Stay cool in Bali: Increase the air-flow

Visiting Bali in 1993, I had the opportunity of visiting a lady who owned a house at Batubelig beach in Seminyak. The house was a lovely western style bungalow, bamboo / alang alang roof, with 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen etc.

The amazing thing to me, was we were greeted at the gate by a doorman, and the whole house seemed open. On 3 sides were jungle, and on 1 side was the beach. Sea breezes kept the air temperature at a pleasant level, and the whole thing was surreal to me. Imagine coming form cold London, where everybody locks their doors at night, then sitting in a living plush living room, which opens out onto the ocean.

Many people come to Bali and build their own place. I once read in a Bali magazine that many of the ‘dream houses’ built in Bali end up being not so practical. They’re perfect for romantic weekend, but not so good for living in day to day.

Back in London I right now they are having some fairly hot weather, made all the more uncomfortable by the media, who relentlessly tell you how hot you are, and how unbearable the whole thing is. The reason for people here being hot has a lot to do with air-flow. Balinese people have long ago figures out the best place to be on a hot day…under a bale, which gives shade and air-flow from 360 degrees.

Living in Bali, I see 2 methods of keeping cool, as far as westerners are concerned; 1) keep things open and use a fan, 2) close things up and turn on the AC. I prefer option 2 if possible, and reckon if you had a house designed where air flow was maximized, and even chanelled down via the architecture, to the living areas, your time in Bali would be a lot more pleasant. Time will tell, and as more people buy villas in Bali, architects might get more creative and try to use some of those Bali breezes, to their advantage. If you cannot be botherwed redesigning your house, build a bale in the garden and keep cool.