Meaning in Balinese traditional architecture

Abstract

Balinese traditional architecture is an architecture which has been evolving for centuries even until today. This evolution continues because the Balinese myths, beliefs and the Bali-Hindu religion are strongly embedded in the culture of the people. This study is an application of the 'Meaning Approach' to Balinese traditional architecture. The data is based on scattered literature about Bali and field observation of modern designs. The study describes the objects in three aspects of meaning in architecture, namely "physical attributes", "conceptions", and "activities." The theory is briefly reviewed, and used for data analysis. Balinese traditional architecture is comprised of sacred buildings, residential buildings and public buildings, and each category is reviewed according to the meanings it may have. Current issues in Balinese traditional architecture are identified, such as influences on traditional building, and the use of traditional forms in modern designs. Finally, meaning in Balinese traditional architecture is found to be changing and dynamic and in need of rigorous re-interpretation. The author proposes to adress himself to this issue of re-interpretation in a future study.