Dwellers of leafy South Jakarta have a new playground, and it’s one that boldly embraces the joys of nature. That may sound like an anomaly from the Indonesian capital’s highly congested urban norm, but Stalk – indeed, what’s in a name? – is exactly what it claims to be…and then some. Situated in Sudirman Central Business District, an enclave dotted with soaring office towers, apartment high-rises, hotels and shopping centres, the Stalk bar and restaurant has nestled in a lush patch in the middle of a roundabout, making clever use of existing trees and their canopy to create a unique setting. The design, created by Jakarta-based architecture practice RAD+ar, sees an experimental play with parametric fabric enveloping trees, creating no less than 900 sqm. (9,688 sq.ft.) of various social spaces along the way. Interestingly, while researching the latter, a philosophical notion of living in the shadow emerged. The tensile quality of the fabric acts as a reversed shadow to create a moving and ever-changing patterns.
At the same time, the wind blows as the trees move, ensuring comfort while observing and ensuring that nature is the heart of the architecture itself. Stalk‘s entrance is somewhat hidden and scaled down in the ending of vertical plants. Upon entering, guests find themselves in modestly-sized foyer surrounded by greenery before being accompanied to the upper bar and restaurant set among the tree canopies. The latter space is framed by a light steel-timber thatch roof around it that provides not only shade, but also acts as the anchor for the parametric fabric in the middle. The roof, which acts as a façade and ceiling, also serves as a lantern of sorts that’s part of the cityscape scenery during night time. Aiming for a well-heeled clientele, Stalk also comes with a tad more spacious V.I.P. lobby and no less than five V.I.P. rooms. The Stalk bar lists a wide range of whiskey options, hard liquors, beers, wines and soft drinks, while those dropping by for a bite can indulge in an equally elaborate range of small plates, bites to share, and succulent steaks.
Stalk
SCBD, Jalan Sudirman 52-53, Lot 8 (Kebayoran Baru)
Jakarta 12190
Telephone +62 811 8869771
Mon-Sat 5pm-2am
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
