The Golden Green : The Journey on the Land of the Deep-rooted

National University of Singapore (NUS), School of Design and Environment (SDE), Department of Architecture, Singapore

Project idea

This work was formed by a conversation with Teak through a group of craftsmen, engineers, and the community. Departed as thesis research with Prof Erik L’Heureux from NUS, design is an aggregation of details as the smallest form of architecture, resulting in a whole new architecture.

The early popularity of Teak as an exotic hardwood in Java was due to the active teak cultivation by the Dutch colonies in the 1600s. This has created a misleading appreciation of the value of Teak wood between the rural and urban communities. In addition to its strong and fine properties as a hardwood, the colonialism push for Teak cultivation changed the perception of Teak wood from a common local material into a luxury commodity. Both craftsmen and people who enjoy Teak serve a very important role in the industry, and the relationship between them turns Teak into a product of capitalism that could influence socio-economical aspects of Blora.

Capitalism had ultimately threatened the rural communities in Blora due to the government’s new regulation against the logging of teakwood at the time. This circumstance pushed the price of teakwood upward, hence making it overvalued. However, this threat was well received, because it was understood that the high price of teakwood could in turn help the local economy to thrive before they get intruded by big investors. The ever-evolving modern technology did not stop the local craftsmen from developing their manual expertise in managing and utilizing teakwood in their works. Thus there had to be a way to help the teakwood industry to grow. Firstly, they could help to minimize the cost and maximize the profit by importing materials from outside of Java island. Furthermore, they could open doors to new innovations and new techniques in processing the newly regarded ‘luxurious’ material of teakwood. This is where friction arose between the idealism of craftsmen, carpenters, designers, and architects, which now raises an important question, “what does Teak want?”.

Project description

This work was intended to introduce technology to the vernacular architecture in Blora, Indonesia. It was done by excavating the potential of Teak as a product of capitalism and through a collaboration between the apprentices and the local people of Blora themselves. Moreover, this work will also explore the fundamental role of Teak wood in the architecture of Blora as a means to adapt to the ever-changing urban climate.

Supported by the local people in Blora who had a deep understanding of teakwood’s basic natures; the architects armed with technology and innovation play a role through design to maximize the use and application of teak in a building by ‘collaborating’ the two techniques. Firstly, there is the traditional way of the local craftsmen, and the modern way with the aid of machinery, and secondly the material that has a dual function, as structure and decoration. Now the question becomes of determining the balanced use of local craftsmanship, and large-scale machine-aided production. The role of an architect here is not only to value the importance and strength of the teakwood as a building material but to ensure that the teakwood itself is able to enhance the beauty of the local architecture in Blora.

Technical information

In addition to the actual tree trunks that are used for building construction, there is the issue of ‘waste’ from parts of teak trees that are generally unused such as roots and barks. However, with the proper application, they can also be used as parts of structures and decorations in a building. For instance, the small pieces of wood from the excess of the sawmill can be utilized as floor tiles, the strong roots of teak can be turned into furniture, and barks could be used as a sun-shading device due to their unique textures. Nowadays, teak wood is also produced massively, for example, to be turned into plywood, so that it could be sourced to create technologies like CNC or laser cut machines to produce an innovative product for teak. The way the teakwood is cut gives varied looks on the surface, so this needs the sensitivity of a designer to explore the potential of teakwood to be used as a ‘living’ material to be applied in a building. Not only that, but the nature of teak wood that adapts to different climatic conditions needs to be carefully adjusted so that in time, the teakwood could age beautifully with minimal maintenance. conclusively, the ultimate mission of an architect in dealing with teakwood is to find ways of constructing a game of wood grain patterns through means, such as different ways of cutting, creating connection and joineries of supporting material, and the finishing techniques, that could help reform teakwood as the ‘new’ and innovative material for modern architecture today.

Documentation

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