Four weeks of Tropical Architecture Summer School at IDB Bali

Four weeks in August, one campus, one course. The Tropical Architecture Summer School 2026 at IDB Bali moved from orientation and studio sessions into hands-on bamboo construction, studio visits, excursions to temples and resorts, a surf lesson and a closing ceremony. Along the way there were sketchbooks, scaffolding, wet feet and one certificate handover. That's a wrap: here is what the four weeks looked like, in photos.

Studio and campus

The course opened at Omah Blumbungan, the studio and campus space in Ubud, with orientation, name lanyards, and introductions over drinks under the roof of one of the brick and bamboo pavilions on site. The buildings themselves, with their carved stone details and tiled roofs set among gardens, were as much a subject as anything discussed in the studio. Between sessions there was also time for small local crafts, like folding a palm-leaf offering with a member of the campus team, alongside the first sketching and model work of the course.

Bamboo up close

Bamboo construction sat at the centre of the course. At BambooU, students moved between lashing full-size bamboo poles into standing structures on scaffolding, tying joints by hand, and carrying scaled models between stations under straw hats marked with the school's name. The same material and the same questions came up again at Pablo Luna Studio, where finished and half-finished roof models in different stages of construction lined a workshop table, and in a studio talk given under a bamboo roof, a projected slide on the wall behind the speaker.

Off campus

Excursions took the group beyond the studio. At Goa Gajah and Penglipuran, the course visited a temple complex carved into stone, ending at a holy spring where students washed in water still running from the old stone spouts. At Titi Ubud, a garden visit brought the group together with a local guide under a thatched pavilion for a slower, more conversational stop. At Nuanu, a large sculptural bamboo roof under construction showed the same lashing techniques from BambooU at a much bigger scale, its curved beams woven overhead, followed by a quieter stop at the resort's art gallery among paintings on white walls.

Not only studio

Not every day was spent on architecture. One afternoon went to a surf lesson on the beach, from a briefing on the sand and carrying boards down to the water, to standing up on a first small wave with an instructor watching close by. Another stop was Villa Nenek, a guesthouse whose eclectic, book-lined rooms, built-in shelves and patterned wallpaper are a small architecture and interior design lesson of their own, worth as much attention as any studio brief.

The four weeks on film

The recap film runs through the whole course, from the welcome to the last day. It is the same film that plays on the program page, with royalty free music.

Final presentations and farewell

The course closed with final presentations and a Farewell Closing Ceremony on the beach, marked with traditional Balinese headpieces, a stage set with marigold and palm-leaf decorations, and a certificate handover in front of the group. Names were called up one by one, certificates held overhead, before the formal part of the evening gave way to dinner.

The evening carried on past the ceremony itself, with dinner, a birthday cake shared around the table, and the last hours together before the course ended and everyone packed up for home.

The four weeks in photos

The group on the beach before the Welcoming Dinner, dressed in sarongs for the evening.

Lighting a torch before the fire show that closed the Welcoming Dinner.

The fire show on the beach, watched from the dinner tables.

Orientation day at Omah Blumbungan, the studio and campus in Ubud.

One of the brick pavilions at Omah Blumbungan, part of the campus in Ubud.

A quick lesson in folding palm-leaf offerings on the studio grounds.

A briefing at BambooU before the group starts lashing bamboo frames.

Raising a bamboo structure at BambooU, poles lashed by hand from scaffolding.

Carrying a small bamboo model between stations at BambooU.

Bamboo roof models on the table at Pablo Luna Studio.

A studio talk under the bamboo roof at Pablo Luna Studio.

Listening to a guide in the garden at Titi Ubud.

A thatched pavilion at Titi Ubud, framed between the palms.

Among the carved stone shrines on the Goa Gajah and Penglipuran excursion.

The group at the Goa Gajah temple complex.

The holy spring at Goa Gajah, water still running from the old stone spouts.

On the bridge at Nuanu, between stops on the visit.

A sculptural bamboo structure under construction at Nuanu.

A stop at the art gallery on the Nuanu campus.

The beach briefing before the surf lesson.

Carrying the boards down to the water.

Standing up on the first wave.

One of the guest rooms at Villa Nenek.

The full group at Villa Nenek, under the bougainvillea.

On stage at the Farewell Closing Ceremony.

A certificate held high during the handover ceremony.

Receiving a certificate on stage at the closing ceremony.

A birthday shared with the group at the closing dinner.

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