Sundanese Vernacular House
Kranggan Village, Bekasi, Indonesia
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This Sundanese traditional house is located in Kranggan Village, Bekasi City, West Java, a small village between suburban areas, not far from the metropolitan Jakarta. The entire main house consists of a wide front yard, two Sundanese traditional stilt houses that have merged into one, and a spacious semi-outdoor kitchen. The house now is not occupied any more but only the kitchen is used for catering to everyday needs. The house also accommodates the family and community rituals and festivals. The owner who is also a descendant of the House now lived separately in the new modern house that is located next to the Vernacular House. In front of the Old House, there is a small one-room building dedicated as a museum to place original remains of building elements and furniture, claimed to have existed since the 16th century. Before the stilt houses merged into one, they were two traditional stilt houses with prominent features such as ‘umpak’ (similar to column pedestal) as the building base and a ‘balé’ (Balai in Indonesian, similar to the hall). According to the current homeowner, Olot Ihsan—a 65-year-old man; the heir of the house, this house has existed since 9 generations ago. The semi-outdoor kitchen is almost the same in dimension as the house, considering that the cooking activity is always done by several family members to feed many families who live together there.
Original Front Door by Kemas Ridwan Kurniawan
The original front door (the oldest one, dating back 200 years) that was left unchanged when the house was renovated several times is the door on the left side of the front facade. The height is only around 153 cm, less than common modern doors. It requires people to bow while entering the house, suggesting respect from the guest towards the house owner. This is a common pattern found in many vernacular buildings. Right above the door lies its crown called ‘sigar,’ leaning towards the entrance area for about 35°. An identical ‘sigar’ is also found above the other front door (the right side of the front facade). Both the right and the left side doors of the front facade were made of teak wood, which was sourced locally at the time of construction.
For the right front door, the door leaf was made around 100 years ago. To date, not much changes have been applied, revitalization was limited to only the varnishing of this wooden door. The engraving depicts living organisms such as plants and animals. Four flowers as the biggest pattern are placed on the same axis—on the centre of the surface, they stand out as emphases as they are the only patterns being carved and have sculptural figures. More recognizable engraving patterns are various leaf shapes, fishes, roosters, cats, and other combinations of geometries such as circles and stars. On the indoor/backside of the door, there’s an additional wooden lock system (see top view section and back elevation).
On the rear side of the house, there is a door leading to a wood-fire open kitchen with stoves made out of clay. Here, the family gathers and cooks dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. The back door is a newly added part of the house when the neighbourhood is becoming denser. The prominent feature of the rear door is the woven bamboo called ‘gedek’ that is usually used by the Sundanese as wall panels for the stilt house. Gedek is made using the outer skin of bamboo and woven into a wall material that is lightweight, breathable, with sustainable material that is easy to obtain. There are some scorch marks on the backside of the wall where the kitchen utensils are stored (see rear elevation).
