- Author/Institution: Tjokorda Nirarta “Koni” Samadhi, World Resource Institute
- Archive Type: Journal article
- Date Published/Inaugurated: 2005
- Publisher: Journal of Architectural Planning Research
- Language: English
- Available File(s): pdf.
- Keywords: Balinese, architecture, design, city building, tourism, tri hita karana, tri angga, Hindu.
- Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43031092
Abstract
This research considers the influence of Balinese traditional-religious conceptions of space in the urban landscape of the Balinese town of Gianyar. Employing a pluralistic approach, by means of questionnaires and mental map sketching techniques (cf, Appleyard, 1976; Lynch, 1960; Rapoport, 1969, 1977), as well as field observations, a case study of the town of Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, explores the cultural based town form determinants evident in the landscapes of a contemporary Balinese urban setting. This exploration aims at providing a ground for reconnecting urban design proposals with their cultural context, thus promoting the spatially expressed localism, which originates from the diversity of cultures that is currently undermined by the highly standardized process in the Indonesian planning system as well as the influence of modernity brought by (Western) tourists. In particular for the town of Gianyar, such an exploration provides a set of cultural based town form determinants for urban design purposes, which is useful in achieving a pronounced cultural identity. The research concludes that to achieve a culturally appropriate sense of place as a prerequisite to achieve that goal, the design process has to acknowledge three main town form determinants in the design of Balinese townscapes: (1) the desa adat, or literally “customary village”; (2) the pampatan agung, or literally “great crossroad” and its elements; and (3) the sanga mandala principle, or literally “nine-fold spatial division.”
Editorial
This research shows an example of cultural norms applied in an area where Indigenous values (in this case, Balinese) meet the colonial legacy (in Bali’s case, tourism). The idea that tourism is a colonial legacy has not been discussed outside of tourism literature (Britton 1979; Echtner and Prasad 2003). Thus, the government-led embodiment of principles such as tri hita karana and tri angga in Balinese architecture and city designs can be seen as both acts of resistance and appropriation in the face of pervasiveness of the capitalist projections of land.
Source(s)
- T. Nirarta Samadhi, “Cultural Based Town Form Determinants in the Balinese Urban Landscapes,”
- Robert A Britton, “The Image of the Third World in Tourism Marketing,” Annals of Tourism Research 6, no. 3 (July 1, 1979): 318–29.
- Charlotte M. Echtner and Pushkala Prasad, “The Context of Third World Tourism Marketing,” Annals of Tourism Research 30, no. 3 (July 1, 2003): 660–82;
- Michael C. Hall and Hazel Tucker, eds., Tourism and Postcolonialism: Contested Discourses, Identities and Representations, 1st edition (London ; New York: Routledge, 2004).
Curated by Abel K. Aruan (November 16, 2024); Edited by Abel K. Aruan (January 17, 2025).