This year’s Kyoto Global Design Awards have recognised SAKA Museum, AYANA Bali’s cutting-edge cultural centre and information centre dedicated to conserving and showcasing the island’s unique living legacy, as one of the Top 100. After being featured in Time Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2024, SAKA Museum’s interior designers, Napp Studio & Architects, were honoured in the Environmental Design category for their tasteful blending with the surrounding landscape.
An Insight Into SAKA Museum Receiving Global Design Award
With an emphasis on aesthetics and environmental responsibility, the Kyoto Global Design Awards recognise excellence in design. The SAKA Museum, the largest project to date built by Hong Kong-based Napp Studio & Architects, reflects Bali’s spiritual and cultural setting. The museum’s modern yet classic décor appeals to both domestic and foreign visitors by fusing traditional Balinese Hindu beliefs with modern design.
At the Kyoto Global Design Awards, SAKA Museum Director Judith Bosnak thanked Napp Studio for their commitment to producing a genuine and ecologically responsible cultural experience. She said that the SAKA Museum has grown to be a source of inspiration and cultural pride for Bali and commended Napp Studio for their careful and deft design.
More About The Museum’s Interior Design
Inspired by Bali’s yearly Day of Silence, Napp Studio & Architects’ co-founders Aron Tsang and Wesley Ho designed this museum that features a ceiling shaped like a constellation and a dimly illuminated lobby. At dusk, 3,000 LED lights glitter through a grid of concealed fixtures and structural components, transforming the area into a soothing glow.
In order to harmonise the natural terrain, lessen its environmental impact, and improve community ties, Napp Studio & Architects employed native materials, including volcanic rock and grey granite flooring, in a project in Bali. By utilising local materials, lighting, and a colour scheme that allowed for individual interpretation, the design sought to convey the spirit of Nyepi.
The wooden chest-shaped Knowledge Centre at SAKA Museum serves as a resource centre for scholars, artists, students, and conservationists. It encourages greater interaction with Bali’s traditional identity in a contemporary setting and is the only one of its kind on the island.
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The immersive Nyepi experience, the UNESCO-recognised Subak agriculture system exhibition, the gallery of Balinese material art, and the Nyepi rituals exhibition are among the new exhibitions that the SAKA Museum intends to open in January 2025.
Cover Image Credit: Supplied
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