ARCHITECTURAL WAY OF THINKING

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:12:00 +0000

(bagian halaman rumah yg digunakan sbg panggung temanten jawa...13 des'08)

Konsep rumah bagi orang Jawa tidak hanya sesederhana sebagai tempat untuk tidur, makan, dll tapi juga tempat dimana mereka berdiam, menetap, menjadi bagian dari masyarakat, menunjukkan identitas diri mereka, dan mengekspresikan diri sebagai individu yang bersosial. Konsep yang diambil dari prinsip2 tradisional masyarakat Jawa yang kental dengan pola sosial mereka yang juga mereka bawa ke dalam diri mereka...KULTUS SOSIAL...seperti kutipan di bawah ini....rumah belum dpt dikatakn sbg hasil karya yg sempurna, manakala rmh blm dapt dipakai sebagai tempat tinggal secara utuh dalam posisi manusia sebagai individu dan sebagai bagian dari masyarakat....(Sunarmi, et.al 2007)

...bentuk lain yang menunjukkan wujud nyata dari KULTUS SOSIAL...konsep rumah yang terbuka ...tanpa banyak sekat dan pembagian ruang di dalamnya dan yang dengan mudah dipindahkan sekatnya, begitu pula terbuka keluar...dengan banyak pintu pada bagian depan yang dengan mudah dibuka dan senantiasa dibuka setiap pagi tiba...dan selalu siap menerima tamu atau siapa saja yang ingin bertamu atau berkunjung....bahkan konsep PENDAPA sebagai penerima tamu yang tanpa dinding hanya berupa tiang2 utama...merupakan 'penjelasan' paling nyata tentang konsep 'terbuka' pada rumah Jawa...yang juga senantiasa siap mengadakan kegiatan apapun di dalam rumah...sebagai wujud kepedulian sosial atau keterlibatan sosial...seperti kutipan di bawah ini...

Suatu rumah tangga (somah) di Jawa terutama harus berusaha menjalin suatu hubungan yang baik dengan para tetangga (tetanggi) kemudian dengan keluarga2 lain sekampung, keluarga2 lain sedukuh, dan baru kemudian dengan keluarga2 lain yang tinggal di dukuh lain. Hubungan baik ini diungkapkan dengan berbagai cara gotong royong. Selamatan mendirikan rumah, selamatan melahirkan, khitanan, perkawinan, dsb. Sampai2 dalam hal menyelesaikan pekerjaan secara bersamaan dengan bantuan tetangga & sanak keluarga. Koentjaraningrat (1994, 151-152) menyebut dengan istilah sambat sinambat (Sunarmi, et al 2007).

Salah satu contoh yang kental yang banyak dilakukan oleh masyarakat adalah perkawinan yang diadakan di halaman rumah atau di depan rumah dan yang melibatkan tetangga...hal ini tidak hanya terjadi di desa..di tempat dimana nilai2 dan prinsip2 tradisional masih sangat dipegang ketat...namun juga di kampung2 di kota yang notabene tidak dapat menampung kegiatan sosial tersebut sehingga sang pemilik rumah menggunakan jalan di depan rumah sebagai perpanjangan dari bagian halaman rumahnya...

Referensi...ARSITEKTUR & INTERIOR NUSANTARA SERI JAWA, Sunarmi, Guntur, Tri Prasetyo Utomo, ISI Surakarta & UNS Press Surakarta, 2007.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:45:00 +0000

RENCANA GEDUNG SMP

RANCANGAN: melihat luas tanah
melihat luas kemungkinan yang bisa dibangun
IDE: standar ruang yang dipakai (luasan& bentang)
bentuk dan penampilan simpel & memenuhi ketentuan keamanan & standar pemakaian untuk beban hidup banyak. WAKTU RANCANGAN: total 3 hari.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:39:00 +0000

A COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL HOUSE AND CONTEMPORARY HOUSE IN JOGJA

Some time ago I went out to near North Ring Road to have a survey about two-story houses....and I found these two cute houses in a very different style, but both can speak about their history and time....It's a challenge to really know what is needed for the society nowadays for the requirement of living space and living environment. A modern or contemporary house does not mean it is able to accommodate all the basic need of a comfortable and livable living space. A traditional house surely show the wisdom of our forefathers in setting up shelter into a comfortable space throughout its history and inherited to this day.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:58:00 +0000

Beauty from Papua
[3] URBINASOPEN

Wilayah ini memiliki pantai yang landai dengan pasir putihnya yang halus dan terang, sebagian lain pantainya ditutupi oleh pecahan batu-batuan dari pegunungan yang ada di sekitarnya.

Urbinasopen memiliki bangunan gereja yang unik menghadap ke arah lepas pantai dengan gapura penyambutan selamat datang dan patung anak kecil yang hendak melempar galah.
Rumah-rumah penduduknya terbuat dari konstruksi rangka kayu dan dinding papan kayu dan atap dari daun rumbia kering. Sebagian rumah-rumah yang baru dibangun terbuat dari konstruksi dinding tembok bata dengan atap seng bergelombang atau genting yang dicat.
Sebagian besar penduduknya yang berjumlah kira-kira 618 orang bermata pencaharian sebagai nelayan.

All photographs courtesy to Pak Sarwadi & Pak Ranto from UGM (March, 2008).

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:56:00 +0000

Beauty from Papua
[2] SAMATE

Terletak di ujung timur laut Pulau Salawati, Papua, daerah Samate memiliki keindahan yang masih murni dengan pantainya yang landai berpasir putih dan pepohonan yang menghijau gelap. Sebagian pantainya memiliki undak-undakan untuk mencapai daratan yang nyaman digunakan untuk bersantai atau duduk-duduk sambil memandang ke lautan yang luas. Pohon bakau dan pohon rawa lain rimbun menutupi sebagian besar pantainya membuat teduh suasana.

Samate memiliki dermaga kecil tua dari konstruksi kayu tempat perahu-perahu kecil berlabuh dan menaikturunkan penumpang ke daratan. Sementara masih banyak pohon-pohon besar lain di wilayah pedalaman yang turut melindungi kelestarian dan menjaga keseimbangan alam.
Penduduk wilayah Samate hanya kurang lebih 1088 orang dengan sebaran yang tidak rata. Mereka menggantungkan hidup terutama dari hasil melaut. Jalan yang dapat dicapai menuju ke wilayah pedalaman adalah jalan tanah yang memadat dan berwarna merah muda menyala, jenis tanah yang unik dan mungkin jarang dijumpai.

All photographs courtesy to Pak Sarwadi & Pak Ranto from UGM (March, 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:24:00 +0000

BEAUTY FROM PAPUA
[1] LILINTA
Memiliki laut yang biru dan indah dengan gugusan pulau di kejauhan, dengan pantainya yang curam terbentuk dari sebongkah batuan sedimen yang besar yang juga membentuk sebagian besar daratan wilayah Lilinta. Penduduknya hanya berjumlah kurang lebih 515 orang dengan sebaran yang tidak merata. Sebagian besar penduduknya memiliki mata pencaharian sebagai nelayan, sementara sebagian kecil lain beternak sapi.

Perkampungan di wilayah ini berupa perkampungan yang dibangun di atas air di wilayah yang menjorok ke lautan. Konstruksi tiang-tiang kayu sebagai pondasi bangunan dan dinding papan banyak digunakan dengan jembatan papan kayu menghubungkan antar rumah-rumah tersebut. Kebanyakan rumah menggunakan atap dari bahan rumbia, atau daun kelapa yang dikeringkan, sementara sebagian lain menggunakan atap dari seng bergelombang.

Bangunan yang lebih menjorok ke daratan dibangun di atas dasar konstruksi pasangan batu-batuan yang dipecah dari pegunungan yang ada di wilayah tersebut.

Bahan kayu yang digunakan juga adalah bahan kayu lokal, yaitu tumbuhan rawa sejenis bakau dan jenis kayu daratan lain dengan warna batang coklat oranye.

All photographs courtesy to Pak Sarwadi & Pak Ranto (March, 2008).

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:43:00 +0000

ISU AKULTURASI PADA KELOMPOK BUDAYA TIONGHOA DI INDONESIA

Seseorang yang menjadi immigran mengalami menjadi minoritas, baik sebagai "immigrant sojourn" (tinggal selama perjalanan jangka pendek), "immigrant refugee" (pengungsi), maupun "immigrant voluntary" (karena kehendak sendiri). Perasaan sebagai minoritas ada dalam kaitannya dengan perbedaan bangsa, bahasa, agama, ras, dll. atau yang terlihat secara fisik, yaitu bentuk wajah, warna kulit, warna rambut, aksen bahasa, dll. Perbedaan yang dirasakan oleh panca indera tersebut menarik keluar sebuah kesadaran akan identitas diri yang berhubungan dengan situasi sosial (SOSIAL IDENTITY). Bahwa dirinya berbeda dan memiliki latar belakang yang berbeda menimbulkan problema penerimaan sosial, dan menimbulkan reaksi adaptasi yang bermacam-macam tergantung pada individu yang mengalaminya.
Pada umumnya individu dewasa akan segera mengidentifikasikan dirinya dengan kelompoknya yang sebangsa, atau sebudaya, dengan cara mencari mereka yang sama dengan dirinya, berkumpul bersama dengan mereka untuk lebih mudah mengatasi perbedaan tersebut. Mereka lebih banyak menggunakan bahasa dan tata caranya sendiri. Motivasi ini disebut loyalitas etnis atau "ethnic loyality". Namun inklusivitas ini menimbulkan reaksi dari kelompok budaya yang lebih dominan, yaitu diskriminasi. Ada pendapat yang mengatakan bahwa semakin individu tersebut mengalami diskriminasi semakin ia akan mengidentifikasikan dirinya dengan kelompoknya, membedakan diri, maka semakin ia mengalami diskriminasi hingga kehilangan respek (discreditable). Reaksi lain yang bisa ditunjukkan oleh individu minoritas adalah berkemampuan seperti kelompok budaya yang dominan, seperti belajar bahasa, tata cara berbusana, berbicara, condong bergaul dengan kelompok budaya dominan, sehingga meminimalkan perbedaan latar belakang budaya yang terbawa oleh individu minoritas. Motivasi ini disebut "cultural competence", ia sadar akan perbedaan budaya yang dibawanya sebagai minoritas dan budaya yang dominan, dan ia memiliki pengetahuan akan kedua budaya tersebut. Individu ini akan bersikap berbeda sesuai dengan situasi kelompok budaya yang dihadapinya, bilamana berhadapan dengan sesama kelompok budayanya ia akan menggunakan bahasa dan tata caranya sendiri, namun bila berhadapan dengan kelompok budaya dominan, ia akan mampu berbicara atau bersikap seperti mereka.
Kesadaran berbudaya muncul bersamaan dengan munculnya loyalitas etnis dalam diri individu tersebut ketika ia mengalami diskriminasi, yang tidak selalu bermakna negatif. Immigrant akan mengalami diskriminasi karena status minoritasnya. Sebenarnya, status minoritas inilah yang menjadi inti dari masalah status sosial. Bagaimana minoritas mengatasi masalahnya dalam seting budaya, tempat yang secara fisik lebih dominan terhadap dia? Ia akan beradaptasi secara budaya (akulturasi) seperti telah diuraikan sebelumnya. Jadi proses akulturasi terjadi mula-mula ketika sekelompok individu dari dua kelompok budaya yang berbeda mengadakan kontak secara terus-menerus satu sama lain dan setelahnya mengalami perubahan pola budaya pada salah satu atau keduanya seperti model akulturasi yang dikemukakan oleh Robert Park yaitu KONTAK (dari tangan pertama)-> AKOMODASI (menerima) -> ASIMILASI (diterima/menjadi bagian).
Perbedaan reaksi adaptasi dapat terjadi antar individu dalam kelompok minoritas yang sama atau memiliki latar belakang atau tingkat pendidikan yang sama yang disebabkan oleh perbedaan motivasi (pendorong) seperti keputusan/keinginan pribadi, motivasi ekonomi, politik, dll yang mana yang lebih menguntungkan/berguna baginya maupun hanya sekedar untuk mempertahankan hidup. Reaksi adaptasi budaya ini juga selektif terhadap perilaku, nilai-nilai, dll, tergantung pada individu masing-masing; hal lama apakah yang akan digantinya dengan hal yang baru, dan sebaliknya hal lama yang akan tetap dipegangnya. Contoh kasus: kelompok minoritas Tionghoa di Jakarta, akan berbeda dengan kelompok minoritas Tionghoa di Medan, dst. yang mana masing-masing anggota kelompok dalam sebuah keluarga juga akan mengalami perubahan pola budaya yang berbeda.
Telah dibahas sebelumnya bahwa ada dua reaksi adaptasi budaya, pertama adalah menarik diri (mengidentifikasi dirinya dengan kelompoknya), dan yang kedua adalah melebur (memiliki kemampuan terhadap budaya asal dan budaya yang baru). Keduanya melibatkan reaksi kelompok budaya mayoritas juga, jadi proses akulturasi adalah dua arah, yang dapat membalikkan reaksi adaptasi menjadi berkembangnya budaya kelompok minoritas melalui bangkitnya/digunakannya bahasa mereka oleh kelompok budaya yang dominan, atau material fisik lain. Jadi reaksi dan aksi adaptasi budaya ini sangat dinamis melibatkan lebih dari satu motivasi.
Contoh kasus: hasil proses akulturasi kelompok Tionghoa di Jakarta lebih kentara dibandingkan dengan hasil akulturasi kelompok Tionghoa di Medan, dilihat dari keseringan/kemampuan menggunakan bahasa asal (Mandarin/Hokkian). Anak-anak yang dibesarkan di Jakarta kurang/tidak mampu menggunakan bahasa Mandarin. Sedangkan generasi yang dibesarkan di Medan lebih mampu/fasih menggunakan bahasa Mandarin.
Proses akulturasi pada kelompok budaya Tionghoa di Indonesia sangat membuka jalan untuk bermacam-macam studi baik dari disiplin ilmu sosial, bahasa, hingga ke arsitektural. Banyak sekali yang bisa dikaji dari masalah-masalah sosial beserta reaksi-reaksi atau ahsil-hasil yang muncul di berbagai tempat yang berbeda, tidak terbatas pada kasus yang terjadi di Medan atau Jakarta saja, mengingat perjalanan yang unik dari sejarah kelompok budaya Tionghoa dimulai dari sekitar wilayah Medan (tercatat permukiman Tionghoa tertua yaitu abad ke-5 Masehi ditemukan di sana).

REFERENSI

Padilla, Amando M., dan Perez, William. 2003. Acculturation, Social Identity, and Social Cognition: A New Perspective. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 25 No. 1, February 2003 35-55. Sage Publications.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:50:00 +0000

SUBJECTS TOWARD ACCULTURATION STUDY

1. What is Acculturation? "The model is based on the observation that in plural societies, individuals and groups MUST confront two important issues. one pertains to the maintenance and development of one's ethnic distinctiveness in society...The other issue involves the desirability of inter-ethnic contact" (Berru et al., 1989, pp. 186-187, capital case added in DEBATE IN SCIENCE: THE CASE OF ACCULTURATION by Floyd Webster Rudmin, Psychology Department University of Tromsø, Norway Draft of December 2006)

2. Facts about Acculturation. The claim of universality of the fourfold acculturation constructs is at a discount (not regarded as valuable). "Finally, the presumption of universality cannot be correct if one considers people in the majority groups, which is most people, adopting foreign behaviors, for example, Russians playing ice hockey, Japanese eating curry rice, or Americans surfing the World Wide Web. For CULTURALLY SECURE MAJORITY GROUPS, maintenance of cultural identity and participation in society are not issues when they acculturate (Rudmin, p. 16). A three-stage model: contact, accommodation, and assimilation (Persons, 1987 in Padilla & Perez, 2003). According to this model, contact between peoples from different cultures forces them to seek ways to accommodate to each other to minimize conflict. Thus, contact shapes intergroup relations between different ethnic communities. Furthermore, the essential element in the model was THE PROCESS by which newcomers to a country learn to accommodate the dominant culture of that country. According to Robert Park in the same article, as immigrants learned to accommodate the dominatn group, a process of cultural assimilation ensued culminating in intermarriage and amalgamation. According to Redfield, Linton, and Herskovits (1936 in Padilla, 2003), acculturation occurs when groups of individuals from different cultures come into continous contact with each other, and subsequently, there are changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups. These authors also pointed out that change in cultural patterns is essential for at least one of the two groups in contact; however, Redfield et al. held that acculturation did not imply that assimilation would ensue automatically.

4. Assimilation is the process of becoming part of a country or a group and being accepted by other people in it.

3. Study the cultural variables concerning the built environment. Acculturative change may be the consequence of direct transmission; it may be derived frm non-cultural causes, such as ecological or demographic modifications induced by an impinging culture; it may be delayed, as with internal adjustments following upon the acceptance of alien traits or patterns; or it may be a reactive adaptation of traditional modes of life. Its dynamics can be seen as the selective adaptation of value systems, the processes of integration and differentiation, the generation of developmental sequences, and the operation of role determinants and personality factors. (Social Science Research Council, 1954, p. 974).
According to this expanded view of acculturation, we see the inclusion of value systems, developmental sequences, roles, and personality factors as contributing to how individuals accomodate when they come into contact with each other. This model was an advance because it specified important culture-related information that changes with intergroup contact and what aspects of culture might be more resistant to change (e.g., VALUES) with intercultural contact. The significance of this definition is that it provides for choice in the acculturation process--the change from one cultral orientation to another can be "selective", and persons involved in intergroup contact can decide what elements of their culture they wish to surrender and what cultural elements they want to incorporate (include) from the new culture.
According to Teske and Nelson (1974), acculturation included changes in material traits, behavior patterns, norms, institutional changes, and importantly, VALUES. Berry went further by specifically identifying the following four: ASSIMILATION, INTEGRATION, REJECTION, and DECULTURATION. The importance of Berry's model was that it recognized the importance of multicultural societies, minority individuals and groups, and the fact that individuals have a choice in the matter of how far they are willing to go in the acculturation process.
An important advance in Berry's model is that he incorporated language emanating (flowing)from the ethnic revival movement beginning in the 1970s and held that a minority person and/or ethnic group could REVERSE THEIR ACCULTURATION PROCESS to the dominant group and revert to their former cultural heritage. Today, there are numerous instances of ethnic groups who have managed to revive their ancestral language and culture (Fishman, 2001). Thus, acculturation was not seen as a strictly unidimensional process of cultural change but as a process forced by intergroup contact with multiple outcomes.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:31:00 +0000

A PROPOSAL OF RESEARCH IN JAPAN

I have been interested in human behavior in relation to the built environment, environment-behavior study & architecture design/planning, for a doctoral course. I would like to study about the acculturation of minority, Korean and Chinese, in Japan and how they express themselves through their houses in enclave areas of Koreantown and Chinatown regarding to their originally cultural background which provides them with self-identity as immigrant. How strong/weak the acculturation shown through the elements of building such as decoration/ornamentation, furniture use and arrangement, floor plan, or structural design of roof/wall.

My thesis' theme for Master's course graduation is about Chinese Type of Shop Houses in an Enclave Area in the Downtown Yogyakarta. I would like to bring the same method of research to the other minority enclave in Japan which will later contribute to the application of the theory of acculturation for the human settlement.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Javanese Wedding Ceremony

...beauty of culture

The wedding ceremony was conducted in Klatena area...with special style of Solo (the old capital of Mataram Kingdom before segregated into Solo and Yogya)...visible through the open shoulder style of the girl and topless style of the boy.

This wedding ceremony took place in March 2006.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:39:00 +0000

HOUSING by PEOPLE

A growing town of Cilacap, in Central Java, brings about a term of housing. Cilacap town is a town of industry and central location of Pertamina, governmental gas & fuel company. In this area also is the Nusakambangan island laid. Not so many visitors, but the constant in-flux coming of workers from outside the area every year keeps the life of the town. There are not many malls and shopping centers, and the cafes and coffee shops one probably can not find.
Life of civilians is quite stable and self-supported by the industry and office worker, with most of the inhabitants are fisherman, producing dry fish and other products of sea creatures made into very beautiful handycrafts and home decoration.
Apart from the above general information about Cilacap, there are housings by people, meaning built by themselves using traditional skill or local knowledge, very simple and no need complexity in judging the form, the beauty, more to it, the function. Simple for shelter and proctection from coastal wind.
(pic taken on Apr 2008 courtesy of Cilacap survey team of UGM Yogya Architecture Dept)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:13:00 +0000

TRAIN STATION @CILACAP

People of Java recently grows fond of using train widely as the most effective and affordable mass transportation linking between towns, especially inside this most populated island. Not so much because of the high prize of air transportation due to the wreckage of adam airlines, one of the domestic airline company, but that's because of so many obstacles in getting the convenient transportation means, not to mention bus. In Indonesia, the railway tracks and stations were built by the colonial government aprox in the early 1900s until mid 1900s. During those time, Java was having the first railroads and highways. Unfortunately the development of the networks was not support well by the current situation in that still people found difficulty in getting mass transportation particularly in yearly events such as big holidays of moslem.

The pic above shows the beauty of olden time station building built by the Dutch. With straight-slimpillars on the frontage and square-outstanding clock-tower, the white-painted station building emerges in beauty on the urban fringe-area of Cilacap.

(Pic taken in Apr 2008 courtesy of Cilacap survey team of UGM Yogya, Architecture Dept)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:56:00 +0000

BLUE BEACH @CILACAP

This is one of the beautiful views of Cilacap coast. Still natural and untouched by human intervention. Very beautiful and awesome, carrying the serene and tranquil beauty of natural beach scenery.

Though not so many people know the information about this beach, Cilacap actually is very famous of the shore beauty and most of all the Nusakambangan island to the south which is frequently visited by domestics for its beauty and mysterious island of where the heavy prisoners jailed in there. The beaches of Cilacap are also protected from potential tsunami waves by this island. Therefore it resulted in the beauty of the tranquil and serene scenery of its shore.

Ini adalah salah satu pemandangan pantai-pantai di Cilacap yang masih alami dan tidak banyak tercampuri oleh tangan manusia. Alam dengan sendirinya membentuk landaian yang anggun dengan langit yang biru bersih dan air laut yang tenang menghampar hingga ke batas cakrawala. Dengan keindahan yang sangat tenang, pantai ini menjadi tempat yang bagus untuk bersantai, bertemu dengan teman, maupun berekreasi bersama keluarga. Setidaknya pantai-pantai di Cilacap masih anggun dan seluruh area terbangunnya tampak rapi teratur di tepi pantai yang lebih jauh masuk ke daratan. Ancaman tsunami tidak mengurangi keindahan pantainya yang tenang dengan adanya pulau Nusakambangan di ujung selatan.
(Pic taken in Apr, 2008, courtesy to cilacap team of UGM Yogya)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:34:00 +0000

HOW TRADITIONS BUILD A TYPE OF HOUSE

By Lya Dewi Anggraini, MT

The cultural background forms people's perception on the surrounding environment through times. Culture involves tradition, which is formed through history. Since the very early times, people had overcome the nature to build shelters, make a living, and define their territory in order to protect themselves from intruder. The way certain people that are usually in groups manage their environment into elements that support their living varies greatly and depends so much on the specific area on earth as their position, which we call setting. First of all, they had to define the characteristic of their immediate environment. What the surrounding had in common as the main characteristic would become the distinguish feature people perceived as natural asset. Natural here means not only the bare nature but also the nature of the built environment. This is how people perceived as an effort to understand the nature where they belong to. Perception in the beginning is built not at once but through times as the same character appears. In this way, where and whom people belong to determine the cultural background that provides the traditions.

The surroundings that consist of physical matters affect people's value and patterns of behavior. Physical matters could perform as enclosure to the human's activity. Form of enclosure would limit the activity as it needs a space. Form of enclosure would also direct the behavior to the certain area it shall contain. To perform activity within the enclosure space, people would first perceive the physical matters and understand the values reside in the physical matters. Thus, the physical matters as built mainly through traditions bring up values and these values would be expressed through the activity. In turn, behavior (action) controls the design as the expression of values that takes form in physical matters (place of action).

Some buildings are called popular building not because it contains specific activity but because no matter the activity it contains, the shape of the building is hard to distinguish where it belongs to. Take for example Carrefour building, it has become a popular building built as part of shopping mall building everywhere around the world as franchise. The overall shape of the building does not show the particular activity it contains nor identity it conveys. The strength point is popular building is possible to build in any place without considering the local culture and local image, whereas the weakness is that it has no particular characteristic as a type of building nor gives identity to local culture.

A question arises concerning building type. What distinguishes one type of building from another? If one wants to build a certain building, what first should be in mind? What brings a type of building into realization then? In general, a type of building could be determined by its shape, its materials, or its facades, but the most basic structure of building is the layout plan that could show clearly the building's type based on the function. The layout plan of building also shows the arrangement of activities, the ultimate purpose of building.

Take for example a Japanese house, the renowned traditional townhouse building such as machiya in Kyoto, has similar arrangement of rooms, from (1) entrance and (2) shop at the front area, it goes straight to the (2) kitchen area, which leads to the (4) living room and (5) lavatory on the back. There was also (6) storage room separated from the main building to store things and keep them from fire.

To study contemporary Japanese houses especially its layout plan, several samples taken from randomized places were analyzed by the entrances and the first next levels of depth from the entrance. These six public and private housings have in common the same level of depth from the entrance: kitchen, and away or scattered throughout the arrangement of rooms in the plan: bathroom & toilet mostly separated. In between, there are living rooms, bed rooms, and others.

Comparing the traditional Japanese house with the contemporary ones, there seems no significant difference, but when we look closer to the behavior pattern of young generations, we would find that the contemporary house buildings include in their plans bathroom that mostly separated from the toilet room. This is a significant different from the traditional house where we would not find bathroom inside the traditional building since the old times of Japan had a custom to bath in a public bath house. This custom had been a part of social culture which people in old times had a social gathering to meet friends and chatting room to know the latest news etc. This has shifted people's perception on bathing from public area into private area.

From this study, we could conclude as follows.

1. Traditions lead to the values upon which the building design could be laid.

2. Traditions bring up the issue of design and at the same time could solve the problem.

3. Thus, traditions are able to become a precedent for the contemporary building within which the type of Japanese houses is established.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:29:00 +0000

THE TYPE OF CHINESE SHOP HOUSE BUILDING IN KETANDAN YOGYAKARTA: BASED ON ITS FORM AND FUNCTION

Lya Dewi Anggraini*

The Chinese migration to Indonesia had influenced the architecture of commercial buildings in Indonesia in the form of shop house buildings. This type of buildings was originated from southern part of China.

Ketandan is one of many Chinese settlements in Yogyakarta where some old shop houses still remained. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of the type of Chinese shop houses in Ketandan based on the form-function elements.

The method of this study is the qualitative-rationalistic paradigm. Field
observation was conducted by photographing and hand drawing and interviewing with the residents. This study results in (1) the various types of shop buildings which has typical pattern of simple one or two-story load-bearing structure supporting saddle roof with full opening on the street level and the narrow opening on the above level; (2) the
typical space composition of the shop area, the living area, and the storage with the circulation area in the middle.

Those forms of building elements are related to the multi-function in the building as dwelling and commercial space which in turn form a typical shop building that similar to the model of Chinese shop house in some ways. Thus, this study concludes that the main characteristics of shop houses in Ketandan are showing the adaptation to the original Chinese shop house and those buildings possess certain formal structures that define wholly as a distinctive type of shop house according to the premises about the concept of typology in architecture.

* A thesis for Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University, Department of Architecture and Planning, 2007 (unpublished)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:26:00 +0000

LEARNING FROM KETANDAN'S CHINESE SETTLEMENT IN YOGYAKARTA: Discovering, Using, and Managing the Characteristics of the Area*

Endah Tisnawati
Department of Architecture, University of Technology Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta

Lya Dewi Anggraini
Researcher, Yogyakarta

Ketandan is one of the dispersed Chinese settlements in Yogyakarta, a special province in the middle of Java Island, Indonesia. This small area is located exactly to the north of Beringharjo Market, the traditional market in Malioboro area, in which the early development of urban settlement took place. Some of the early Chinese shop houses in Ketandan still survive showing the distinctive features of the flourishing economy in 18th-19th century. Thus, the formal characters of the Chinese architecture are perceived in some senses despite of the other prevailing architectural styles.

Behind the ever-bustling Main Street of Malioboro, Ketandan has been given little attention and has happened to be slack for at least the last two decades. The phenomenon of transforming the shop house into warehouse is self-evident. Only in the past two years was the Chinese New Year celebrated lively in the neighborhood where Ketandan became the appointed spot of event. The Chinese New Year celebration was generating a lot of interest to both locals and visitors to participate in reviving the local Chinese culture. In this regard, Ketandan’s potential has been made known to the public.

To address this issue, in the present study we will discover physical and non-physical potential characteristics of Ketandan with regard to the locals’ effort in using potential and managing the problems associated with the environment. Results will show the main characters which strengthen the potential and provide ways to manage the area for the benefit in the future. We believe the present study will not only benefit Ketandan but also provide the basic knowledge of understanding another area having similar character.

*Abstract for International Seminar, University of North Sumatra, Indonesia, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:46:00 +0000

The Dispersed Chinese Community of Yogyakarta in 1936 (source: Educational and Cultural Ministry of Indonesia, Jakarta, 1993:24)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:15:00 +0000

WALLS OF AIMURA
(A small village in Ibaraki-shi, Osaka)*

Walls were varied from old construction to modern and contemporary ones in this village. Most of the buildings were housings with larger land used for planting or fields. The buildings were along streets that formed like tree and its branches. There was a main street leading to the temple or worship place at the highest point of the area surrounded by trees. The rest areas were fields and houses mixed old and new ones.

1. Making of the Wall**
Basic framework for plastering is first to be made on the exterior face of the uprights. Wide horizontal planks are used and set into notched spaces the exact thinkness of the boards. Posts with smaller diameter are erected between 36 cm and 45 cm apart between the uprights. Wooden laths with a rought grain are spaced about 1.2 cm apart and hammered into the uprights with two nails for each piece of lath. Several coats of plaster are then applied. The first rough coat is mud plaster mixed with straw. The succeeding coats are each more refined until the final coal, which is carefully smoothed. The final coat was usually white, although cream and black were sometimes used.
2. Wood Covering
The wood plaster or covering were widely used to the outside walls at the 2/3 of the bottom part. The wooden planks were barely painted or roasted to gain the dark color and was a way to prolong the durability. Timber members of the wall construction were usually visible on the inside of the building. The form of beams, brackets, cantilevered eave beams, the end of rafters, and the frames and lattices (koushi), of windows are often visible, even tough encased in plaster. By the end of the Edo period (1615-1867) the decoration had become more elaborate and sculptural, and included birds, flowers or wave motifs, sometimes enhanced with color. The plastering of town houses was usually confined to the lateral walls and to the upper floor of the front and rear facades. The timber surface of structural members on the ground floor was left unplastered. Later town houses sometimes left rafter ends and the underside of the eaves unplastered. Buildings thus constructed often referred to as nuriya (lit. painted house).
3. Fire-proof House
This wall structure was used as a fireproofing system, similar in principle to the mud-wall structure (dozou-zukuri) but rather less substantial, as the external plaster coating was only about 3-5 cm thick, measured from the outer face of the posts. The techniques was used for walls, turrets, yagura, and keeps, tenshu, of castles, and for the row houses (nagaya) and row-house gateways (nagayamon) surrounding warrior residences. Its development coincided with advances in techniques of defensive warfare which occurred in the latter half of the 16c. Every effort was made to ensure that castles more resistant to both fire and firearms, recently introduced from Europe. This kind of wall also was used to folk residences, minka (townhouse), machiya (shop house), and their ancillary structures from the Momoyama period (1568-1615) onward. The technique is particularly associated with town houses in western Japan and Kansai district.
4. Storage House
The wall was from concrete plaster and invented to anticipate the fire once often consumed the wooden constructed house. The construction of this type of house was said to have begun in the early 18th century, but the oldest one remaining today dates from 1792. The remaining houses were now to be or to belong to merchant houses.

* Study conducted on June-July 2005
** Source: www.aisf.or.jp (20 Feb 2006)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:39:00 +0000

Pusan, South Korea
[March 7th 2005, around 13.00 Korean times]

1. Pusan Bay
On the water it looked as fishing boats and ships roaming. Some of Korean’s sea product are well-known not only in Korea but throughout the world. Korean seaweed, dried and flavored one, is very delicious and famous in Japan. Anchovy is probably the other famous and common fish in Korea; sometimes they put it in a kind of soup mixed with seaweed. The sea product of Korean was probably one of the main products of the natural resources to give the country income and prosperity.

2. Middle and High-rise Buildings
Middle to high-rise apartment buildings are many in Pusan. Probably it reaches 20 to 30 floors. These apartment buildings might have offered the beautiful views to the seashore or ocean at afar and hilly areas on the other side. The occupation rate might have been increasing, or at least the demand of such a dwelling type, for it accommodated all kind of access to and from any other part of the country, from Seoul in the North to Ceju Island in the South, as well as to overseas. Pusan has international airport, national bus and train station, and all facilities serving the visitors and inhabitants with both contemporary and traditional way of life. Some traditional markets and traditional fishery still existed along with hyper market.

3. Neat Zoning
Pusan had a very neat zoning. It looked well-planned for dwellings, industrial, commercials, and roadways. Even the waterways looked neat and well-treated. Amid the hills that scattered throughout the small country built ‘boxes’ pinned well to the ground. Building blocks and road access merged well to create a balance life and environmental friendly design. It seemed pleasant and comfortable to stay or live in this city.

4. Waterfront
Hills and plain grounds offered a nice composition of the built environment at the edge of the water as waterfront areas. Rows of middle-rise apartment buildings at the front should have valued higher for their room rate than others which located deeper to the Korean peninsula. Constructing the bridge to connect with other areas across the gulf and the main road along the water edge would be the strong point of the waterfront. It offered remarkable and smart sequential view that directed the passengers to the dark blue water and sky, enjoying the mild ocean weather throughout the years.

5. Station Buildings
The bus stop in front of Pusan airport was clean but empty. It was probably not the holiday season since it was just in the brink of the winter season. Piles of snow were seen in some parts inside the city and cool-warm wind blew from the ocean welcoming the visitors to Pusan city. The middle picture’s showing probably station building across another station building which is pictured the right, the Gupo station. Gupo station is a train station served for three different types of national Korean railways, Mugunghwa, Saemaeul, and KTX. All had different fares according to the speed and comfort inside the cars passenger could enjoy. KTX is the most expensive one that means the high class train. But I supposed all shared the same destination places since South Korea is a single peninsula.

6. Commercials
Shops and restaurants with wide glass display window at the front side along the street were common throughout the city. With direct access into these narrow streets the shops had billboards telling us the name and kind of goods they were offering covered their facades. Korean letters called Hangeul were widely used instead of Chinese character called kanji. Colors of the billboard could not match with the building. It brought the harmony one among the others. It seemed like the size and position of the signboard were regulated strictly by the local government, otherwise it would look messy and unreadable. See that all the signboard that projected onto the street were lined up neatly along the side of the street vertically. At the right corner were stalls set up to sell some kind of food. Korean foods were all delicious with spicy stuff and various side dishes free for all kind of food especially in restaurants.