David Gianotten

The Indonesian hospitality group Potato Head has joined forces with Rem Koolhaas' OMA to create the Creative Centre in Bali, a new 168-room beachfront hotel that completes the Desa Potato Head complex.

As well as the 168 rooms, the Creative Centre will feature a restaurant, several bars, a multifunctional gallery, an “environmentally driven kids club”, several rooftop activation areas, an amphitheatre, a pool, a music recording studio and a subterranean discotheque next door. The hotel is soft opening in December, with the various elements being rolled out during 2020.

OMA have designed a floating ring lifted by pilotis to accommodate the guestrooms and other functions, including the exhibition space and a sunset bar. The lifted structure creates an open platform with direct access to the beach, which will be used for a range of events and is accessible to the public. The rooftop features a 'sculptural park' which will also be open to the public.

“The essence of Bali lies in the interaction between different cultures,” said OMA's David Gianotten, who led the project. “Dedicated to both guests and the community, our design for the Creative Centre encourages exchange between different kinds of users and challenges the typical Balinese resort typology that highlights exclusivity.”

“We’d like to welcome conscious and curious minds to our visionary utopia; visitors should leave Desa Potato Head with a more imaginative, rejuvenated mind set and we hope they return again and again,” said Potato Head's creative director Daniel Mitchell.

The Desa Potato Head complex – conceived by entrepreneur Ronald Akili as a 'creative village' in the heart of Bali's Seminyak – already consists of the Potato Head Beach Club, opened in 2010, and the Katamama Suites Hotel.