Indonesian Vernadoc Bekasi 2023 is an activity documenting traditional architecture at the Kranggan Traditional House, which is located in Jatirangga Village, Jatisampurna District, Bekasi City. This activity aims to be a means of education and promotion of the cultural wealth of traditional architecture owned by Indonesia to the international community.
The Kranggan Traditional House is a manifestation of the local wisdom of the Sundanese people in the Bekasi area. This traditional house is a cultural heritage that has been passed down from generation to generation. However, it’s a shame that currently there are only 12 houses left out of the 96 recorded in 2018. Of course, this poses an extinction threat.
The house chosen for the documentation is also a house that still shows its authenticity in terms of form and material, which has not changed much since it was built more than 70 years ago. Professor of the FTUI Architecture Department, Prof. Kemas Ridwan Kurniawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., explained that in building this traditional house, the indigenous people of Kranggan village were required to use jackfruit wood, which is known to be very strong compared to other wood, and also as an expression of respect for their ancestors.
“The Vernadoc method is a method of documenting vernacular or traditional architecture using high-quality manual and measured drawing techniques using pencil (basic), pen, and ink media based on on-site data and information. By using this method, it is hoped that it can provide alternative contributing efforts (recording) in preserving architectural wealth in the archipelago, in this case, the Traditional House of Kampung Kranggan Bekasi,” explained Prof. Pack, Head of Indonesian Vernadoc Bekasi 2023.
This activity is a joint initiative between the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (DA FTUI), Jatirangga Village, KLM Syariah Cooperative, Bangun Kota, Bekasi Indonesian Architects Association, and the Uma Nusantara Foundation. This activity also collaborated with Vernadoc Indonesia, Vernadoc Thailand, Vernadoc Malaysia, Vernadoc Cambodia, and Rangsit University.
“Documentation of traditional buildings in the archipelago is an impactful step taken by the FTUI Architecture Department along with various other institutions in saving the archipelago’s architectural wealth from the eroded age that could have destroyed this architectural wealth. The Kranggan Traditional House is one of the many traditional architectural buildings that we need to pay attention to so that its existence can be maintained at any time. We hope that the existence of the Indonesian Vernadoc Bekasi will be a positive means of supporting the richness of traditional architecture in Indonesia,” said the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU.
Jatirangga Urban Village Head Ahmad Apandi said, “The Indonesian Vernadoc Bekasi 2023 activity is a collaboration event for architectural activists from various countries, including in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Indonesia. As a form of support for preserving the cultural heritage of the Kranggan Traditional House, the delegates from various countries will conduct socialisation about architecture and documentation by making 2D drawings of the Kranggan Traditional House. The results will be displayed to the people of Kranggan Village.
Participants from Cambodia, Rith Dany and Cheng Devid, said, “We got a lot of experience; we felt the environment here was fun; we learned a lot of new things, especially about the history and form of the building of the kranggan house, which is very unique and interesting. There are special characteristics from a traditional perspective. We are adding to our knowledge about the form of traditional house buildings in Indonesia,” they said.
The activity was attended by 28 volunteers, including eight students and four lecturers, as well as architects and activists for architectural preservation. Indonesia’s Vernadoc Bekasi 2023 activities include several stages. The first activity was carried out in the Kranggan Bekasi Traditional House area, namely at the Abah Olot Kisan House (Opening) and Abah Olot Ambung (Preliminary Measurements and Drawings) on July 2–9, 2023. Activities continued at the FTUI Engineering Centre Studio on July 10–15, 2023, and closed with exhibition activities at the Abah Olot Ambung House in Kranggan Bekasi on July 16, 2023.
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Bureau of Public Communications
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia