The Architecture of Earthquake Prone Areas in Indonesia

By: Tegar Abdillah Ramadhan

As an archipelagic country surrounded by a ring of fire that stretches from the western
side of the island of Sumatra to connecting at the eastern end, Indonesia is destined to be an
earthquake-prone area. In the early days of civilization, the ancestors of the Indonesian nation,
who at that time began to recognize permanent housing after the end of the nomadic period, the
need for a safe and comfortable home to live in began to develop.
Omo Sebua and Omo Hada are traditional houses of Nias, North Sumatra Province,
which is proof that past civilizations have recognized engineering in building con struction in
earthquake-prone areas. Various concepts and principles applied to traditional buildings have
succeeded in proving that a house without nails from Nias can stand strong for hundreds of years
to this day.
In the modern era, the use of new materials is far more practical and economical. Most of
the building materials and basic construction science have been understood by the community
and continue to develop. However, not all houses are ultimately able to withstand earthquake
shocks. Other factors always accompany the causes of building damage.
The actual earthquake did not directly kill humans but human activities that were
designed and built inaccurately resulted in casualties (Gupta, 2010). Improper construction such
as building in hazardous locations (on slopes, under slopes, in fault areas, on soft areas, on
beaches), building without good planning, building with poor materials, building to substandard
specifications, building without pay attention to the dangers around, build by the non-experts.
Building especially houses related to earthquake hazards, namely building with the concept of
earthquake resistance.
As people living in earthquake areas, we can only reduce the risk due to earthquakes by
increasing community capacity and reducing vulnerability, namely vulnerability due to poor
housing quality. Building earthquake-resistant houses are very uneconomical, so the concept of
earthquake-resistant houses was born which is expected to reduce vulnerability due to
earthquakes. So that the damage to buildings due to the earthquake did not result in casualties.
The following are some of the principles used in building earthquake-resistant homes.
 Principles of Earthquake Resistant Construction
1. Simple and symmetrical plan The investigation of earthquake damage shows the importance
of a simple building plan and symmetrical horizontal force resisting structural elements. Such
structures can withstand earthquake forces better due to the lack of torsional effects and their
strength is more even.
2. Building materials must be as light as possible. Often, due to the availability of certain
building materials. Architects and Bachelor of Civil Sciences must use heavy building materials,
but if possible, light building materials should be used. This is because the magnitude of the
earthquake inertia load is proportional to the weight of the building material. For example, a roof
tile covering on a wooden truss generates a horizontal earthquake load of 3 x the earthquake load
generated by a zinc roof covering on a wooden truss. Likewise, the masonry produces an
earthquake load of 15 x the earthquake load generated by the wooden wall.
 3. The need for an adequate load-bearing construction system For a building to withstand
earthquakes, the earthquake inertia forces must be able to be transferred from each structural
element to the main structure of the horizontal force which then transfers these forces to the
foundation and the ground. The main structure of the horizontal force must be resilient. Because,
if the elastic strength is exceeded, the sudden brittle collapse will not occur, but in certain places,
it melts first. An example is the deformation of nails in logs occurring before collapse due to
bending moments in the trunk. How these forces are transferred is usually called force
trajectories. Each building must have a sufficient force trajectory to withstand horizontal
earthquake forces. To give a clear picture here is given an example of a simple house with three
main things to be discussed, namely the roof structure, wall structure, and foundation.
a. Basic Concepts The concept of earthquake-resistant buildings is an attempt to make all the
elements of the house into one unified whole, which cannot be separated/collapsed due to the
earthquake. The application of the concept of earthquake resistance, among others, is by making
a sufficiently strong connection between the various elements as well as selecting the appropriate
material and execution. The model house concept developed by the Office of the State Minister
for Research and Technology (KMNRT) does not only refer to the concept of earthquake-
resistant design, but includes the concept of utilizing local materials, community culture in
building houses, and aspects of ease of implementation.
b. Prihatmaji Foundation, Pramono, Nugroho 238 The foundation uses a river stone foundation
system, where the connection between the sloof and the foundation uses an armature every 0.5
meters. This is intended so that there is an attachment between the foundation and the sloof, so
that at the time of the earthquake the bonds between structure and sloof do not break.
c. Walls The walls used are a combination of the local people's habits of using wood and walls
made of bricks. To join the walls with columns or loops, an armature that is installed at a
distance of 0.3 is used
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