bloo lagoon eco village

‘bloo lagoon eco village’ by tony gwilliam in bali, indonesia all images courtesy of tony gwilliam

english architect tony gwilliam has designed and constructed an eco village in bali, indonesia, where designboom got its start back in 1999. a key component to the development of ‘bloo lagoon’ was a sense of community. a number of the resources such as the gardens and swimming pool are all shared rather than individually owned; during construction, the skills and techniques of the local people were utilized to establish a symbiotic relationship of knowledge with the builders. this idea of sharing also translates to the distribution of organic food produced in the village gardens, as well as social resources such as ideas, thoughts, and family services.

thatched roofs

‘bloo lagoon’ aims to be as sustainable and environmentally conscious as possible: the excavated stones during construction are repurposed for building walls. sensible ecological solutions such as building forms that encourage passive climate control are adopted rather than energy consuming options. the use of high-efficiency LED lights, simple refrigerators, solar cells and natural gas cooking stoves all ensure minimal waste of energy. rainwater is collected and filtered for use while black water is treated biologically by waste water gardens which are integrated throughout the village. many of the ecological features of ‘bloo lagoon’ are integrated deeply into the architecture, becoming a part of the design rather than a separate element.

communal pool