ARTICULATION AND INHABITATION: STUDY ON MORPHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF HOME

Abstract

The popular phrase ‘Form follow Function’, made famous by architect Louis Sullivan, has been used to summarize the centrality of modernist architecture. It revolved around the idea that every building should be designed based on the purpose of which it will serve and thus, every building has a specific form by virtue of its function. Nevertheless, the simplified notion of form and function is not suitable in understanding Southeast Asian architecture. Due to the difference in the way of life of the people, a more dynamic notion of inhabitation and articulation is proposed in replacement of form and function. Inhabitation involved changes in aspirations, needs and behaviours and these influenced the way the building is articulated. This is well within the context of home as a place of dwelling where aspirations and behaviours of people are expressed in their most private form. This dissertation is a study on the homes in residential district of Pademangan, Jakarta, as case studies to provide empirical evidences to the active relationship of inhabitation process and the architectural articulation caused by it. This is set against the modernist notion of form and function as the defining principle for architectural works. The redefinition of form and function into inhabitation and articulation in the context of home has important implications in understanding the dynamic way of life and their influences on Southeast Asian architecture.