German architect Alexis Dornier has completed a distinctive doughnut-shaped residence in Bali's highlands that reimagines tropical living through cinematic inspiration and local craftsmanship. Villa Omah Prana, a 475-square-meter circular home located in Payangan, organizes all living spaces around a central raised brick planter while wrapping the perimeter with a shaded walkway. This unconventional layout ensures every room maintains visual connection with the surrounding forest landscape. Dornier's design philosophy for the project emphasizes clarity of geometric form and choreographed spatial experience without resorting to theatrical gestures. The architect's unexpected reference point was the concept art for the space station in the 1970s James Bond film Moonraker, specifically the early sketches by production designer Ken Adam that balanced bold geometric moves with atmospheric precision.

The Moonraker influence manifests in the villa's confident circular geometry, which Dornier describes as behaving like ripples expanding from a single moment of impact. This simplicity creates a readable and consistent spatial logic throughout the residence. The ring-shaped plan remains one room deep, with internal spaces positioned between the outer perimeter walkway and an inner corridor encircling the central courtyard. Bedrooms occupy sealed, air-conditioned zones facing outward for privacy and climate control, while the open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area flows toward both a curved pool on the northeastern edge and the internal courtyard. This dual orientation allows the communal spaces to engage with both the private landscape of the central planter and the expansive forest views beyond the villa's edge.

Local architectural traditions profoundly influence the villa's material expression and detailing. Dornier drew from Bali's rich weaving heritage to develop the herringbone pattern for the dark brick walls, which incorporate perforated sections that filter light from the courtyard into the bedrooms. This interlaced texture reinterprets vernacular craft in a contemporary manner, adding tactility without overwhelming the architecture's calm, grounded presence. The courtyard ceiling features timber planks following the circular form, sloping gently toward a central lightwell that channels natural light and rainfall into the planter. In the living area, furniture and carpentry arranged on radial axes use pale timber finishes that complement the brickwork while maintaining the geometric consistency.

The architect, who relocated his studio to Bali in 2013 after establishing his practice in Germany, has developed numerous projects that respond to the island's tropical climate and cultural context. His previous work includes stilted guesthouses nestled in rainforest canopies that minimize ground impact while maximizing views. Villa Omah Prana continues this exploration of architecture that blends into its natural setting while introducing bold formal gestures. Dornier's approach demonstrates how foreign architects can meaningfully engage with local traditions without resorting to pastiche, instead creating contemporary spaces that remain sensitive to their context. The house invites close inspection and rewards visitors with rich details that remain calm and grounded.

The project's success lies in its balance of conceptual clarity and material richness. While the circular form provides an immediately understandable organizing principle, the detailed brickwork, timber finishes, and careful spatial sequencing create layers of experience. The architecture manages to feel both monumental and intimate, choreographing movement through shaded walkways and open terraces while maintaining connection to the lush surroundings. This synthesis of cinematic inspiration, geometric rigor, and local craft suggests new possibilities for tropical residential architecture that honors both global influences and regional identity.

Villa Omah Prana represents a growing trend of architects drawing from unexpected cultural references to create site-specific designs that transcend conventional tropical modernism. Dornier's ability to translate a science fiction film's aesthetic language into a functional, climate-responsive home demonstrates the expanding vocabulary available to contemporary architects working in global contexts. The project serves as a model for how residential architecture can be both conceptually ambitious and intimately connected to local craft traditions, offering lessons for designers working in similarly sensitive environments worldwide.