TRADITIONS OF BALINESE ARCHITECTURE

BY TARA D. LOUGHMAN


OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, OUR ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY III CLASS HAS BEEN PRESENTING MODELS THAT WERE CREATED BASED ON RESEARCH IN NON-WESTERN INDIGENOUS STRUCTURES. SOON AFTER LOOKING THROUGH A BOOK ON BALINESE ARCHITECTURE, I KNEW WHAT I WANTED TO CONSTRUCT. FOR MANY PURPOSES AND USES, THE BALINESE CONSTRUCT WHAT IS CALLED A BALE, AS KNOWN AS A PAVILION. I HAD SOON FOUND OUT THAT OTHERS WERE ALSO INTERESTED IN THE PAVILION STRUCTURE SO I DECIDED TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING PIECES TO COME FROM THE PAVILIONS WAS THEIR COLUMNS AND THEIR INTRICATE DETAILED WORK ON THE COLUMN BASES. THIS IS WHAT I DECIDED TO BASE MY RESEARCH ON.


BALI IS LOCATED IN THE WEST MOST END OF THE LESSER SUNDA ISLANDS IN INDONESIA. THE ISLAND IS HOME TO THE MAJORITY OF INDONESIA’S HINDU POPULATION. BALI IS RENOWNED FOR ITS HIGHLY DEVELOPED ARTS, INCLUDING DANCE, SCULPTURE, PAINTING, WOOD CARVING, METAL WORKING, AND MUSIC. BALINESE CULTURE IS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY INDIAN AND CHINESE CULTURE, PARTICULARLY IN THE HINDU CULTURES.

BALE (PAVILION) IS A MULTI-PURPOSE STRUCTURE, PRODUCED BY EQUATIONS OF SCALE THAT SET OUT LENGTHS AND WIDTHS RELATIVE TO THE BODY MEASUREMENTS OF THE BALE OWNER. THEIR FORMS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES FOR A VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS AND CONSIST MAINLY OF THE PAVILIONS BASE, SENDI (POSTS), AND PITCHED ROOFS. IN MOST DESIGNED SHELTERS, EAVES ARE LOW TO KEEP OUT THE SUN AND RAIN, WHILE THEIR BASES ARE HIGH TO STOP SPLASH-BACK ON THE FLOORS.


THE SENDI (POST BASE) IS A SHORT VERTICAL POST PLATFORM IN THAT THE ADEGAN (COLUMN) RESTS. THIS SUPPORTS THE STRUCTURE AND IS THE FOUNDATION FOR EVERYTHING ABOVE. TRADITIONALLY, THE PAVILION POSTS SIT UNSECURED ON THE SENDI (POST BASE), SO THEY CAN EXPAND AND CONTRACT DURING AN EARTHQUAKE. SAKTI (SPIRITUAL STRENGTH) IS THE PAVILIONS STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.

NEXT, A STUMP OF TIMBER IS CARVED OUT AND PLACED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PAVILION. THE ADEGAN (COLUMN) SITS IN A HOLE AT THE TOP OF THE SENDI TO ENSURE THAT THE COLUMN DOES NOT SHIFT AT ITS BASE.
CARVED STONE, WOOD, OR CONCRETE IS USED AT THE SENDI (POSTS BASE). PARAS, A STONE CARVING TECHNIQUE, IS COMMONLY USED BY MANY BALINESE CARVERS. THIS IS BECAUSE THEY CANNOT RESIST CARVING SUCH MATERIALS AND IT ALLOWS THEM TO DISPLAY THEIR DECORATIVE ABILITIES. THE ADEGAN BETON, COLUMNS OF BRICK OR REINFORCED CONCRETE, HAVE BECOME VERY POPULAR, PARTICULARLY IN LARGE-SCALE PAVILIONS.