Desa Potato Head

Potato Head Studios is a bold new hotel and master plan for Desa Potato Head, a creative village in Seminyak, Bali, that seamlessly integrates hospitality, culture, and sustainability. The design for the hotel embodies Potato Head’s vision of fostering creative engagement and ecological awareness, going beyond mere consumption. The architecture celebrates authentic Balinese culture and vernacular design while championing a circular economy, where waste is minimized, and materials are creatively reused or repurposed. The design team developed a site-wide wayfinding system for the village, as well as integrated wayfinding for the new hotel, further amplifying Potato Head’s commitment to Balinese culture and sustainability.

Agency

Studio Ongarato

Practice Area

Client

Potato Head

Industry

The Challenge

As a local epicenter for culture, music, and vernacular design, the site required wayfinding that would consolidate the many destinations and promote the ideology of the brand as an advocate for authentic Balinese culture and design within a circular economy. 

The vision of Potato Head is to build a space for creative engagement, rather than consumption, by empowering design to foster a dialogue about ecological solutions for the greater good of the community.

Project Vision

Potato Head Studios, designed by OMA, is a bold new hotel and master plan for Desa Potato Head, a creative village in Seminyak, Bali, that seamlessly integrates hospitality, culture, and sustainability.

OMA’s design for the hotel embodies Potato Head’s vision of fostering creative engagement and ecological awareness, going beyond mere consumption. The architecture celebrates authentic Balinese culture and vernacular design while championing a circular economy, where waste is minimized, and materials are creatively reused or repurposed.

We designed sculptural totems that serve as both symbolic markers of Balinese heritage and outdoor wayfinding signage.

Tommaso Riva

The wayfinding system becomes an extension of Potato Head’s mission, creating a cohesive experience that celebrates Balinese culture and promotes ecological solutions on a global scale.

Tommaso Riva

Design + Execution

The site was conceptualised as three main buildings, each given a symbolic code and formalised as sculptural totems – a contemporary gesture of Balinese culture. These bold rough formed statues are pigmented and feature aggregate from by-products of the building construction. The stacking of symbols and arrows direct to destinations made from recycled plastic made in Potatohead’s sustainability lab. Wall mounted wayfinding, directories and amenity symbols feature a sandwich of contextual and recycled plastic materials and are over scaled and imperfect to cope with the monolithic locally crafted architecture – a testimony to how creative thinking can support culture and the environment.

The wayfinding text—made from recycled plastic produced in Potato Head’s sustainability lab—appears on directional signs, directories, and amenity symbols.

Tommaso Riva

The legibility of the tone-on-tone text is enhanced by its extruded depth, contrasting recycled plastic layer and subtle lighting that washes the walls at night.

Tommaso Riva

The approach to signage throughout not only ensures functionality and architectural integration but also serves as a testament to how thoughtful design can support both cultural heritage and environmental stewardship.

Tommaso Riva

Sustainability

Potato Head has committed to becoming a zero-waste operation and has put in place a raft of regenerative practices to stride toward that goal. Our approach to signage contributed to their ambitious sustainability targets through materials reuse. 

The wayfinding text has been crafted from recycled plastic produced in Potato Head’s sustainability lab. This text appears across directional signs, directories and amenity symbols. Additionally, aggregate material used for the concrete totem signage was salvaged from excess building materials.

The design for the hotel embodies Potato Head’s vision of fostering creative engagement and ecological awareness, going beyond mere consumption.

Tommaso Riva

Inside the hotel, the dimensional, wall-mounted wayfinding system features bold typography made from recycled plastic, sandwiched beneath a layer of material that directly aligns with the building’s architectural context

Tommaso Riva

  1. Tommaso Riva

  2. We designed sculptural totems that serve as both symbolic markers of Balinese heritage and outdoor wayfinding signage.

    Tommaso Riva

  3. The wayfinding system becomes an extension of Potato Head’s mission, creating a cohesive experience that celebrates Balinese culture and promotes ecological solutions on a global scale.

    Tommaso Riva

  4. The wayfinding text—made from recycled plastic produced in Potato Head’s sustainability lab—appears on directional signs, directories, and amenity symbols.

    Tommaso Riva

  5. The legibility of the tone-on-tone text is enhanced by its extruded depth, contrasting recycled plastic layer and subtle lighting that washes the walls at night.

    Tommaso Riva

Project Details
The connection between the architecture, material choices—construction by-products—and the locality of Bali makes the wayfinding system not only functional but also celebratory of sustainable local culture and a joy to the eye.
Juror 1
Somewhat understated yet impactful, this wayfinding system utilizes a blend of recycled materials and clever forms to create a uniquely designed solution.
Juror 2
Design Team

Ben Kluger (strategy & design)
Larraine Henning (design)
Fabio Ongarato (creative direction)

Collaborators

OMA (architecture firm)
Larch Studio (landscape architecture firm)
Potato Head (physical fabrication firm)
Andramatin (local architect)
Civil Geotechnical (local architect)
Aurecon (structural building services)
Raijmakers (acoustic consultant)

Photo Credits

Tommaso Riva

Open Date

March 2022

More in Wayfinding

All Projects