Sundanese Architecture

It can be argued that literature about Sundanese architecture is rare; if there were any, usually incompleter and often superficially written. An entire book that dedicated to the subject does not exist, only as simple note written by anthropologists, thus are merely speculative. Until now, there has been no methodology that could be use to understand the concept of form and meaning in Sundanese architecture, let alone the concept in the process of cultural change. There has been no research, either theoritical or empirical, to linking the two concepts of form and meaning in Sundanese architecture, so the interpretation of the styles are neither complete nor comprehensive. The limit of this study regarding the Sundanese architecture are further complicated by the absence of any ancient palace or royal compoundsóor their physical remains. Ancient manuscripts detailed the artsówritings and oral histories containing informations about ordinary life. Sundanese cultural heritage only revolves around the arts, language, dance, drama, music; but conversely to the artifactsóbuildings, monuments, and their ornamentsóthey are extremely rare. Thus, research about Sundanese architecture requires further study to be doggedly pursued. Prompted by this lack in literature and awareness that the concepts of form and meaning in vernacular architecture are so important in the development of architecture for the future in globalisation era, I have written this book on the basis of research on three case studies of Sundanese vernacular architecture. The case studies have been chosen deliberately so they represent the architectural conditions of Sundanese in the face of the dynamic of change. May this work can serve as a useful reference (or as a starting point to other similar studies) for the development of any necessary strategic steps to ensure the survival of Sundanese architecture in the onslaught of global change. http://www.pursal.com/category/publications/