California's building code requires seismic design that has no equivalent in Bali's construction practice — lateral bracing, foundation engineering for ground shaking, and, for hillside sites common in areas like the Hollywood Hills or Malibu, geotechnical review and grading permits that can take longer than the design itself. Wildfire-urban-interface zones add further requirements around materials, defensible space and access, particularly for hillside or canyon properties. None of this is part of standard tropical residential design, and the studio has no built experience with seismic engineering.
Where the studio's experience does transfer is Southern California's climate-driven preference for indoor-outdoor living, large sliding glazing, and outdoor rooms — themes central to tropical villa design in Bali, even though the underlying structural systems are completely different. A first Los Angeles project would need a California-licensed architect and structural engineer for all seismic, grading and code-compliance work, with the studio contributing spatial planning and interior direction rather than structural design.
Los Angeles' dry season and low humidity for much of the year are also a departure from Bali's constant humidity, which changes how materials like timber and plaster are expected to perform and maintain over time.
Flat-lot properties in the flood- and fire-lower-risk parts of the city are a more straightforward starting point than hillside or canyon sites, where grading, retaining structures and defensible-space rules add cost and approval time before design work even begins.
Has the studio built a project in Los Angeles or California? No. Built experience is concentrated in Bali, Indonesia, with additional projects in the Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico.
Who handles seismic engineering? A California-licensed structural engineer, always, regardless of who leads the architectural design — this isn't something a Bali-based practice has in-house experience with.
Los Angeles' indoor-outdoor design culture has more in common conceptually with Miami's climate-driven layouts than with dense Asian markets like Hong Kong, though the underlying codes are unrelated. To discuss a project, use the contact page.