00:14My name is Pablo Luna. I'm from Chile, 34 years old. I am a practitioner of architecture,
00:21passionate about everything that is related to design, nature, craftsmanship, but most
00:27importantly about designing from a place of connection to the territories and to
00:33the people with whom we work. So I study architecture in Columbia University, New
00:41York, and then a job opportunity arise here in Ubud Valley with incredible
00:46masters from whom I learned about bamboo architecture and because we're in
00:51Valley become a primary material on our pallet because bamboo is used here in
00:58the culture for the ceremonies, the little kids make their own kites, it's very much
01:03embedded in the culture and it's very playful, super sustainable to work with,
01:08circular life cycle, that in this context the material responds super efficiently
01:16and beautifully. This space is really a dream for our family, a place where we
01:21get to feel safe, inspired, connected to the work that we're doing, a place that in
01:27its designs represents the openness, the attention to detail, the craftsmanship. The
01:32design represents many of the values that run throughout our practice, one being
01:37honesty, the second is family and care in which all the spaces are meant to be
01:42circular, more feminine, communal, and where everybody feels invited, there is no
01:47separation. We believe in different roles here but not a strong hierarchy and
01:53craftsmanship. In this regard I feel collaborating with the Studio Aini that
01:58did the interior design, we have imagined every corner of this space to be a
02:03place where your eye can rest, where your heart can feel open and expanded and when
02:08our clients come they really get that sense of being within a family.
02:15For me it's really not about the architecture but about the process of
02:20creating architecture, how we can merge that human experience respecting what
02:26already was happening here before we moved into the land. Not a single tree was
02:32caught, all the materials were built within our team, all answers were very natural. So
02:41I'm super grateful today I get to share with all of you.
02:48Yeah, Bali's my big master has completely shifted the way from which I approach my
02:55practice and this is very important because it's the practice of
02:58architecture, it's just like meditation to create places with deep cultural, social,
03:04environmental impact and all of this has been awakened by being in this land where
03:09there is so much respect for tradition, for ancestral wisdom. There is such an
03:14understanding of nature even as you see in this space, nature becomes part of who you are. It
03:20integrates into the daily subtleties of how we move, of how we relate. No, our process is about study and
03:28understanding of the landscapes, of the territories in which we work.
03:33We take sometimes up to a year before drawing a single line because it's all
03:39about for us integration rather than disruption. So it's a process that takes
03:44time. It requires deep study, working with experts, marine biologists, local priests,
03:50permaculture experts, landscape. I'm only excited about making projects that are deeply
03:55respectful, honoring and connection that I feel with everything that we're doing today. That brings me great joy,
04:02not just to me, to our team, to the processes, to the clients and to anybody that has a
04:07direct experience of our architecture.
04:15For me, our clients become family. Architecture is a process that takes up to three years, minimum of one.
04:22I wouldn't say selective, but we're very careful with who do we decide to work. Our vision is not
04:28architecture as a practice. It is really about deep integration, about going through a process that is honest,
04:35transparent, real. We're very clear on our messaging to the world. Are already vibing like us. They want to create
04:42spaces for life.
04:43They want to create spaces for connection. They want to create spaces that honor what is there before they arrive
04:50to their land.
04:51You start thinking, how is my building going to affect the traffic? How am I going to relate to the
04:56waste system,
04:57to the water system? What is happening underground? Where is the water coming from?
05:02All of these are questions that we ask ourselves and that we respond through the architecture process.
05:07It is like family, in a way. The more you know them, the more you love them.
05:17And of course, architecture is all about the human experience. If you study deep enough, you almost don't need to
05:23draw.
05:24It's almost intuitive. I consider myself very young, very privileged to be able to work with the people I work
05:30and in the territories I work.
05:32And sometimes when my clients come and tell me, look, we're going to design here this wellness retreat or this
05:38restaurant,
05:38and I get to see the land, these pieces of paradise that are being entrusted to me.
05:44What is about this place that makes it so special? And what are the hidden laws that we need to
05:51respect so that we can be welcomed?
05:53Here in Bali, a process that actually moved me a lot is called Urip Urip, that is honoring the ancestors
05:59of the land,
06:00and asking for permission before we are going to build and get to have the privilege of being able to
06:08use that space.
06:12I had to learn to be very patient. I had to learn that there is a flow to things that
06:18you cannot force.
06:19That if there is ceremony, my team is not going to show up. There is other priorities here.
06:25I'm very intuitive. I think that's something that by being 10 years living in Bali has impregnated my body in
06:32multiple ways.
06:35The other really important detail of being in Bali, this relationship to craftsmanship, to how we share knowledge with one
06:42another.
06:43It's not necessarily for books, for reading, for trying to understand from the mind how things work.
06:50Especially when it comes to natural materials, it's really transferred naturally from the father to the side,
06:55by doing a kite together, by playing together, by going to the side and learning how to make a certain
07:01knot.
07:02And it's very important because I have a construction company as well,
07:05and I'm very aware that I wouldn't have a job if it was not for the Balinese craftsman.
07:11So if you go to a space or you came here to my studio and you felt the team was
07:15in a weird vibe,
07:17you will start naturally feeling uncomfortable.
07:20The experience now of the space will completely shift.
07:23Actually how these spaces are created, how we honor the process, the joy that we have.
07:28Actually in the bamboo you can see the hands of who did a certain knot or a certain cut.
07:42This building, our architecture studio, is a big family.
07:46Today we are about 33 architects plus other 30 craftsmen that I am representing.
07:52I get to take great pride of every single human being that I work with.
07:57And I feel our clients can feel them and connect with them in so many levels.
08:01So yeah, big acknowledgement for them.
08:09I feel for me every project is a blessing.
08:14I have such gratitude that somebody is entrusting me their dreams, hopes,
08:18and so much more when creating architecture.
08:21That my invitation to any young architect will be to treat every project
08:26to really go to the hundred thousand percent.
08:30Because when you go to that level of attention to detail, of care throughout the process,
08:35throughout your design, with the collaborators, then people can feel it.
08:39And will naturally open up for you new opportunities.
08:42Secondly, not to be afraid to express the idea, the vision, the reasoning that is behind your decision making.
08:50And the clients that I have had, especially when I was younger, were not really for my capacity to create,
08:56for my great architectural skills, because you are young.
08:59And I hope in 30 years I can be proud of some of the lines that I have drawn.
09:04But today is more because of the care, attention, resonance in terms of how you want to create,
09:13from where you want to create, rather than the architecture itself.
09:16Less is more, for sure, to enjoy the project.
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