d+a | Issue 127 • 2023

75 design with his firm’s foray into sustainable architecture. One of Dornier’s ongoing projects is a series of prefabricated cabins in Mojo Island. These cabins — albeit measuring just 64 sqm — will showcase how good design can enable luxurious living even in smaller spaces. Carbon emissions-heavy concrete and steel will be swapped out for environmentally friendly options like mass timber. Prefabrication, rather than building on-site, will also reduce the need for soil-eroding concrete foundations. Coupled with the latest resource management technology like solar power and waste and water management, these tiny cabins are set to redefine what sustainable luxury can mean. Driven by their constant curiosity and a pure love for experimenting with materials, Dornier’s studio has branched out into product design. The studio most recently crafted light fixtures with banana fibre paper, an ingenious and delightfully beautiful way of upcycling the trunks of banana trees, an otherwise wasted resource once bananas have been harvested. His limited-edition lamp series called ‘Tamashi Jiwa’ include standing, table and pendant lamps. A furniture line utilising sustainable, locally sourced materials is also in the making. “By no means are we a green design firm”, Dornier states. “We’re not building under the agenda of sustainability. But we’d like to encourage our clients to think about [things like] the choice of materials and the space they truly need. You don’t always have to make every part of a project sustainable. But if you manage to make just one part of it so, it can help to spark a conversation or further progression down that line”, Dornier opines. With all that he’s achieved so far, there’s no doubt that Dornier is poised to be one the voices leading these conversations. ULU Ocean View (House Aperture): Reclaimed teak from Java, terrazzo, and local limestone lend Uluwatu Surf Villas a light, tropical aesthetic.