The House in Indonesia: Between Globalization and Localization

Author(s): PETER J.M. NAS

Source: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde , 1998, Vol. 154, No. 2,
GLOBALIZATION, LOCALIZATION AND INDONESIA (1998), pp. 335-360
Published by: Brill

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27865433

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 PETER J.M. NAS

The House in Indonesia

Between Globalization and Localization

The main premise of the theory of globalization is that during the past
few decades a 'third' culture has emerged which transcends national
cultures and cannot be explained simply by looking at national states and
their interrelationships1. In this article I will explore the adequacy of
this premise in the field of residential architecture. The question at issue
is whether the house in Indonesia should be considered part of worldwide
'third' culture or not, and, if so, whether this is a recent phenomenon. I will
deal with this question in three parts, developing the argument from the
local to the global. I will begin by describing a number of present-day
vernacular habitation styles to show their great variety, stemming from
the diversity of local cultures in Indonesia.2 Some of these forms of
residential architecture are still widespread, but many of them have
already disappeared or can be classified as endangered. In this section the
focus is on the local roots of residential architecture. From there I will
present the Hindu, Islamic and colonial influences on the house to show
that worldwide cultural elements - those founded in the dual relations
between states as well as those of a more general character - were not only
present but were also characteristic, exerting powerful influences. Global
ization is not just a recent phenomenon and often has strong regional con
notations. Moreover, the so-called third culture should not be seen through
western eyes only, because Asian variants abound. In the final section, I
will analyse post-independence foreign influences. During this period the
diffusion of habitation styles has certainly been accelerated by new means
of communication and the intensification of their use. In some cases this
diffusion has been based on particular concepts discussed on a worldwide
scale and propagated by influential international institutions. In this
section the localization of this intensification of globalization as well as
the phenomenon of hybridization are also taken into account.

Vernacular habitation styles

The mainstream of residential architecture in Indonesia is clearly rooted

in vernacular forms. These have always been predominant in much of

1 I thank Reimar Schefold, Gaudenz Domenig and the Kring van Leidse Urbanisten, KLU
(Circle of Leiden Urbaniste) for their comments on an earlier version of this article.
* For an elaboration of the concept of habitation style see Nas and Prins 1988.

154- (1998)

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 336 Peter JM. Nas

Indonesia, especially in rural areas but by no means absent from some urban
areas, although a marked decline has set in since at least the beginnings of
this century. Nowadays these vernacular forms are often found in the
midst of other buildings ranging from simple wooden structures to modern
brick dwellings, and even high-rise condominiums in cities. Where they
are found, they often still have a function in the maintenance of tra
ditional culture. It would be too laborious to present an overview of all the
traditional forms of architecture in Indonesia in this essay, but it is
possible to provide a limited but insightful sample from which some main
spatial principles can be deduced. I will restrict myself to twelve examples
presented in rough geographical order from west to east, some well-docu
mented, such as the Javanese, Balinese and Atoni cases, and some less well
documented, such as the Aceh residential architecture, the limas house in
Palembang and the Savunese house. Because of these differences in avail
able documentation, and due to the need to keep these characterizations
brief, only the principal elements will be included. So when a certain
element is found in the description of one house type but not in another, it
does not always mean that it is not present. I hope that these cases will
supply sufficient material to convey an appreciation of the local roots and
variations of vernacular architecture in Indonesia, as well as to provide a
basis for deducing the basic principles underlying these habitation styles.

The Aceh house (Sumatra)

In Aceh the traditional houses all face north or south, never east or west.
Jacobs (1894) supposes that this is probably a pre-Islamic feature, since in
Hindu belief the house entrance should not face the setting sun, which
marks darkness and is associated with black, the colour of death.
Nowadays, borrowing from Islamic teaching, the front gable is considered
to be oriented towards Mecca. Snouck Hurgronje (1895) says that the grown
boys, men and strangers without wives used to lodge and sleep in the
meunasah, the village community building, which is often deserted nowa
days (Dall 1982).
The traditional house in Aceh is built on high stilts so that people can
walk around and work underneath it. The most sacred place is the roof in
which the family heirlooms are kept. The middle level is the house
proper, which is divided into three parts from the front to the back. The
first part, the frontgallery, is the place to receive guests and partake of
religious meals. The second part is elevated about half a metre and con
tains the bedroom, a corridor and a storage place. The third part lies on
the same height as the first part and is made up of a back gallery often
containing a kitchen. This is where daily meals are taken, where the
children sleep and where the women receive their female guests. All sorts
of furniture and utensils are found here, such as mats, pots, lamps and so on.
This back gallery, according to Damst? (1920-21), is very private, al

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 The House in Indonesia 337

though the bedrooms, of course, are more so. In former times the stairways
were often situated in the middle of the front of the house, where the
water jar was placed so that the visitors could wash their feet before
entering. Sometimes a separate female entrance is found leading to the
back gallery.
The Sakuddei house (Mentawai)
The Sakuddei house on Siberut, one of the Mentawai islands, has been
described by Schefold (1979-80). The main dwelling, the urna, is a
longhouse, built on stilts and inhabited by five to ten families. It belongs to
one local group and expresses its unity symbolically. The urna generally
consists of an open entry platform, a covered front gallery, a first and
second inner room, and another platform at the end. One of the inner-side
pillars is xised to hang up the group fetish and has an important ritual
significance. The whole house is related to the cosmos and is considered to
be a ship comprising the whole society. The open, airy verandah with the
notched tree-trunk stairway is where the men work on tools and keep them
stored. The covered front gallery is an important meeting place for hosting
guests. It is a favourite male sleeping place, where men and boys gather
under mosquito nets. The board on the upper inside of the front is decorated.
Animal skulls are tied to the roof. The inner room is entered through a
door. It has the communal hearth in the middle with a board dance floor
behind it. On the right side of this floor are places for sacred objects and
personal belongings. This is where the very prestigious gongs are stored
and rituals take place during feasts. It is the religious centre of the house
where the main protective fetish, a bundle of holy plants, is preserved.
The second inner room is divided into bedrooms for the women. In a large
urna these are rooms occupied by one family each. Generally the mother
sleeps there with the children and unmarried girls. The platform at the
end of the urna is used by women to do their work. Visiting women who
come alone enter the building there.
The emphasis in the Sakuddei longhouse is on the group as a whole and
not so much on the individual family. The ship metaphor and cosmic
analogy are considered to be the main organizational principles.

The limas house (Palembang)

The limas house consists of one wooden building on piles oriented towards
the river. The floor has six platforms, of which the first four rise stepwise
from the front, while the floor level of the last two drops down again. The
platforms of the fourth and fifth sections have small rooms on the left and
right side, such as the bride's room, the room for the in-law family and the
women's room. The sixth section is used as the kitchen.
The main organizational principles of this house seem to be intimacy
and hierarchy, which are expressed by linearity. Intimacy increases from

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 338 Peter JM. Nas

the front to the back, from the outside verandah to the kitchen, and is
expressed horizontally. Hierarchy is expressed vertically by differences
in floor level, and during ceremonies persons are allowed to occupy the
higher platforms depending on their status. On these occasions guests are
received in either the first or second section. Family gatherings take place
in the third section and the elders use the fourth and highest section in
accordance with their high status (Nas 1995a).
The limas house clearly resembles the abovementioned Aceh house: the
main organizational principles of both types are intimacy and hierarchy,
which are expressed by horizontal and vertical linearity.

The Javanese house

The upper-class Javanese house, according to Prijotomo (1984), consists in
principle of three structures constituting a whole: the open pavilion
(pendapa) in front, the walled living quarters (dalem ageng) at the back,
and in between a connecting passageway (pringgitan). The living quarters
contain several sections: the general part, the (two) bedrooms, and the
most sacred place of the house (krobongan), which is used for rituals and
meditation.
The main organizational principles of the Javanese house are centrality
and linearity. Centrality dominates the open pavilion, which has its focus
in the middle. It also dominates the house as a whole, with the duality of
the pavilion and the living quarters synthesized by the passageway.
Linearity is dominant with respect to the most sacred place in the house,
which is situated at the back of the living quarters in the middle.
Principles of centrality and linearity express the difference between sacred
and profane, associated respectively with the krobongan and the rest of
the house, and with the central part of the pavilion and its peripheral
parts. In the latter case, centrality is also expressed vertically by the
trapezoidal roof supported by four pillars (saka guru) which mark the
more sacral area of the pavilion. A further differentiation between pri
vate and public sets the living quarters opposite the open pavilion, where
guests are formally received.
Around this basic structure of the house there may be other rooms, such
as the kitchen, bathroom, guest room and dining hall. The whole compound
is encircled by a fence. The Javanese house is basically a form of open-space
architecture consisting of a walled compound with several buildings and
open spaces in between.
Prijotomo (1984) presents a short description of the Javanese house
based on the works of authors such as Maclaine Pont and Rassers. He
concludes from these studies that the essence of the Javanese house at the
beginning of the twentieth century resembled the core of the house in the
Hindu-Javanese period.

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 The House in Indonesia 339

The Balinese house

The Balinese dwelling is likewise a form of open-space architecture. The
orientation of the house upstream towards the holy mountain Gunung
Agung plays an important role. This direction is considered sacred, while
its opposite is profane. The geography of the house is divided into
mountain (head), land (body) and sea (legs) on the one hand, and the rising
(head), zenith (body) and setting (legs) of the sun on the other. The
combination of these two divisions results in nine cells, of which the moun
tain/sunrise (head/head) combination is the most sacred and oriented
towards the holy mountain. The sea/sunset (legs/legs) combination is the
most profane. All the cells are graded in this elaborate system and desig
nated for particular use, such as the family temple, and accommodating
the unmarried girls, parents, boys, granary, kitchen and so on.
This means that the Balinese house is dominated by anthropomorphic
and cosmic principles combined in gradation from sacred to profane (Nas
1995b).

The Laboya house (Sumba)

The Laboya on West Sumba, according to Geirnaert-Martin (1992), conceive
of their house as a buffalo. It is a more or less square construction built on
piles which support bamboo floors. Buffalo horns are fixed to the wall at
the front of the house. The house has three levels, namely the upper part
for the ancestors and sacred objects, the middle level for the inhabitants,
and the lower part on the ground between the four main pillars (legs) for
the domestic animals. The roof is trapezoid shaped and topped by a
construction resembling buffalo horns. It is thatched with elephant grass,
representing the hair. The heirlooms are kept under the roof in a sacred
cupboard in which the spirits of the patrilineal ancestors are believed to
dwell. The buffalo horns of the house refer to the protection of the
ancestors. The sacred place under the roof is decorated with snake and
flower motifs symbolizing wealth and procreation, and formerly contained
the trophy heads of enemies. The part used for the living area has a front
verandah which is the most public part of the house and is sheltered from
sun and rain by the grass hanging from the roof. There are two doors, one for
the men (right) and one for the women (left), corresponding with the male
and female parts of the house. The verandah and the doors are regarded as
face of the buffalo house. The inner part of the house consists of several
rooms located around the central square fireplace (the navel of the buffalo
house), contained within the four main pillars which relate to specific
activities and are classified as either male or female. Other elements are
the cupboard, pots, nets and so on. The opening to the roof is located at the
male side of the house.
Using the framework of this animal metaphor as the basic principle for
conceptualizing the Laboya house, Geirnaert-Martin also discusses ana

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340 Peter J.M. Nas

logies to the digestion process, which is the basis for differentiating the
front of the house from the back.

The Tana 'Ai house (Flores)

The lepo house of the Tana 'Ai on East Flores is described by Douglas Lewis
(1988). This house does not mirror the cosmos directly, but models the
social group that is a unit of the cosmos. The lepo is part of a compound
containing several constructions such as a granary, pig sty and temporary
pavilion. The area of the compound is encircled by bamboo and tree
branches. The house has a particular orientation, with the inner door
'upslope towards the mountain peaks' and the house ladder placed at the
'uphill and left' corner of the house. The residential space is strongly
graded: the forest outside the compound, the swept area within the
compound, the area around the house below the eaves, the verandah
reached by climbing a ladder and entering the outer door, the inner door
leading to the area between the two hearths, the great inside space, the
inner area which is demarcated by a floor beam, and the bedrooms on both
sides of the inner parts of the house. Reliquary baskets hang from the
principal roof beam, and the wealth of the house such as swords, clothes
and so on are stored in the inner area.
Entering the house means that a series of boundaries have to be tres
passed, each of which leads to a series of spaces with a different central
ity. This act of entering the house is considered to be in keeping with a
ritual circular movement coming in from the direction of the upper slope,
entering the house to the right, reversal inside the inner visitors' area,
turning upslope and facing the hearths.
Douglas Lewis says the lepo presents a factual sexual organization of
space, but conceptually is not divided into male and female areas, nor is it
marked by strong dual categories. However, the house as female and do
mestic is contrasted with the forest, which is male, and both are syn
thesized and mediated by the garden in which they meet.

The Savunese house (Savu)

The Savunese house is built on poles and is perceived as both a living being
and a ship. According to Kana (1980) designations such as head, tail, neck,
cheeks, chest and ribs reveal the parallel with a living being. In addition
to this anthropomorphism, the front beams are also formed in the shape of
the bow of a prahu and the terminology includes words referring to the
masts and the hull. The house comprises three levels: the platform at
ground level, the floor platform and the loft platform. The floor platform
has a special association with the prahu because of the joined curved
pieces of wood that form a semi-circle. The roof on either side is char
acterized by the traditional leaf-neck associated with the buffalo head.
Although Kana presents the ship metaphor as the main organizing

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 The House in Indonesia 341

principle of the Savunese house, the buffalo metaphor is also inherent,

giving this house a mixed character.

The Atoni house (Timor)

In his famous article on the Atoni (Amarasi) house of Timor, Cunningham
(1964) describes the organization of the house in minute detail. Generally
inhabited by a basic family, it is considered a residential, economic and
ritual unit oriented towards the south and consisting of several units such
as the inner section (the sleeping place for unmarried sons and daughters;
not for guests), the outer section (for guests and work), the great platform on
the right side of the inner section (used as a bed, bench, table), the sleeping
platform on the left side of the inner section (for the older males and
females of the household), the serving platform near the hearth (for
cooking), the hearth, the fixed water jar, and the mother and chicken
posts.
Essential to the division of space in the house are the four points of the
Atoni compass, the four chicken post corners, the four places of the respect
ively water jar, the sleeping platform, the door and the great platform,
the four mother posts, and the central hearth. Cunningham claims that
these elements are linked in two ways: by concentric circles, each circle
representing the distance to the centre of the house, and by crossings pro
jecting various configurations of points on the different circles. The house is
conceived both as model of the cosmos and as part of it. It is also divided
into halves of greater wholes or oppositions encapsulated in larger dual
ities, that is the house is divided into two parts and these together are
opposed to the outside and so on. 'In all of these oppositions - dry land and
sea to sky, male sea and female sea to dry land, right and left sides of the
"house centre" to the yard, right and left sides of the inner section to the
outer section, and inner and outer sections of the house to the attic - a con
ceptually subordinate pair is opposed to a superordinate unit' (Cunning
ham 1964:50).
As a model of the cosmos, the house also expresses the social order. It
incorporates the status differences of the various groups into a whole. The
main underlying principles are unity and difference. Besides explaining
the way the house relates to the structure of the cosmos, Cunningham refers
also to the fact that human body symbolism is also quite common (Cun
ningham 1964:66, note 23).

The Toraja house (Sulawesi)

The Toraja house is famous for its conspicuous roof construction, and under
the influence of modern tourism it is developing into a monument less and
less suitable for actual occupation. In fact, sometimes it is abandoned
altogether as a place of residence, since people prefer to construct dwell
ings nearby that are closer to ground level. These tongkongan have been

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 342 Peter JM. Nas

extensively described by Kis-Jovak, Nooy-Palm, Schefold and Schulz

Dornburg (1988). In the analysis by Nooy-Palm, the tongkongan is believed
to be the image of the tripartite cosmos, with the roof and triangular,
heavily decorated northern gable section as the sacred parts of the house
or the upper world, the living quarters as the earthly part of the house
where the humans live, the middle world, and the space under the house
as the nether world. Free from any association with the nether world is
the pillar under the centre of the house which is the navel post
symbolizing the creation of the house. The central post in the house itself
is considered to be the axis of the world. Besides this three-fold partition
of the world, there is also a twofold cosmos-related orientation. This
refers to divisions between north and south, and east and west. The flow of
the river from the north is associated with life-giving, the source of water,
and the growth cycle of rice, while the south is associated with the
ancestors. The east is related to food and life, and the south and west bear
reference to death. Some scholars think that ship symbolism plays a role
in the Toraja house.3 The tongkongan is inhabited by an extended family,
and every person in Toraja society is related to several houses on his
mother's and father's sides.

The house on Dawera and Dawelor (Maluku Tenggara)

Ship symbolism dominates the world view of the peoples on the islands of
Maluku Tenggara. De Jonge and Van Dijk (1995) present elaborate descrip
tions of these cultures and point out the fact that nautical concepts have
always been important in Moluccan village and house lay-out, including
those on the islands of Dawera and Dawelor in the western region.
In former times, settlements on these two islands were located on high,
inaccessible crags, like eagle's eyries, and were conceived of as ships. The
inhabitants, who constituted one group of descendants, were seen as the
crew. The 'holy' or 'big' house in which this self-sufficient group lived was
built on long poles with a bamboo floor covered by a roof of coconut leaves
at a height of two metres. The construction and decoration of the roof
referred to the shape of a ship. The house was understood to be sailing
from east to west following the course of the sun, and the spaces were
differentiated to coincide with this movement into the right and left
'pilot's rooms' and the right and left 'helmsman's rooms'.
At the end of the nineteenth century the location of these villages was
changed under colonial policy, and nowadays they are situated along the
coast. Despite the change in location, the boat model was used as a frame
of reference for their new lay-out, although in some cases several villages
were combined into one settlement as if they were 'two or three ships
sailing together'.

3 Some of these authors are mentioned by Domenig 1980.

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 The House in Indonesia 343

In the twentieth century the principle of endogamous marriage has lost

its force in these societies. Under missionary influence the house construc
tion was changed so that the horizontal dimensions were reduced, the
posts became shorter, and the ground, instead of the raised floor, became
the living space. Nowadays, people live in one-family houses around the
greatly reduced 'big' house, which is inhabited by the descendants of the
'right helmsman' only.

The Tobelo house (Halmahera)

The house of the Tobelo in North Halmahera has been described in fine
detail by Platenkamp (1988). It consists of three parts: the great house
containing the bedrooms, a large bamboo bench in front of the house, and a
construction at the back of the house with the kitchen. The position of the
house is not determined by any fixed spatial orientation, but the houses are
oriented towards the road. The front wall is decorated with a big shield
symbolizing male protective force. Strangers and male relatives are
expected to approach the house from the front. This front part is open and
faces the street, in contrast to the kitchen which is hidden from public
view and associated with the women. People not related to the house
(except women from neighbouring houses) are not allowed to approach the
house from the rear. From the front to the back, that is from front porch,
via the bedrooms, to the kitchen, the spaces grow more and more protected.
The structure of the house, according to Platenkamp, suggests an ana
logy between the house and the human body. It consists of a more durable
wooden frame covered by perishable bamboo walls and a thatched roof,
paralleling the skeleton and flesh of the human body. Unlike the
symmetry of the human skeleton, the structure of the house is based on the
principle that space must never be divided into two equal parts. This
difference reveals hierarchy, a contrast implying that the house protects
the people - that the body of the house (with unequal divisions) protects
the human body (with equal divisions).

Principles of spatial specification

From these examples it is possible for us to conclude that 'traditional'

Indonesian houses are very diversified and that it is difficult to determine
constants and to claim, for instance, that they are generally built of wood
on posts with differences in floor levels with saddle-backed roofs, decor
ated gable-ends and gable finials. After due consideration, I believe that
the diversity of house types in Indonesia can be grasped by first classifying
them according to certain dimensions, such as single construction versus
open-space architecture, piles-supported versus earth-bound, wood versus
stone, round/oval versus square, communal versus non-communal, and so on.
A second way to come to grips with the wide field of vernacular forms,

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344 Peter JM. Nas

which is also useful for other and even modern types of architecture, is to
construct Weberian ideal-types of sub-categories of house, that is the tra
ditional Austronesian house, the open-space architectural dwelling, and
even the colonial mansion, the shophouse, the modern dwelling and so on.
Employing this method of deducing the ideal-type of the traditional
Austronesian house has several characteristics that can be derived from
Blust (1976), Fox (1993) and Schefold (1996). Blust's linguistic research
indicates that the Austronesian house is a raised structure on posts with a
notched ladder, a hearth with storage rack, rafters, a ridgepole and a
thatched roof. Fox defines the posts, ladder, ridgepole, hearth and encom
passing roof as the main characteristics. And Schefold mentions the
tripartite house, the multi-levelled floor, the outward slanting gable,
oblique walls, gable finials, the saddle-backed roof and differential treat
ment of root and tip in the uses of timber. From these three examples of
ideal-type construction it is clear that no agreement has yet been reached
on the basic characteristics of the Austronesian house, many of which can
also be found in the work of Waterson (1990). However, it can be said that
this house is basically a raised wooden structure on posts with a ladder, a
hearth and a ridgepole.
The ideal-type of the open-space architecture residential house com
prises such attributes as a walled or fenced space, several detached or
semi-detached buildings generally arranged by traditional value systems,
and various open spaces, often with a larger open space somewhere in the
middle.
The colonial mansion could be characterized as a spacious dwelling
with a front and a back verandah, situated in a large garden dotted with
white flower pots, and with rooms for servants at the back opening out onto
a patio. It has high ceilings and small grids high on the walls to allow
natural ventilation.
The ideal-type of the shophouse should include such characteristics as
terrace-house construction with a shop or semi-private space at ground
level opening onto the street, a covered footpath and living apartments on
the first floor.
The modern house frequently encountered in present-day new town
developments around Jakarta is a terrace house, completely reliant on air
conditioning, and with a special area for receiving guests. Small corners
are reserved for plants or a fish pond, and a room with separate lavatory
for servants is located near the kitchen.
Besides this classificatory exercise with dimensions or ideal-types, the
Indonesian house as a whole may also be seen as a configuration of spatial
entities that are diversified and marked. So, seeking a third way to
analyse this residential house, several cultural, social, design and build
ing principles may be distinguished as relevant to this process of spatial
specification and gradation.

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 The House in Indonesia 345

Cultural mechanisms that mark space by means of metaphors are:

1. the human body, or animal body such as the buffalo;
2. the cosmos by reference to the sun, the points of the compass or other
sacred reference points, or the use of opposing pairs such as male
female, day-night, high-low, upstream-downstream, trunk-tip;4 and
3. the ship.
Socially this spatial specification results in distinctions and gradations of
space from:
1. private to public;
2. male to female;
3. sacred to profane;
4. low status to high status;
5. consanguinai to cognatic relationships; and
6. group to elementary family.
From the point of view of design, differences in space are marked through:
1. open-space versus single-structure architecture
2. delimitation by means of extension or encapsulation, often in combination
with ornamentation;
3. horizontal and vertical linearity, including elevation; and
4. centripetality representing synthesis.
The principles of building and building materials can also be considered
important for the specification of space:
1. -construction versus box construction,-5
2. piled versus earth-bound structures;
3. round/oval versus square;
4. wood versus stone construction; and
5. natural ventilation versus air conditioning.

These cultural, social, design and building principles used in all sorts of
combinations for demarcation result in a differentiation of space that is
often quite intricate, gradual and occasionally situation-bound. Sometimes
different principles are combined, such as ship, buffalo and bird sym
bolism, or cosmological and dualist specifications of space, but clear-cut
cases of interpretation according to just one principle are also not unknown.
The Rindi analysis by Forth (1981) is an example in which all sorts of
principles are used, but it is not clear whether or not this mixture is of ernie
or etic origin. The differentiation of space is also related to the categories

4 For the trunk-tip opposition see Forth 1981.

5 An -construction has posts reaching from the ground to the roof and a box construction
has a roof supported by a special wooden structure not directly reaching to the ground (see
Domenig 1996).

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 346 Peter J.M. Nas

of people allowed to enter certain rooms, the use of the spaces, and the
behaviour required of the person in that space.
The vernacular house forms presented above are generally described in
quite a static manner, although some authors (such as Platenkamp, and De
Jonge and Van Dijk) also discuss modern changes and their supposed
meanings. It should be stressed that these 'traditional' houses have their
own endogenous dynamics, that many regional and local variations are
occurring, and that hybridization is sometimes encountered in the border
areas between different cultures. One example of endogenous dynamics is
the adaptation of granaries for housing. Moreover, though often threat
ened by dilapidation, 'traditional' houses are still being built anew nowa
days in some areas, as they are important in the transmission of tra
ditional communal values. While this is a welcome phenomenon, social
change does not leave the mentioned principles untouched and they may
alter inconsistently, causing disharmony.

Early foreign influences

It is difficult to decide to what extent forms of vernacular architecture are

'purely' traditional, because foreign Hindu, Islamic, Chinese and European
influences have all been dominant at one time or another in the Archi
pelago.
Hindu influences are often so strong that under this heading it is
appropriate to consider the distinction between open-space architecture
consisting of a compound with several open and closed constructions, and
compact architecture made up of one essential building. Open-space or com
pound architecture is still characteristic of Bali and forms the core of the
Javanese house, even nowadays when it is often completely walled. Not
withstanding this clear distinction between these two architectural forms,
Hindu influence on compact architecture should not be excluded, especially
in the systems of reference used. One example of this is the suggestion by
Jacobs (1894) mentioned above, who supposes that the orientation of many
katnpung houses in the Archipelago towards the north or the south, and
never to the west or the east, can probably be considered a pre-Islamic phe
nomenon. Dall (1982) mentions the pre-Islamic practice of avoiding a
sunset orientation because it is associated with darkness and death. In
Hinduism, the east is associated with new life and the west with death.
He also thinks that in former times the Aceh house had an open roof and
detached walls revealing open-space architectural influences which
disappeared after the arrival of Islam.
Islamic influences can be seen mainly in the orientation towards Mecca
(mosques, praying, burying) and decorations that avoid the depiction of
the human body, although this rule is not always strictly followed and
abstract human forms may be found in calligraphic art and apparently

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 The House in Indonesia 347

floral patterns. Prijotomo (1984) says that to a large extent the first
Muslims utilized existing Hindu-Javanese architectural forms to express
Islamic ideas and their meanings. The meru form, for example, was
accepted as a manifestation of sacredness by both the Hindu-Javanese
people and the Muslims. Conversely, the fragmented space of the Hindu
Javanese temple differs from the unified self-sufficient space of the
mosque.

The colonial civilization process

Colonial influences on vernacular architecture were manifold, covering the

fields of religion, hygiene, comfort, the use of money in house construction,
specialization of tasks in the building process, and the influx of new
materials and house types.
In general, many Dutch in the colony did not appreciate traditional
houses at all. They were not considered very comfortable, and were charac
terized as dark and humble. Hamerster (1916), for example, wrote that the
Alfur people in the Minahasa lived in large groups in awful, dark, musty
houses on stilts which were built in a disorderly fashion in inaccessible
places. Jacobs (1894) stated that Acehnese villages were not very attract
ive and that what one came across was a mass of uniform, dirty hovels.
There were people who clearly appreciated traditional architecture,
especially the methods of decoration and construction. This led to the use
of traditional ornaments in colonial wood and brick architecture, and
experiments in house design adapted to the climate and culture. One of the
most famous of these experiments is the building of the Institute of
Technology in Bandung (ITB) designed by the architect Maclaine Pont.
As a representative of the colonial government, Middendorp (1922)
stressed that economically speaking traditional Batak house construction
was very wasteful. There was an overabundant use of materials such as
wood and roof cover, and because of this an army of labourers were needed
for construction activities. Such houses could only be built when scores of
people were prepared to offer their services. Attitudes changed with the
penetration of the money economy, which found people far fewer willing to
do so. This meant that the organization of house construction changed
completely with the introduction of money in this sector. Referring to
Great Aceh at the end of the past century, Jacobs (1894:36) points to the
role of the war and more general causes of deforestation which made local
wood for housing scarce. Fewer people were working with wood and the art
of woodcarving declined. Increasingly larger quantities of wood had to be
imported, and woodworking was a trade taken up by Chinese carpenters
who replaced the local craftsmen.
Missionaries often fostered negative opinions about traditional houses,
which were inhabited by several families together, and associated them

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348 Peter JM. Nas

with all sorts of heathen beliefs and rituals. Platenkamp, for example,
writes that nowadays the Tobelo village house contains only one nuclear
family, as a result of 'initiatives taken in the past by the Dutch mission
aries, who were convinced that the traditional house - containing a larger
group of relatives - would give rise to indecent, "immoral" behaviour'
(Platenkamp 1988:56).
Hygiene stood very high on the list of government officials, particu
larly after the plague epidemics that occurred during the colonial period.
This led to a policy that was clearly opposed to the traditional house,
deploring their high roofs which gave shelter to many rats and other
vermin. Many of these houses were torn down. Wagenaar describes the
consequences.

The control of the plague had far-reaching consequences for local populations. It
was virtually impossible to exterminate all domestic rats. What could be done was
to prevent the rats from nesting under the floors of houses or living in the palm-leaf
thatch (atap) roofing. The latter was particularly dangerous because rat fleas
could fall from the bodies of dead rats and cause a real threat to the health of the
people living below. The result of all this was that a rehousing programme was set
up. Homes considered unfit were evacuated, demolished and burned down. The
new houses had to have roof tiles which meant that the local population had to
learn a new skill - tile production. This is evidenced in a telegram sent on 22
December 1911 [...] from Malang to the resident of Pasoeroean, which says that "at
present strong measures are being taken on the property of Djoengo (Gabes). The
coolie huts are all being evacuated and then burnt down, and then rat-free houses
will be built. The locals are becoming increasingly skilled in making roof tiles. In
the period from 1 to 15 December they produced 4,618,000 tiles".' (Wagenaar
1995:6.)
Nooteboom (1939:222) points out that the incidence of deaths caused by
hookworm was disproportionately high in the traditional oval houses in
Manggarai (West Flores), and that other diseases like dysentery fre
quently were catastrophic for the population. He believed that as far as
hygiene was concerned the continued use of these buildings could not be
defended, citing the low space beneath them heaped with excrement and
rubbish, and the high alang-alang roof without any openings for the smoke
from the many inside fireplaces to escape. These houses were dark during
the day and crowded with people who were often ailing. He adds that the
government did indeed destroy these buildings and substitute new model
houses of set minimum and maximum dimensions and with a model toilet
for them. This policy led to a strong decline in the incidence of hookworm.
Referring to Flores, Lehmann added that for the sake of public health
the Dutch government destroyed the round houses and had new houses
built on poles. Despite the government's good intentions, the indigenous
people did not appreciate these constructions, which were bound to
deteriorate rapidly (Lehmann 1934:275).

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 The House in Indonesia 349

Tillema was one of the most active advocates of improved housing and
living conditions in the Netherlands East Indies. His writings were focused
on the improvement of public health, and it was he who pointed out that
the technical element was not being sufficiently stressed in the experi
mental measures being taken against the plague. Tillema (1922:ix) con
sidered the traditional house an important breeding ground of illness, and
stressed the need - and indeed the obligation - to improve the housing
conditions of the indigenous population: to keep the houses plague free, to
achieve good light and ventilation, and to provide proper sewage and
garbage disposal.
All these ideas and regulations concerning housing ran counter to exist
ing habitation norms and values and thus can be characterized in part as a
civilization offensive on Indonesian habitation styles in an attempt to
bring them in line with the European example. They were also partly the
result of a general influx of new ideas, techniques and materials, such as
concern for sanitation, the use of corrugated iron roofs, and of bricks in
construction. In some areas the housing civilization process was promul
gated more rigorously than in others, which might be one explanation for
the great regional differences in present-day conditions of vernacular
architecture. This housing civilization offensive can be considered an early
form of globalization, a brainchild of general western notions of health
and hygiene that was being implemented in all the colonies.

Hybridization
Sometimes new forms of 'traditional' architecture were designed in order to
meet new norms without completely abandoning traditional architectonic
forms. An example of this is the experiment of Van Bendegom (M.J. 1919)
who had a house erected in Karo-Batak style. He considered it a trans
itional house and was well aware that it did not resemble an original
Batak house but was just a residential house in Karo-Batak style. This
house was designed because the old Batak house had to be eliminated. It
was meant to integrate European and Batak architecture by combining
European requirements for light, air and spatial organization with Batak
roof form and decorations. Its function was to serve as an example from
which other new forms of Batak architecture could be developed.
We also see this type of development and hybridization in early colo
nial architecture. At first, classic Dutch house types such as the stepped
gable were introduced to Batavia. As time passed Dutch culture and houses
were adapted to the local conditions, finally resulting in what is called
the Indische culture and the Indische mansion. This roomy mansion was
situated in a beautiful flower garden and had spacious front and back
verandahs which were the house's social centre. It is an architectural form
that is neither Dutch nor Indonesian but truly colonial, and it is found only

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 350 Peter JM. Nas

in Indonesia. The Indische mansion cannot be considered part of a 'third

culture' as it is understood in globalization theory because it is primarily
an offspring of Dutch and Indonesian cultures. During the late colonial
period the Indische mansion lost ground, and smaller houses for the Euro
pean middle and lower classes began to feature more prominently in city
extension.
Another example of hybridization is the so-called shophouse. It is
generally built in terraces and combines ground floor spaces for shop activ
ities, which open on to the pavement, with a first floor residence
commonly used by the proprietor. Lim (1993) claims that Sir Stamford
Raffles was the initiator of the shophouse, which he calls 'Shophouse
Rafflesia', part of a grand vision for tropical town planning.
China is often mentioned as one of the places where the shophouse
prototype can be found. However, the shophouse has its roots in the
building-line regulations guaranteeing free passage along a five-foot wide
footpath, arcade or verandah (or kaki lima) in front of the shop. Such
building lines were implemented at an early phase in Batavia's history
and probably formed a model for Raffles.
Lim (1993) argues that shophouse architecture in Penang, Singapore and
Malacca followed three phases: foundation (1786-1866), consolidation
(1868-1926), and regulation by the Architecture Ordinance (1927-1963). It
developed in various styles, from long rows of fltap-roofed sheds with pro
jecting eaves for sheltering a pathway to the so-called 'Straits Settlement
Style' with an eclectic use of ornamentation on the first floor irrespective
of the arcades or arches at the ground floor level. In the third phase
reinforced concrete was introduced and the shophouse achieved its modern
shape.
The large-scale spread of the shophouse through Asia was mainly
determined either by administrative policy (Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Philippines) or personal patronage (Thailand, Medan in Indonesia). So in
contrast to Van Bendegom's Batak house experiment, the shophouse,
whether or not of the 'Rafflesia' type, is an explicit example of early
globalization in the field of architecture as part of an Asian 'third'
culture. Notwithstanding its western, colonial connotations in the restric
tion of the use of the street for work and private activities - that is, its
colonial civilization character - the shophouse forms part of a widespread
'third culture' of Asian origin.
New architectural styles were introduced during the colonial period
and especially the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some domin
ated by Dutch schools but others rooted in the international architectural
domain. The booklet Het Indische Bouwen; Architectuur en Stedebouw in
Indonesie (Netherlands Indies Construction; Architecture and City
Building in Indonesia), which was published to accompany an exhibition
in Helmond, lists the main architectonic schools of the colonial period:

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 The House in Indonesia 351

neo-classicism, eclecticism, neo-gothic, neo-renaissance, rationalism, tra

ditionalism and Americanism, the Amsterdamse School, art nouveau or
Jugendstil, De Stijl, functionalism and the Delftse School. Undeniably
some of these were induced mainly by Dutch architectonic developments,
some of which (such as De Stijl) have become part of the 'third culture'.
Others are fully a part of the 'third culture' in the field of architecture,
such as Jugendstil, functionalism and so on. This means that the 'third
culture' phenomenon is not really as recent as is supposed.6 In the field of
architecture, and particularly housing, such a culture has long been in
existence, although preceded and paralleled by all sorts of foreign influ
ences on a more limited scale leading to hybridization and completely new
architectural and housing forms.
An example of the hybridization of colonial architecture is the house of
a Chinese landlord (istana tuan tanah) in Tangerang, West Java (Kara
waci), which combines Dutch, Javanese and Chinese elements. In the 1970s
this rural mansion was inhabited by several Indonesian families. The front
consisted of a large building with a red tiled roof in Javanese form and a
verandah with heavy white columns supporting the roof. The view from
the rear was completely different, dominated by Chinese wood construc
tion and ornamentation. This rural mansion is a clear example of indi
vidual hybridization, which can be contrasted to collective hybridization
when the tendency is backed up by government policy, as is often the case
nowadays.
A present-day example of hybridization is the propensity for Minang
kabau roof architecture on public buildings in Padang and Bukittinggi. In
this area, government policy obliges all public institutions, such as banks,
public organizations and so on, to put a Minangkabau-shaped roof on their
often western-style building. These roofs are replacing traditional houses
as ethnic symbols, which means that the decline of private symbolism in
Minangkabau residential architecture is being counteracted by the imple
mentation of at least one aspect of this symbolism in the public domain.
This results in conspicuous hybridization at a collective level, which
imposes traditionally shaped roofs made of modern materials on modern
style public architecture.
As in the Minangkabau area, government policy in Bali is now trying to
protect traditional culture by encouraging the use of Balinese ornamenta
tion on public buildings, but in this context the results cannot be character
ized as hybridization. Balinese culture and craftsmanship have
developed new artistic expressions to give a direction to the social change
fostered by modernization, particularly under the influence of tourism.
This has given birth to harmonious architectural forms.
The Toraja are also acquainted with the phenomenon of hybridization,

6 This probably is also valid for haute couture.

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352 Peter J.M. Nas

illustrated by their propensity to combine the exceptionally high roof

construction with brick architecture or to use it as a symbol atop monu
ments, public buildings and western-style houses. This is nothing new.
Schefold (1988) has shown how the original Toraja house style changed
over the course of time. The tongkongan was built higher and higher,
stressing the vertical dimension. Consequently the curvature of its roof
became more and more pronounced, leading to a spectacular architectonic
image. The sensational visual effect took its toll. The body of the house
became truncated, narrower and more elevated, with a larger distance
between the living space and the ground. The construction was rendered
more fragile with less massive but more numerous supporting parts. The
high roof lost its shadow function for the area in front of the house. The
whole structure, according to Schefold, gives a more elegant but also a less
stable impression. The changes have resulted in the installation of
additional lower roofs for shade. Many people have also abandoned their
traditional houses, leaving them to be used as meeting and ritual places
while they choose more comfortable, modern and less impressive small
houses nearby. The new-style tongkongan are being officially promoted to
boost the tourist industry. They are losing their habitation function and
are being relegated to the status of monuments.

Flats and core housing

Beside the successful kampung improvement programmes implemented in

the 1970s which were mainly aimed at the environment of the house and
not at the house itself, other post-independence examples of 'third culture'
influences in Indonesian low-cost housing are flats and sites-and-services
projects often combined with core housing.
The sites-and-services projects were mainly implemented by Perumnas,
the state housing corporation set up to tackle the low-cost housing problem
and given the wherewithal to do so by a self-revolving fund. In the seven
ties and eighties this led to extensive housing project activities that
targeted the lower social strata. One of the manifestations of these
projects took the form of sites-and-services, in which the sites were
prepared (roads, drainage and so on) and the cores of the house with the
wet cell were constructed. As the costs had to be recovered, and require
ments for regular income had to be set, these projects were generally not
suited to the poor. Still these projects offered housing opportunities to the
permanently employed lower middle class, particularly state and local
functionaries. In the Jakarta area many examples of such schemes are
found, such as in Klender, Tangerang7 and Depok.
This type of housing scheme must be considered part of the 'third cui

7 See for example Nas 1986:10.

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 The House in Indonesia 353

ture' as it is extensively discussed in scientific literature at the global

level and forms part of the policy of many public and private international
institutions such as the World Bank and housing developers. These
schemes are implemented in many Third World countries and their results
are compared in order to improve their performance.
In the 1980s urban flat construction became one of the means of supplying
low-cost housing, though only in an experimental way. Flat construction is
said to cause cultural alienation, since Indonesians are accustomed to living
in houses on the ground or on stilts and want to have a garden at their
disposal for fruit trees and chicken. Nevertheless, high-rise building has
continued on a larger scale. One early example of flat construction in the
heart of Jakarta is documented by Jellinek (1991). She described the
change in the area of Kebun Kacang from a rural woodland kampung to a
high density inner city kampung, inhabited by people with ample income
opportunities from central city development but who had to live in
deteriorating housing conditions induced by increasing population dens
ities. Finally, the kampung, which had turned into a slum, was cleared
and flats were constructed. However, many of the original inhabitants of
the kampung, notwithstanding the compensation received, did not want or
could not afford to move into these flats.
The flat as habitation style also pertains to the 'third culture'. It
originated in the US where it was initially a prerogative of the rich.
Later it spread through society and was also made available to the lower
income strata. Finally, it became a general habitation style found all over
the world and occupied by members of every strata. In some places such as
Singapore and Hong Kong, beset by space restrictions, it became the
dominant habitation style. Although scarcity of land does not apply in the
same way to Indonesia, nevertheless these cases clearly influenced public
housing policy there with regard to the role of flats in low-cost housing.

Condominiums and modern urban compound development

A more recent development within the framework of enabling strategies

launched by the central and local governments has been the promotion of
housing construction under private initiative. First, this has prompted the
construction of condominiums, often combined with shopping malls and
other services and second, it has stimulated modern western-style urban
compound development, both aimed mainly at providing upper-class hous
ing environments. This increase in real estate development has triggered
an advertising boom organized to sell the houses and apartments. The
presentation of these 'great works' of the 'private initiative period' in
urban development is very informative.
One such advertisement for the Greenview apartments presents a mod
ern, cosmopolitan lifestyle with a classic nuance for which all the facil

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 354 Peter JM. Nas

ities, such as swimming pool, jogging track, tennis court and attractive
areas for festivities and formal meetings, have been provided. This is
rounded off by a fully equipped business centre with telephone and fax
facilities and meeting rooms. All this is located near the city centre and in
the middle of the prestigious area of South Jakarta - really a perfect
investment.8
This advertisement features a drawing of a number of high-rise build
ings with the swimming pool mentioned in the middle and the edges decor
ated with parrots. It also shows people playing tennis and golf, and other
people jogging. All these people are Europeans. Do they constitute the
target group or the reference group?
In the advertisement Town house for rent. Enjoy living by the sea for as
little as US $ 1500. Complete with service and facilities', an elegant Indo
nesian girl is portrayed diving into the water near the Waterfront Housing
Estate which, with its European-like, single family dwellings designed as
some sort of 'horizontal condominium', is probably better adapted to the
Indonesian housing desires.
The 'Luxury Prapanca Apartment' advertisement does not refer to the
target group. The text printed under the picture of the high-rise building
reads:
better place to stay. Virtually everything you look for in a spacious luxury
apartment is right here in the heart of Prapanca Area - Kebayoran Baru. With
elegant atrium, fully equipped fitness centre, swimming pool, squash court, whirl
pool, sauna, mini tennis court, mini golf driving range, golf putting green and 24
hour security and maintenance services, we have truly set the standard for a better
place to stay.'9

A compound development providing free-standing, single family dwellings

is found in East Jakarta and advertised as a garden area. The small man
sions have equally small gardens and the whole ward gives the impression
of a European garden city area. Other compound developments have
terrace housing which heightens their western ambience.
These condominiums and modern compound developments transform the
city into a conglomerate of protected islands owned by the rich in a sea of
kampung and offices with a connecting infrastructure that leaves much to
be desired. This type of development can be characterized as the privat
ization of public space. The advertisements for office buildings and

8 'Nikmati Gaya hidup kontemporer [...] dalam nuansa klasik Greenview. Greenview
apartments memadukan dua keistimewaan yang dicari penghuni: kelengkapan fasilitas untuk
gaya hidup kontemporer dan nuansa klasik sebuah hunian kosmopolitan. Ada kolam renang,
jogging track, pusat kebugaran, lapangan tennis. Untuk pesta kecil atau acara khusus tersedia
ruang serbaguna yang elegan. Greenview Apartments yuga menyediaken Business Centre
lengkap dengan telepon, faksimili dan ruang rapat. Semua ini hanya beberapa menit dari
kesibukan bisnis di pusat kota, di tengah kawasan paling prestisius di Jakarta Selatan. Benar
benar investasi yang sempurna.' (Tempo 22-31,3 October 1992.)
9 Jakarta Post, 15 September 1992.

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 The House in Indonesia 355

services related to these residential developments also provide rich

insights into the urban context.

'Had enough of 3-in-l?

Sick of power cuts?
Want more telephone lines?
Fed up with traffic jams?
Do yourself a favour and check out the new four-storey building at the Cilandak
commercial estate.
100 percent-plus stand-by electric power for all needs including air conditioning.
Excellent communications. As many telephone, telex and facsimile lines as you
want, and available immediately.
Ample parking and tight twenty-four hour security.
Attractive swimming pool, tennis, squash courts and saunas, open both day and
night.
Resident courier service, post office, bank and travel agent.
No traffic problems, since you are moving against the traffic flow both corning and
going.
Strategically located. Less than 15 minutes from Kebayoran Baru and 10 minutes
from J.I.S.
Two restaurants serving economically priced European and Indonesian food.
Professionally managed by an old established PMA joint venture that really looks
after your needs.'10

By its positive contrast, this advertisement, put out by PT Bhumyanca

Sekawan, clearly shows the defects of the urban environment in which
this self-contained unit is located.
The global influence in urban development in Jakarta is also beautifully
illustrated by the new town known as Lippo City near Bekasi, which is
intended to house one million inhabitants. The master plan for this 'city of
tomorrow which is here today', according to one of its fancy brochures, is
'the work of internationally recognized city planner Meng Ta Cheang,
whose award-winning designs for new cities in the Netherlands, Germany,
China and Malaysia have had substantial impact in the field. His Singa
pore-based firm is associated with OD 205 Architects, a firm which has
its headquarters in the Netherlands and is now involved in major urban
development projects around the world.' This city is completely devoid of
alun-alun or Indonesian decorations and symbols.
One final aspect of this picture of modern and global, urban develop
ment is the phenomenon of the mall. Many malls have been developed in
cities such as Jakarta and Denpasar. One example is Metro Pondok Indah
in South Jakarta.
This is an enormous, three-storey complex with luxury shops, restaur
ants, a cinema complex and video games hall. The shops cover almost
every possible sector, from electronics to furniture, clothing to toys and

10 Jakarta Post, 3 October 1992.

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356 Peter JM. Nas

office equipment. There are shops for western wedding frocks and sports
shoes. They are modern and colourful. Like the real estate projects, they
almost all have English names: Shop in Body Care; Sports Station, the
Sport Supermarket; 101 Shoes Shop; Royal Textile & Tailor; Sizzle Steak,
Seafood, Salad; California Pizza. One exception is the French cafe Oh La
La. The toilet area is indicated in English as 'restroom' and the doors bear
the words 'man' and 'woman'. The shopping centre is mostly frequented by
young people. They stand there, talking in groups, eating ice cream,
looking over the balustrade at the escalators and at lower levels of the
building. Couples date there and young families enjoy their day out.
Everybody is nicely clothed, sometimes even extremely well-dressed, but
always attired. Sometimes the visitors wear leisure clothing but they are
never dirty or slatternly. The building is very clean with shining tile
floors. There is an abundance of services, and guards are found in every nook
and cranny. In front of the main entrance there is someone who, on request,
loudly calls the drivers with their cars to pick up the owners so that they
do not need to walk any distance or to search for their vehicle. All around
the building are beautiful lawns and extensive parking spaces. Informal
sector activities are completely banned from the scene. There are no kaki
lima in sight or sound of this shopping and recreation palace for the ?lite
and the rising middle class and their offspring.
In 1995 a policy was launched to call a halt to the proliferation of
English names, encouraging the use of Indonesian names in malls and real
estate advertisements.11 This policy is a good example of a reaction to
globalization tendencies, in this case of a national character.
In my view the condominium, mall and high-rise office complex can be
considered as a unit, and that is why the mall and high-rise office must be
included in this article on the house.
It is clear that because of global influences the cultural, social, design
and building principles mentioned above in the section on traditional
habitation styles do not apply in the same way in the urban context of
sites-and-services areas, flats and condominiums. In the city, for example,
status is attached not only to the decoration and scale of the house but also
to the type of ward. Wards often have a particular reputation, so that
status can be inferred from name and location. The contents of real estate
advertisements are clearly directed towards creating upper-class ward
images. On the other hand, certain principles such as the separation of
private and public spaces in the house still must be considered relevant in
the urban context. Unfortunately, a thorough knowledge of organizational
principles, meanings and uses of the modern dwelling in the city has yet to
be gathered.

11 See The Jakarta Post, 18 March 1995 and Kompas, 30 March 1995.

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 The House in Indonesia 357

Conclusion

From this description of the multiformity of vernacular architecture in

Indonesia and its underlying principles, the colonial civilization housing
offensive, the diffusion and hybridization of global architectural styles
during this period, the modern implementation of global ideas on low-cost
housing (sites-and-services projects and flats), and the present-day boom in
the number of global condominiums, annex malls and high-rise office
complexes, we must conclude that the globalization process defined as
'third culture' dynamics has quite a long history. It has strong roots in the
colonial period, in fact, because architecture has always been a worldwide
phenomenon with high diffusion potentialities and levels. Moreover,
early Asian manifestations of globalization with regional connotations
must be acknowledged. Notwithstanding these results, which in part inject
the timeliness of globalization theory with a certain relativity, it should
be noted that the process of globalization has gained in significance during
the last few decades. The influence of global ideas on 'proper' housing in
Indonesia - backed up by transnational organizations in particular (like
the World Bank), international operating building companies, and the
supranational academic circuit of urbanists - has clearly been strengthened
in both the low-cost and the well-to-do segments of society. It is one merit
of the globalization theory that it raises the scholar's sensitivity to the
new accelerating pace in this phase of today's globalization process, and to
the reactions calling for local cultural identity which it sets in motion.

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