Balinese Architecture

Balinese architecture is the vernacular building tradition of the Balinese people of Bali, Indonesia, shaped by Balinese Hindu culture transmitted through an ancient Javanese intermediary as well as by pre-Hindu elements native to the island. Traditional buildings are constructed from organic local materials, including thatch roofing, bamboo, coconut wood and teak, with stone and carved sandstone or andesite used for ornamental and structural elements. The tradition follows strict, sacred building conventions rooted in Balinese Hindu spatial philosophy, including the concept of Tri Hita Karana, harmony among humans, nature and the divine, and Tri Mandala, a threefold division of space, typically realized as an open compound of small individual pavilions arranged around a courtyard and enclosed by walls. Balinese architecture's rich carved ornamentation, depicting floral patterns and guardian figures in wood and stone, together with growth in the island's tourism industry, has made it one of the more widely recognized traditions of tropical Asian building.