Session 2. Indonesia's Traditional Housing Brief Overview. Faculty of Interior Design. Universitas Pelita Harapan Jakarta Indonesia

1. Nusantara
Traditional Housing

2. • SESSION 3 COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
and BELIEFS
• SESSION 4 FIELD SURVEY

3. Space define people.

4. There are plenty of aspects which men
put into considerations when they build
their houses.

5. RELIGION
BELIEFS
LANGUANGEFAMILY
SYSTEM
SOCIAL POLITICAL
GENES
TECHNOLOGY
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENT
(1) – (2) : Rumah panjang di Kalimantan/Sum-Bar
(3) – (9) : Kasta di masyarakat Jawa
(5) – (7) : Material
(8) – (2) : Tinggi, besar dan bentuk rumah
(4) – (9) : Upeti pada raja
TYPES OF
FOOD GATHERING
METHOD

6. THE SPACES THAT DEFINE
Types of food gathering method
Family system
Language
Religion/beliefs
Environment
Economy
Technology
Genes
Social political

7. FAMILY SYSTEM
Rumah panjang of South kalimantan/ West
Sumatera.
These houses built big to accommodate more
than one family.

8. FAMILY SYSTEM
The house of Dani people are built linked to their
stocks barn and their wife’s houses.
The men live together, as well
as the wives live together with
their closest relative.

9. TYPES OF FOOD
GATHERING METHOD
Fisherman/hunter/farmer/breeder, each type will
create different architectural output.
Fishermans will often build their houses at the
coast, facing sea, and sturdy.
On contrary, hunters will build their houses with
the ability to move, following the animals.

10. RELIGION/BELIEFS
The Javanese believe that men are created in
different social hierarchy.
Therefore, houses for common people are
different from the priyayis, or from the kings.
The door which lead to king’s court often hang
low, making the attendant to bow compulsarily
when they enter.
This low door only exists at king’s palace.

11. RELIGION/BELIEFS
The Danis and Sumbas, for example, are
cultures that believe that ancestors and the
deads, were still dwell among them.
Thus, the house for the deads (tomb) are built
inside the village.

12. RELIGION/BELIEFS
More than half Nusantara’s culture believing
ornament do has “power.”
Ornaments can take form as a graphic painting,
sculpture, or structural detail.

13. TECHNOLOGY
Villages build close to each other will usually
tempt food gathering competition, eventually
leads to warring villages. This environment force
the villages to build their houses high and well
defended.
ENVIRONMENT

14. TECHNOLOGY
Different knowledge will
provide unique
approach to solve
technical aspects
for their architecture.
ENVIRONMENT

15. TECHNOLOGY
Different environment
supplies different
building materials.
ENVIRONMENT

16. GENES and RACES
Certain races have their people slender, small,
short, slim, big, tall or gigantic.
Thus, the size of the inhabitants will influence
the size of their houses as well.

17. THE ORIGIN OF NUSANTARAS
PEOPLE

18. • Nusantara traditional houses may look similar. From the materials, big and
high roofs, and shape. Because, at first, they all came from the same place.
• In one island, or even in islands, they speak with different languages. This
constraint develops a very isolated culture. The neighbouring cultures
usually dont interact. The result, Nusantara houses were very unique to their
own, since no external influence involved.
• Most of Nusantara region situated on ring of fire, volcanic geographical
environment. Thus, most of them share similar earthquake solution (rise
house, made of bamboo/wood, and sit on a stone plate.
• Nusantara islands are horizantally shaped. So, most of us share the same
climate zone. Most of their houses incorporate prevention to only 2 seasons:
rainy seasons and dry season.
• Nusantara is an assemble islands. People on an island usually categorized
by 2: land people (hunter, farmer, breeder) and sea people (fisherman).
COMMON
CHARACTERISTICS

19. Farmer Low plain area
- Beternak kerbau, babi, anjing, dan ayam.
- Sifat lebih penyabar dan enggan
berpindah.
- Memuja dewa/dewi yang berhubungan
dengan sawah (dewi padi, dewa sungai
atau dewa hujan)
Hunter
Gatherer Low plain area
Breeder
- Memanen ubi talas, pisang, kelapa dan biji-
bijian.
- Tidak agresif, sering berpindah.
Fishermen
Coastal area
- Berani, lebih terbuka.
- Menganggap kapal sebagai bagian terpenting
kehidupannya; bukan laut,ikan ataupun dewa-
dewi.
Mountain people
High plain
- Tertutup, sifat keras.
- Hidup dengan berburu. Memuja hewan-hewan
penghuni hutan yang dominan.
DEMOGRAPHY

20. Rise house to tackle earthquake, mud, flood, defense against
enemies.
COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

21. Gender bias space
COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

22. Long, high and connected roof.
Roof extension on each end.
Usually, geometrically shaped and identical from left-right or back-front.
Axis on north-south
COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

23. Wood is the most used materials.
Cultures using stone and earth (mud, sand) also found, but not
many.
COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

24. ARE BUILT MUCH MORE FOR
SYMBOLICAL MEANING, NOT
FOR PHYSICAL NEED.
Houses usually took shape of a
very meaningful aspect in its
culture.
Personal/group representation
in society.
Family record of genealogy and
achievements.
Microcosmos simulation.
LIVING HOUSES

25. • The living house as a “small world.”
There are birth, live, death, east-west,
north-south, good-bad, heaven-hell in
a living house.
• Each room has different meaning and
grades. Vertical-horizontal, front-back,
left-right.
MICROCOSMOS

26. This is a normal Torajan house.
Torajan believe the good spirit comes
from the front side of the house.
14 Ornated façade to attracts the
good spirit.
15 WEST Bad side Dead people
lied down here.
16 SOUTH Dead side The head of
the dead face towards south
17 SOUTH-BACK
Dead side+ancestor side
Family’s heirloom placed there to be
guarded by the ancestor.
18 EAST Good side
The newborn baby put here.
MICROCOSMOS OF THE
TORAJAS

27. House are also built for the
dead.
Tomb built inside the
village (Sumba), near the
living houses (Bali), or
inside the living houses
(Sumba).
MICROCOSMOS OF THE
TORAJAS

28. House and all its building aspects (materials,
build ritual, maintenance procedure) considered
influencing the luck of the inhabitant.
- Choosing the location
- First stone founding
- First new house entry
HOUSE BUILDING RITES

29. All ancient people are ANIMISTIC.
Two character of Nusantara’s animistic:
pantheistic
everything have soul. Stones, trees, even, a tiny drop
of water has it. Therefore, worship to certain things
are common.
Canibalism and decapitation are ways to take over the
soul to make one’s stronger.
eternal soul
After dead, the soul still continued to live around the
body or around a special person to them.
The deads are believed still present in daily live, and
they need to be taken care of: house, food offerings or
communicate with them are proofs that the deads still
important.
RELIGION AND BELIEFES

30. Living houses are meant to be
inhibited by particular person.
Thus, all the measurement and
room placement are calculated
based by the inhibitant’s
attribute (birthday, the zodiac,
etc)
MICROCOSMOS and
MACROCOSMOS

31. Like any other ancient culture, villages
usually led by a chief; companied by a priest.
The chief takes care matters such: water
distribution, war, or village policy.
The priest takes care matters such: leads
ceremony, decides harvest season, predicts
the climate, or cures the sick.
SOCIO POLITICAL

32. • In some tribes, vertical family (grandmother
to grandchild) and horizontal family (brother-
cousin) reside at a house.
• Also found in some tribes, vertical and
horizontal families reside in different house.
• Most of them are patrilinealistic.
• Neighbouring villages went to war to
capitalize certain area/natural resource.
SOCIO POLITICAL

33. Stoneware (axe, chisel, spear)
Earthenware, woven cloth, boat.
Simple wood structure, yet sturdy.
TECHNOLOGY

34. Main technique is piled beam-column (tumpukan
kolom dan balok)
Certain column or beam reserve special meaning
and regarded higher/holier than others.
(soko guru of Javanese house, or tiang raja of
Bataks house)
WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT
SYSTEM

35. WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT
SYSTEM

36. Walls are made from
bamboo, straw, or
woven dried palm
leaves.
Roofs are commonly
made from wood, or
woven leaves.
WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT
SYSTEM

37. The diversity of Nusantara’s architectural style has the same
origin, therefore, has similar beliefs about their houses.
Variations can occurred influenced by many environmental
aspects.
By studying the environmental aspects, we can predict these
variations.
The understanding of Nusantara traditional style is an important
part of self understanding, our true character, and potential
original design of our own in the future.
CLOSING