Villa Batu Hitam

A guest villa built from local volcanic stone, planned as a single thick wall that everything else leans against.

The site takes the full force of the east wind. Instead of resisting it across the whole plan, the house puts one heavy stone wall in its path and shelters behind it.

Volcanic stone came from a quarry eleven kilometres away and was laid dry-jointed by two masons over five months. The wall is 600mm thick — enough thermal mass to hold the night coolness until late morning.

On the leeward side everything is light: timber screens, a thin steel roof and full-width openings that stack away completely, so the living room is either a room or a terrace depending on the hour.