Home design & architecture: Alejandra Cisneros

Seven years ago I arrived in Bali — on vacation, but like so many of its visitors fell, immediately and irrevocably in love with it. As an artist and architectural designer I was and am ever intrigued and inspired by the daily manifestations of beauty in the form of offerings to a higher power. It's a privilege to live and create and build here: There may be no other place on the planet where there is such gifted and affordable talent in the form of craftsmanship that can be applied to home design.

As has been my lifelong habit, my own process is heart centered with a double dose of rigor and attention to detail in design. For me, a living space must be poetic never forgetting designing in function for the various nuanced facets of my client's lives — to say nothing of the very specific and demanding requirements of building sustainably in Bali. Sun. Rain. Wind. Plant and animal life. Finally, we must respect the culture of the Balinese while designing for our clients' cultural origins.

Designing and creating a dream house in Bali — whether remodeling a six hundred square foot bungalow, refurbishing an antique eighty year old Javanese joglo or building a new home or rental property — is challenging and requires patience and a subtle understanding of the Balinese culture and work ethic in combination with strength of vision and a willingness to understand when pushing is necessary when pulling back is of essence. Building in Bali is not building in the west. Our combined ideas, energy and vision in conjunction with my excellent team of dedicated and caring Balinese builders creates the magic.

One of the great lessons of this island is how to live beautifully in simplicity. This is why I am drawn to clients who have a reverence for Bali as a natural habitat and Bali as a culture — Let's design as light of a footprint as we can luxuriate in. My promise? To design and create and build a one-of-a-kind beautiful home that encourages dreaming and lounging and sharing of meals and stimulating conversation among friends and family in harmony with the elements: a perfect blend of the poetic and the practical.

Biography — Alejandra Cisneros

BA in Architecture and Visual Design UC Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley 1983.

Masters work in Architecture UCSD University of California, San Diego 1995.

Masters in Documentary Photography ICP International Center Of Photography New York 1986.

Raised in Argentina and the US, I have been a world traveller since before I was born. As a young adult I lived in Mexico and Argentina. At sixteen I spent a year living with a family as an AFS (Amercian Field Service) foreign exchange student in Southern Thailand: my immersion in and love of the cultures of South East Asia began early.

My world view is ample and infuses every aspect of my design aesthetic.

An inherited love of languages. My grandfather spoke seven. I am fluent in Spanish and English and comfortable in French, Italian and Bahasa Indonesia. Much joy derived from astanga yoga and salsa dancing.

Principal of Alejandra Cisneros Design for more than 15 years in Del Mar, California.

My focus has always been houses, both new houses and remodels in locations such as Del Mar, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Joshua Tree, California, Kauai, Hawaii, Baja California, Mexico, Montreal, Canada. and Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am currently about to begin a project in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. My passions are the use of natural materials, sustainable, harmonious design tailored to my client's dreams, natural light, and a respect for the land. House siting and blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors has been paramount in my house design as well.