We’re sitting in a cozy beachfront restaurant in Canggu with sea breeze in the air and waves in the background. Across from me is Johannes Weissenbaeck, the founder of OXO Living, an Austrian entrepreneur whose journey took him from Europe to Australia, and eventually, to the spiritual heart of Indonesia.
What started as a personal dream to build a home in Bali, evolved into a luxury real estate company that’s redefining how we live, invest, and experience.
This is the story of how one man’s dream became a movement. Where design meets purpose, and homes become the source to meaningful living.
“How did an Austrian start a real estate company in Bali? What’s the story behind it?”
The idea of living in Bali first sparked back in 1992, when I came to the island on holiday. Something clicked. I knew that one day I wanted to live here and build a home. But life took me on a long and winding journey through Europe and then Australia, where I spent 15 years building a business and a life. Bali, during that time, became my sanctuary, a place I kept coming back to. Over those two decades, I developed a deep connection with this island.
After selling my business in Australia, I decided it was finally time to follow the dream I’d been carrying since ’92. In 2014, I moved to Bali with a very clear intention: to live on an island, to live in Bali and to build a house. That house became Villa Chameleon—and unknowingly, the start of a new chapter.
What began as a personal project quickly turned into something more. I rediscovered my passion for design, hospitality, and creating exceptional living experiences. And I also recognized a gap in the market. An opportunity to bring a more sophisticated, lifestyle-driven approach to real estate and hospitality in Bali.
That’s how OXO was born. From a dream, a stopover, and a house—into a real estate company that today takes people on an inspiring and rewarding investment and lifestyle journey.
“What does OXO Living stand for?”
OXO Living stands for possibility. At its core, OXO is about unlocking potential—of spaces, of investments, and of lifestyles. Bali is not a typical real estate market. It’s a lifestyle destination first, but also offers strong, tangible returns. For many of our clients, OXO represents more than just buying a property—it’s a gateway to a different kind of life. One that’s more connected, more inspiring, and more free.
We create beautifully designed homes and hospitality experiences, but what we’re really offering is a sense of place—and a new perspective. People come here for the sunshine and the culture, but they stay because something shifts. They rediscover who they really are and what matters to them. And OXO is here to make that shift effortless.
We combine European design principles with the vibrancy and soul of Bali, crafting homes that are functional, luxurious, but also emotionally resonant. We manage every aspect—from design and construction to hospitality and ongoing operations. Because we believe that peace of mind is part of the luxury.
So when we say OXO Living, we mean exactly that: living. Not just investing, not just holidaying—but living well, fully, and with purpose.
“How would you describe OXO Living’s vision?”
Our vision is to redefine how people live, invest, and experience life in Bali—and beyond.
OXO Living is building a new category of lifestyle real estate, where design, hospitality, and smart investment intersect. We envision a future where owning a property isn’t just about square meters—it’s about access: to freedom, to beauty, to purpose. We’re creating a curated world of seamless living—where you can step off a plane and into a life that’s already been designed with clarity, comfort, and connection in mind.
We want to make it effortless for people to own a stunning home in one of the world’s most inspiring destinations, while also generating strong returns. But more than that, our vision is about transformation. For our clients, OXO is often the beginning of a new chapter. A life shift. A step out of the conventional and into something more meaningful.
That’s what drives us: not just to build homes, but to build possibility.
“What exactly does the term ‘wellness real estate’ mean, and why does this sector have such strong growth potential worldwide?”
At OXO, we asked ourselves a very simple but profound question: What would a home look like if it was designed to help you live longer? That question became the foundation of our approach to wellness real estate.
For us, wellness isn’t an add-on, it’s a fully integrated, holistic design principle. It shapes everything: from the architecture and spatial flow to the materials we choose, the light, air, sound, and energy of a space. It influences the amenities we build, the experiences we offer, and the sense of calm and clarity our environments are designed to provide.
Wellness real estate refers to properties that actively support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the people who live or stay there. Globally, it’s one of the fastest-growing sectors in real estate—currently expanding at a rate of 18% per year. That growth is being driven by a major shift in values: people today are looking for homes and destinations that align with their lifestyle and their health, not just their financial goals.
And the beauty of Bali is that wellness is already woven into its culture—from connection to nature and ritual to the deep sense of presence that life here encourages. That makes it a natural platform for wellness real estate. What we’re doing at OXO is formalizing and elevating that into the built environment and lifestyle design.
We believe the future of real estate is not just in smart stays, but in healthy homes—spaces that restore, energize, and inspire. And that’s the kind of future we’re building.
“How did the collaboration with Chris Precht of Studio Precht come about?”
It’s actually a funny story. I’d been following Chris Precht’s work for years—even back when he was still based in China. His projects immediately caught my attention: they were fresh, bold, and incredibly thoughtful. There was this vibrant energy in his designs, but more importantly, there was a strong, consistent thread around sustainability, nature, and wellness—things that deeply resonated with me and with the direction I wanted OXO to take.
At the time, I knew he was Austrian, like myself, but I had no idea where in Austria he was from. That wasn’t what stood out—it was the work that spoke to me.
Fast forward to when we decided to dive head-first into wellness real estate, and we knew we needed someone visionary to help shape this next chapter. So we invited Chris to join a curated list of internationally renowned architects, including big names like Kengo Kuma, MK27, Alexis Dornier, BIG and Herzog de Meuron, to explore potential collaborations.
With Chris, there was an immediate connection. It just clicked—our ideas, our values, and our vision for what wellness living could be aligned instantly. But here’s the twist: only after we’d already started working together did we discover that we grew up just 20 kilometers apart, in two tiny villages in Austria. It took us both traveling the world and building our respective paths across continents to finally meet and collaborate—on the other side of the world, in Bali.
There’s something poetic about that. And maybe that’s why the collaboration feels so natural. It’s rooted in shared origins, but more importantly, in a shared vision for the future.
“What are the special features of the collaboration between OXO Living and Chris Precht?”
What makes this collaboration truly special is the fusion of two worlds—Europe and Asia brought together through a shared vision for the future of living.
Chris and I both come from Austria, a place where you grow up with a strong sense of structure, detail, and design integrity. There’s a deep-rooted respect for quality, sustainability, and the purity of materials and form. That foundation influences how we think, how we work, and how we create. At the same time, we’ve both spent significant time in Asia, and we’ve been shaped by its energy, creativity, and raw dynamism.
Asia, especially Bali operates on a very different frequency. It’s less controlled, more intuitive, more fluid. And that contrast creates something really exciting: when you combine European discipline and precision with the spontaneity and boldness of Asia, you open up a space for innovation. You get architecture that is both poetic and practical, both structured and soulful.
That’s the heart of our collaboration with Chris. We’re not just designing buildings—we’re designing experiences that work across cultures, across climates, and across generations. We’re integrating wellness, sustainability, and aesthetics into one seamless vision.
This partnership is a meeting of philosophies, shaped by geography, life experience, and a shared desire to push boundaries. And the result, we believe, will be something truly iconic.
As the sun dips below the horizon and the candles flicker on our table, one thing becomes clear to me that OXO Living isn’t just building homes; they’re building possibilities. They offer something rare these days. A chance to slow down, reconnect, and live intentionally.
written by Media Sari
