Understanding Balinese Architecture
Bali Gazebo, or locally known as Bale Bengong, is just one type of traditional Balinese structure. When you are building a bali gazebo of your own, it may be helpful to know a little bit about the architectural philosophy upon which the structure is built.
The structure of traditional balinese buildings parallels the local classification systems which assumes that everything in the natural world can be divided into three components: low, middle and high. In buildings, the base is the low, posts and walls are the medium, and the roof is the high component. Using such natural materials as thatch roofing, teakwood, mud and stone they are organic statements in complete harmony with the environment.
The Base
The base typically consists of four low walls of brick or stone, infilled with stamped earth. In unimportant or humble buildings, this packed earth surface will also form the material of the floor, but where finances allow, it will be paved. Similarly, the walls of the base may be plain, profiled, or carved with reliefs depending on the nature of the building and the status and wealth of the owner.
The Timber Frame
The main load-bearing elements of the building consists of a timber post and beam framework. The structure supports the hipped roof, which is formed from a coconut wood and bamboo frame covered with grass thatch or clay tiles.
The height of the posts is determined by measurements taken from the house owner’s body, and the dimensions of the house posts, in turn, determine the proportions of the building.
The posts of the house rest on masonry or stone column base called umpak and the rigidity of the structure is established by tie-beams which are stiffened at the joints by shores or brackets. Individual components are joined by mortise-and-tenon, or lap joints, and are secured by a wedge or wooden peg.
Traditionally, the preferred material for house posts is teakwood which ideally should be cut from a living tree grown locally, although teakwood imported from Borneo or Java is considered to be superior. When posts are raised into position, care must be taken to ensure that they are erected according to the direction of growth of the tree trunk, with the root end being placed in the foundations and the growing tip end supporting the roof. On no account may posts be erected “upside down”, or with the direction of growth inverted.
The Walls
The walls of Balinese houses are made from stone, brick or even mud. They do not carry any load, as they are completely detached from the timber structure that supports the roof. The favored building material is paras, a kind of soft sandstone that is cut into uniform brick-sized blocks and the gently baked in the sun. Paras is a very plastic material, which can be easily carved, but is not very durable and soon deteriorates, hence the ancient appearance of many Balinese buildings despite the fact that most structures are no more than a few years old. Other material is adobe, that is made from wet earth kneaded into balls and placed in the sun to dry. But it is even less durable than paras. Both paras and adobe units are stuck together with wet mud to make the walls.
The Roof
The usual roofing material in ordinary buildings is a thick thatch that is made from alang-alang grass (imperata cylindrica). The grass is gathered in bundles which are then doubled over the midrib of coconut fronds and stitched in place.These sections of thatching are lashed on to the framework of the roof using red-dyed rattan cords or ties made from the natural fiber of sugar palm. The roof is then combed with a special type of rake and the bottom edge is trimmed with a knife. This thatched roof can last for many years. In the case of religious structures and family shrines, black thatch from palm sugar is used for roofing instead of alang-alang. More important structures may employ clay pantiles or even modern Marseilles tiles while split bamboo shingles are a popular choice for roofing material in mountain regions as they are more durable than thatch.
Adapted from:Introduction to Balinese Architecture (Periplus Asian Architecture Series)
