throughout the pour.

Secondly, we need to look at the mud itself. Concrete comes in various qualities - some tragic, others decent, and a few superior. In Indonesia, the compressive strength of concrete is represented as ‘K###”, where ### represents the compressive strength of the concrete in kilograms per square centimeter. In most countries, MPa (metric) or PSI (imperial) is used, but we’ll stick with the Indonesian standard for the purpose of this topic. You want to avoid any mix design where the first # is a ‘2’. The minimum you should be using for below grade structures is K300 (actually, a decent Builder won’t go below this grade for any part of the structure, and will often use an even higher grade of concrete for below grade structures, e.g. K400). Why is this important? Well there’s a generally accepted correlation between compressive strength and density. And a higher density grade of concrete generally means that your end result, installed correctly, will be less porous - in essence providing a greater water barrier between the surface and the inner rebar. Always take test samples on site and send them to a lab (Udayana has one) for analysis - its cheap, easy and it’s the only way to ensure your Ready-Mix supplier is being held to account.

Thirdly, you must ensure the concrete is properly cured after the pour. All the best preparation and materials will fail miserably if you don’t cure your concrete well. Curing essentially means not allowing the concrete to set too fast. The curing of concrete is a field of its own, and there are many resources online that will give you all the detailed information needed - but at a high level, curing involves some basic common sense. Wet your form-work thoroughly before the pour, pour at night when possible, keep your form-work (and slabs) wet and the pour protected from direct sunlight in the weeks following the pour. All of this effort, just to slow down the hydration reaction - because when this reaction runs wild, a lot heat is generated, and when this reaction isn’t initiated in a controlled environment it races ahead of itself and your concrete shrinks too quickly - your concrete weakens and hairline cracks develop - the rebar can become exposed, no longer protected by it’s dry mud companion. A kind note to remind you that while concrete will in fact cure completely submerged in water, you do not want to wash away the cement while the concrete is still wet.

With some extra padding of decent quality concrete and the proper installation and curing, you’re 90% there.

Finally we come to waterproofing your concrete. In many countries, this is done as an initial ad-mixture to your mud - and sure, this is preferable. Problem? In Indonesia, this is not common and as such, most Ready-Mix companies don’t have a waterproof mix design that they stand by (or at least one that they are justified to stand by). Ad-mixtures are tricky and QC at the Ready-Mix depot is imperative and since we can’t control this, we believe it’s best to assume it doesn’t exist. There are a few products we recommend for waterproofing concrete; Bondall and Sika have fantastic waterproofing products, but the application is imperative. Surfaces must be clean, free of loose and flaked debris, and application instructions from the manufacturer must be followed precisely. Most cementitious waterproofing compounds should be covered for protection, by either plaster, tiles or other rigid products.

And with that you’re done - you’ll have a below grade structure that will stand the test of time. In our next piece in this series, we promise we’ll get to walls, columns, beams, slabs, etc.

Many people are overwhelmed by not just the process of building a new home, but by the building itself. It’s always good to remember that in building homes, we are merely continuing an activity that we, as humans have carried out for thousands of years - it’s not rocket science, in fact it’s mainly common sense and attention to detail that will ensure your home is of superior quality.

It makes sense to start at the first stage - your Land Test - or in proper engineering terms, a “Geotechnical Investigation”. The purpose of this test is for us to establish what it is we’re actually going to be putting our foundations on or in.

Few places around the world have the geological diversity of Bali. In the Bukit you’ve got limestone of varying densities, accumulated over millions of years of the ocean pushing its calcified deposits inward and upward. In North Bali you will find pieces of land where foundations will be set upon volcanic rock that have been churned out over thousands of years, while in lower lying areas clay is common above layers of sand and rock. There are other types of subsoils and each vary significantly in the amount of load bearing resistance they offer your building foundations. Some derive their load bearing capacity purely from compressive strength, while others provide friction resistance on the vertical planes of your foundations (e.g. Pylons), essentially gripping them from the sides.

Understanding what your land has underneath its surface is critical for your Engineer to design a suitable foundation.

Your Builder or Engineer will order the ground test - if they know the footprint of your building they may opt only to test applicable axis points (as the tests are charged per test point). If the building design hasn’t yet much substance, a wider ranging set of test points may be requested. Once they get the report back, they can immediately see a number of things from each of the test points, including what is the subsoil composition at varying depths and what the load bearing resistance is at each of those depths.

This information coupled with the total load of your building will directly indicate what the appropriate foundation design will be.

For example, a Geological Report indicates a test point offers 15kg / cm² of Load Bearing Capacity. That number is then divided, generally by three to apply an adequate margin of safety. That leaves your Engineer with an allowable usable value of 5kg / cm².

In this example, your Engineer has calculated he requires your substantial load bearing columns to support 18,000kg - this calculation comes from his Actual Maximum Load with margins of safety applied to Live and Dead Loads.

A reverse calculation gives us this, where x = area of footing in cm²;

18,000 = 5x

∴ 

18,000 / 5 = x

∴ 

x = 3,600cm²

Your Engineer has just calculated that on this piece of land, a concrete footing 60cm x 60cm will support 18,000kg.

This calculation is essentially repeated for each load bearing column - either manually or by software that takes variable input factors and pumps out an appropriate size.

Now we have the footings - the height and weight of the building coupled with lateral loads will determine what bracing these footings need - in Indonesia, this bracing goes by the Dutch name, “Sloof” - they are beams that connect the column risers from your footings - and their size and position is critical to the rigidity of your structure. Nowadays Engineers are blessed with software like ETABS to assist in these calculations - the structure design is input and all the data is run against set building codes with margins of safety applied by your Engineer. Any structural member that the software calculates as inadequate, will flash red - and will need to be redesigned. Then, Earthquake simulations are run and again, any structural member that the software calculates as inadequate, will flash red and will need the attention of your Engineer.

That’s a very high-level overview of Building Foundations - in our next piece in this series, we’ll discuss the structure of your home - walls, columns, beams, slabs, etc.

Beyond sketching facades and adding elements to walls, columns, rooftops, etc to give them visual appeal there’s actually a much greater aspect to the discipline of architecture that is more often than not completely overlooked. To get a fundamental understanding of what an architect’s objectives should be, we sometimes need to take a giant step back and ask ourselves, WHAT IS AN ARCHITECT’S JOB?

SPACE - It is everything in architecture, it’s all we need to be concerned with. In fact, all an architect needs to be able to do is, DEFINE SPACES. Of course, a good architect is an architect who can bring form and function to a given defined space. Sounds simple? Yes, it probably is, or at least it should be but so are most things in this world that get botched. In defining your spaces, we have several considerations, these include functional considerations, technical considerations, legal considerations, and of course, aesthetic considerations - all of which equate to ABSOLUTELY NOTHING without first having a thorough understanding of the requirements. What requirements?

THE PROJECT REQUIREMENTS (Your requirements) - The art of analyzing, interpreting and compiling requirements is the first stage of any project, of any kind, of any discipline, anywhere on Earth (and even beyond, we’d so assume). An architect’s first job is to listen, to ask the right questions, and to understand the answers to those questions. Arrogance is no virtue in this process, be it the best architect in the world. Without understanding your requirements entirely, an architect does not possess the necessary information to successfully “define your spaces”. In addition to understanding your requirements, the architect will also need to survey your piece of land. Photo’s won’t do, neither will your personal descriptions - the architect will need to go to your site (preferably with you), to stand on your land, to inhale every attribute, every detail, every opportunity and every limitation that your piece of land offers. Once the architect has a thorough understanding of your requirements and has performed a site survey, they’re now ready to start..

DEFINING SPACES (Your spaces) - Spaces are funny things. They have a tendency of defining or at least being a big part of almost every experience we have in life. Why? Well it’s simple. We live in spaces, we work in spaces, we play in spaces, we relax in spaces. Simply put, we exist in spaces. That makes an architect’s role pretty important, as it’s your architect that you’ve entrusted to design the space in which you and / or another is going to live. Most architects will start by mapping out your spaces as zones - an indicative roadmap for the entire design of your home - and in doing so, two things need to be at the forefront of their mind - your requirements and your land. Zones are important as they provide a high level guideline as to where the different types of spaces in your property should be located - types of spaces include parking, entrances, common areas, living areas, secluded and private areas. Zoning within your property may change as the design is furthered or refined, but establishing zoning is a necessary first step. Many architects will approach zoning with the commonly held belief that visitors entering your property should have to pass through an entrance and then common areas such as gardens and foyers before reaching your living areas. The most private areas of a home, the bedrooms are generally zoned away from the entrance. Parking for example will be influenced by the best points of road access, while living areas will be influenced by requirements you have given your architect. For example, if your property offers second floor views, would you like your living area to have the view, your bedrooms to have the view, or both? Should bedrooms be secluded from living areas or easily accessible? Without knowing your living preferences, an architect will at best be making educated guesses about these important factors; not a great way to get started in designing YOUR DREAM. From zoning, the next logical step is… YOUR LAYOUT (To be continued..) www.populaireresidences.com

The end of July has coincided with the latest round of Populaire completions. In Nusa Dua, Brawa and Ubud, Populaire saw three flagship projects completed.

While each of Populaire’s designs and subsequent client builds are completely unique, all share common attributes - starting with quality. Built to the highest of international standards, Populaire cover each and every home built with a comprehensive 10-5-2 year warranty, ensuring clients absolute peace of mind when they take possession of their new home. And the quality of the July completions was no exception; here’s a snapshot:


- Nusa Dua - built in the rolling hills of the Bukit, South West of the internationally renowned Nusa Dua Resort Complex, this build captures true modern tropical architecture and utilizes open living spaces and natural light. An ultimately chic three bedroom villa, it combines disciplined lines with sprawling overhangs; accented with a 3.5° asymmetrical ‘I-Beam’ rooftop and you have yet another Populaire designed and built home that defines new limits.


- Brawa - beach front living at its best. Brawa has become one of Bali’s prime hot-spots and Populaire’s clients wanted a home that intertwined Bali’s rich majestic culture with beach-side living. A four bedroom modern testament to Bali’s spirit, this build incorporates pure open living spaces and the finest stone and woodwork passed down through generations of tradesman. A frameless glass railing feature circles the Sky-Deck with an asymmetric shade-sail atop the Sky-Bar, maximizing stunning Western ocean views and the long shorelines of the Island of the Gods.


- Ubud - tranquillity of Bali’s cultural heart was what Populaire’s clients sought to integrate within this two and a half bedroom retreat. And rather than integrate tranquillity, Populaire Architects used it as the basis for the entire concept. Nestled in a mangrove of coconut trees hugging the side of Ubud’s rice-fields, this villa remains true to tropical architecture throughout. Indoor and outdoor become one with this open format that delivers absolute functional cohesion. Rich timbers accent Stone feature walls in perfect harmony while bathrooms seamlessly bleed into the natural surroundings in open yet secure garden enclaves.

Completions always bring mixed emotions for Populaire’s Architecture and Construction teams - having to move on from something that’s been nurtured for months, pawed over and obsessed about - many of Populaire’s staff and management can’t help but feel a little loss as the handover takes place. Rewarding nevertheless it is to assist in delivering our clients their dream homes and what passes comes again with August seeming none the quieter. Joining Populaire’s active construction sites at the end of the month will be two new projects in Canggu and Pecatu.