John Hardy: Bali Guy

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Today, that empire centers on one of the most innovative and environmentally sustainable factories in Bali. The factory walls, made of recyclable mud brick, are topped with thorny bougainvillea, rather than razor wire. John Hardy calls them a “sustainable solution to the international problem of security.” Workshop roofs are covered with creeping passion-fruit vines to insulate the interiors from the brutal equatorial sun. Their fruit makes for a handy snack. Lotus ponds punctuate factory floors. “If the fish die,” says Hardy, “we know something is wrong.” The compound is designed to be light on the ground. If the Hardys closed shop, the whole area could be back to rice paddies in three months' time. The breathtaking showroom is a cathedral of curving bamboo, designed by renowned Malaysian architect Cheong Yew Kuan. It's easy to chuckle when Hardy speaks of building replicas on the roofs of malls in the U.S., turning those wasted acres into gardens and bringing luxury retail to a whole new level—the garden level. But then you realize, he's serious. And then you start to think, Well, why not?

Spending time with Hardy is like learning to dream: the farfetched suddenly seems possible. He speaks in a never-ending stream of ideas, and if you can follow the dips and eddies and soaring visions of a man who has transformed his world to his exact standards, you may catch a glimpse of your own future. “Can you imagine the potential of a mud-and-bamboo IT center?” he exclaims as he whirls around the packed-dirt floor of his new media office, jabbing fingers at bamboo-reinforced mud walls, woven grass ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking emerald rice paddies. “This entire building comes to less than the cost of our air-conditioning unit.” This, his latest project, comes out of a desire not just to showcase his products but also to promote his vision for sustainable construction. “Anyone who sees how beautiful this is will say, ‘Hey, why am I building with ugly concrete blocks when I could build something beautiful, and cheap too?’ It could be the beginning of a new revolution.”

The Hardy revolution begins at lunch. Every day more than 700 factory workers dine on fresh organic food raised on the factory grounds. It's a commitment that Cynthia Hardy takes seriously. “We took a stand on giving our people a really good meal. It nourishes them and gives them energy. It benefits them, and that benefits us,” she says. “That's the definition of sustainability,” says John. “We don't want to burn through our workers just because we know we can get more. In the end that doesn't make sense.”