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Indonesian Architecture reflects the same diversity of Cultural , Historical , and Geographic influences that have shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonisers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a pronounced effect on building styles and techniques. Traditionally, the most significant foreign influence has been Indian , but Chinese , Arab , and since the 18th and 19th centuries, European influences which have been important. RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE temple complex]] Although Religious Architecture is widespread, the most significant has been developed on Java . The island's long tradition of religious Syncretism extended to architecture, fostering uniquely Javanese styles of Hindu , Buddhist , Islamic , and to a smaller extent, Christian architecture. A number of often large and sophisticated religious structures—known as '' Candi '' in Indonesian —were built in Java during the peak of Indonesia's great Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms between the 8th and 14th centuries. The earliest surviving Hindu temples in Java are at the Dieng Plateau . Originally thought to have numbered as many as 400, only 8 remain today. The Dieng structures were small and relatively plain, but architecture developed substantially and just 100 years later the second Kingdom Of Mataram built the Prambanan complex near Yogyakarta ; considered the largest and finest example of Hindu architecture in Java. The World Heritage -listed Buddhist monument Borobudur was built by the Sailendra Dynasty between 750 and 850 AD but was abandoned shortly after its completion following the decline of Buddhism and a shift of power to eastern Java. It contains a vast number of intricate carvings that tell a story as one moves through to the upper levels, metaphorically reaching Enlightenment . With the decline of the Mataram Kingdom , eastern Java became the focus of religious architecture with an exuberant style reflecting Shaivist , Buddhist and Javanese influences; a fusion that was characteristic of religion throughout Java. Although brick was used to some extent during Indonesia's classical era, it was the Majapahit builders who mastered it, using a Mortar of vine sap and Palm Sugar . The temples of Majaphit have a strong geometrical quality with a sense of verticality achieved through the use of numerous horizontal lines often with an almost art-deco sense of streamlining and proportion. Majapahit influencess can be seen today in the enormous number of Hindu temples of varying sizes spread throughout Bali . Several significant temples can be found in every village, and shrines, even small temples found in most family homes. Although they have elements in common with global Hindu styles, they are of a style largely unique to Bali and owe much to the Majapahit era. , Sumatra ]]By the fifteenth century, Islam had become the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra , Indonesia's two most populous islands. As with Hinduism and Buddhism before it, the new religion, and the foreign influences that accompanied it, were absorbed and reinterpreted, with Mosques given a unique Indonesian/Javanese interpretation. At the time, Javanese mosques took many design cues from Hindu, Buddhist, and even Chinese architectural influences. They lacked, for example, the ubiquitous Islamic Dome which did not appear in Indonesia until the 19th century, but had tall timber, multi-level Roof s not that dissimilar to the Pagodas of Balinese Hindu Temples still common today. A number of significant early mosques survive, particularly along the north coast of Java. These include the '' Mesjid Agung '' in Demak , built in 1474, and the ''Al-Manar'' Mosque in Kudus (1549) whose ''menara'' (" Minaret ") is thought to be the watch tower of an earlier Hindu temple. Particularly during the decades since Indonesian Independence , mosques have tended to be built in styles more consistent with Global Islamic Styles , which mirrors the trend in Indonesia towards more orthodox practice of Islam . TRADITIONAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE ''tongkonan'' house)]] ''Rumah adat'' are the distinctive style of traditional housing unique to each Ethnic Groups In Indonesia . Despite this the diversity of styles, built by peoples with a common Austronesian ancestry, traditional homes of Indonesia share a number of characteristics such as timber construction, varied and elaborate roof structures, and pile and beam construction that take the load straight to the ground. These houses are at the centre of a web of customs, social relations, traditional laws, taboos, myths and religions that bind the villagers together. The house provides the main focus for the family and its community, and is the point of departure for many activities of its residents. Traditional Indonesian homes are not architect designed, rather villagers build their own homes, or a community will pool their resources for a structure built under the direction of a master builder and/or a carpenter. '' in the Pandai Sikek village of West Sumatra ]] The norm is for a post, Beam and Lintel structural system with either Wooden or Bamboo walls that are non-load bearing. Traditionally, rather than nails, mortis and tenon joints and wooden pegs are used. Natural Material s - timber, bamboo, thatch and fibre - make up ''rumah adat''. Hardwood is generally used for Piles and a combination of Soft and hard wood is used for the house's upper non-load bearing walls, and are often made of lighter wood or Thatch . The thatch material can be Coconut and Sugar Palm leaves, ''alang alang'' grass and rice straw. Traditional dwellings have developed to respond to natural environmental conditions, particularly Indonesia's hot and wet -carrying Mosquitos ; and the house is much less affected by Dry Rot and Termites . Many forms of ''rumah adat'' have walls that are dwarfed in size by large Roof —often of saddle shape—which are supported independently by sturdy piles. Over all traditional styles, sharply inclined allowing tropical rain downpours to quickly sheet off, and large overhanging Eaves keep water out of the house and provide shade in the heat. The houses of the Batak people in Sumatra and the Toraja people in Sulawesi ('' Tongkonan '' houses) are noted for their stilted boat-shapes with great upsweeping ridge ends. In hot and humid low-lying coastal regions, homes can have many windows providing good cross-ventilation, whereas in cooler mountainous interior areas, homes often have a vast roof and few windows. Some of the more significant and distinctive ''rumah adat'' include:
PALACE ARCHITECTURE '' Istana '' (or " Palace ") architecture of Indonesia includes the '' Kraton '' of Java 's sultans, the Istana Maimun of Medan , and the Pagaruyung Palace in West Sumatra . Around the various kingdoms and realms of Indonesia, palace architecture is more often than not based on the vernacular ''adat'' domestic styles of the area. Royal courts, however, were able to develop much grander and elaborate versions of this traditional architecture. In the Javanese ''Kraton'', for example, large ''penodopos'' of the ''joglo'' roof form with ''tumpang sari'' ornamentation are elaborate but based on common Javanese forms, while the ''omo sebua'' ("chief's house") in Bawomataluo, Nias is an enlarged version of the homes in the village, the palaces of the Balinese such as the ''Puri Agung'' in Gianyar use the traditional ''bale'' form, and the Pagaruyung Palace is a 3-storey version of the Minangkabau '' Rumah Gadang ''. Similar to trends in domestic architecture, the last two centuries have seen the use of European elements in combination with traditional elements, albeit at a far more sophisticated and opulent level compared to domestic homes. In the Javanese palaces the '' Pendopo '' is the tallest and largest hall within a complex. As the place where the ruler sits, it is the focus of ceremonial occasions, and usually has prohibitions on access to this space. COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE The 16th and 17th centuries saw the arrival of European powers in Indonesia who used Stone and Masonry for much of their construction. Previously timber and its by-products had been almost exclusively used in Indonesia, with the exception of some major religious and Palace architecture. One of the first major Dutch settlements was Batavia (later to become Jakarta ) which in the 17th and 18th centuries was a fortified brick and masonry city. For almost two centuries, the colonialists did little to adapt their European architectural habits to the Tropical Climate . In Batavia, for example, they constructed canals through its low-lying terrain which were fronted by small-windowed and poorly ventilated Row Houses , mostly in a Chinese -Dutch hybrid style. The canals became dumping grounds for noxious waste and sewage and an ideal breeding ground for the Anopheles mosquitos, with Malaria and Dysentry becoming rife throughout the Colonial capital. home is an example of 20th century Indonesian Dutch Colonial styles]] Although, row houses, canals and enclosed solid walls were first thought as protection against tropical diseases coming from tropical air, years later the Dutch learnt to adapt their architectural style with local building features (long eaves, verandahs, porticos, large windows and ventilation openings).1 The ''Indo-European'' hybrid villas of the 19th century would be among the first colonial buildings to incorporate Indonesian architectural elements and attempt adapting to the climate. The basic form, such as the longitudinal organisation of spaces and use of ''joglo'' and ''limasan'' roof structures, was Javanese, but it incorporated European decorative elements such as Neo-classical columns around deep verandahs. Whereas the ''Indo-European'' homes were essentially Indonesian houses with European trim, by the early 20th century, the trend was for Modernist influences—such as Art-deco —being expressed in essentially European buildings with Indonesian trim (such as the pictured home's high-pitched roofs with Javan ridge details). Practical measures carried over from the earlier ''Indo-European'' hybrids, which responded to the Indonesian climate, included overhanging Eaves , larger windows and ventalation in the walls. |
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