Material and Cultural Values in Joglo Architecture in Indonesia

Joglo is a residential architecture heritage intended for the Javanese nobility. Since the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006, the eminence of joglo has been questioned because many of them collapsed in this disaster. Through tectonic studies, this paper aims to reveal whether joglo structures were created with more consideration for technical matters (material and strength of construction), for non-technical considerations (creation of the spatial atmosphere following the cultural values), or the harmony between them. The study employs a historical interpretative method through three stages. First, it examines the technical aspects of joglo construction to produce a narrative about the logic of joglo construction. Second, it examines the cultural aspects related to joglo to develop a narrative about how the Javanese nobility interprets joglo spaces. Finally, the two stages are discussed to look for the relationships between them. This research has revealed that the process of creating joglo is based on two concurrent knowledge, traditional wood and stone construction technology and the knowledge of Javanese religiosity originating from the Hindu cultural values.