Making cosmo-religious landscapes: the design of a Balinese town's civic center (Bali, Indonesia

Habitat International 28 (2004) 103–122

Making cosmo-religious landscapes: the design of a Balinesetown’s civic center (Bali, Indonesia)

T. Nirarta Samadhi*

Department of City and Regional Planning, National Institute of Technology (ITN Malang),

J1. Bendungan Siguragura No. 2, Malang 65145, Indonesia

Received 28 June 2002; received in revised form 28 October 2002; accepted 8 February 2003

Abstract

Bali, a provincial island among Indonesia’s hundreds of islands, is a unique place mainly due to itsexistence as an island, populated mostly by Balinese Hindu. As such the Balinese traditional-religiousconceptions of space are influential in the landscape design. This paper evaluates the site plan andlandscape design of the Regency of Badung Civic Center in the Province of Bali, Indonesia. It describes thedesign approach taken by its designers, in which they explored the traditional-religious conceptions of spacein relation to the design goals. The Balinese urban design principles as proposed by Samadhi (J. Indones.Plann. School Assoc. 1(1) (2001) 25, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,Melbourne, 2001) will be utilized as the tool of evaluation.r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bali; Cosmology; Urban design; Balinese urban design concepts

1. Introduction

Bali is an island in the Indonesian archipelago in which 98% of its population is Balinese Hindu(DHV, 1996). For decades the island has fascinated the world with its vibrant culture born indeeply rooted cults of ancient tradition and fostered by the guiding rituals of a strong religion. Assuch, religion is to the Balinese their law, the force that holds the community together. It is thegreatest stimulus of their lives because it has given them their ethics, culture, wisdom, and joy ofliving by providing the exuberant festivity they love. It is only logical that any space manipulationactivity—in building or spatial design—will utilize some traditional-religious conceptions ofspace.

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*Fax: +62-341-553-015.

E-mail address: [email protected] (T.N. Samadhi).

0197-3975/03/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/S0197-3975(03)00032-8

Spatial planning and design in Bali fundamentally relies on the religious philosophy of BalineseHinduism in which the five basic elements of Panca Mahabhuta and three elements of life, atma,sarira, and prana,1 are harmoniously interplaying within the relationship between nature/environment or living space (bhuwana agung or macrocosm) and human being (bhuwana alit ormicrocosm) as a whole unit of life. In this respect, philosophically the relationship is also referredto as ‘a baby (represents the microcosm) in the mother’s womb (represents the larger cosmos)’ or‘manik ring cucupu’. Such a philosophy is also known as the psycho-cosmic concept in the BaliHindu teachings (Samadhi, 2001b, c).In this cosmological philosophy, human and universe are regarded as a unity, composed of

similar basic elements; therefore in the quest of achieving his religious goal, a Hindu has toharmonize himself—as a microcosm—with the environment (and ultimately the universe) as themacrocosm. The macrocosm and the microcosm are in a state of polarity which BalineseHinduism called Rwa Bhineda—a state where two different entities occurred at the same time andinterplayed as a system (Pudja, 1978, p. 32). While in the Judeo-Christian tradition an oppositionis presented as a mutually exclusive choice, in the Balinese Hindu scheme such division is neitherso stark, nor at all exclusive. It even includes what can be considered a third position, ‘center’which balances the other two. Thus microcosm, human body, or bhuwana alit (literally ‘smallworld’) and macrocosm, the universe, or bhuwana agung (literally ‘great world’) are interrelated inthe pursuit of the production of balance, the vehicle to attain ultimate goal of Hinduism.In a human settlement, those above-mentioned elements of life are materialized in the form of

Tri Kahyangan temples2 (atma), territory (sarira) and sima krama or the settlement dwellers(prana). Subsequently this concept was named Tri Hita Karana3 and inspired the formulation ofTri Angga which qualitatively structures a space into utama (sacred, upper), madya (neutral,middle) and nista (profane, lower). The philosophy of Tri Hita Karana can also be perceived as theunderlying grouping of spatial uses within a cosmological unit or territory, that is parahyangan(sacred spaces, e.g. pura or temple), pawongan (middle spaces, occupied by the unit dwellers’settlement), and palemahan (profane spaces, e.g cemetery).The spatial structuring of Tri Angga defines the settlement patterns of linear, crossroad

(pampatan agung) and combination between these two. The settlement elements (marketplace,palace, open space, and so on), then, were laid out around the patterns in accordance to thosephilosophical foundations, spatial structuring system and orientation conceptions such as Kaja-Kelod 4 and Kangin-Kauh.5 The detailed pattern by which these functions were arranged isconceptually known as Sanga Mandala (a 3� 3-spaces composition, literally means ‘nine-folded

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1Atma, sarira, and prana literally mean ‘the spirit’, ‘the vessel’ and ‘the energy’, respectively. These three elements are

the ingredient of every cosmos, be that a human being, a village, a town or the universe (see Table 1).2Village’s ‘official’ temples, consists of pura puseh (navel temple or temple of origin), pura desa (village temple) and

pura dalem (temple of the dead).3 It literally means ‘three causes of goodness’, which is also known as the elements of life (Kaler, 1983, pp. 85–87;

Dharmayuda and Cantika, 1991, pp. 6–7; Megananda, 1990, p. 72; Eiseman, 1989, p. 2) (see also footnote 1).4Kaja-Kelod means the ‘mountainward–seaward’ axis, which connotes the sacred–profane dichotomy with the

mountainward direction being the sacred (abode of the gods) and seaward direction (where the demons dwell) being the

profane. For most of Balinese towns this axis coincides with north–south axis.5Kangin-Kauh means the ‘sunrise–sunset’ axis, which represent birth–death dichotomy, where sunrise direction being

the symbol of ‘birth’, hence preferable, and sunset direction being the symbol of ‘death’.

T.N. Samadhi / Habitat International 28 (2004) 103–122104

hierarchical space’).6 However, such arrangement will differ in its detail according to the operativelocal knowledge system including the Tri Pramana (i.e. ‘place–time–situation’ dictum) and TriMasa (i.e. ‘past–present–future’ dictum) principles.The following are seven Bali Hindu conceptions of space and their core–periphery continuum

order which reflects their degree of importance in the contemporary Balinese spatial formation(Samadhi, 2001b): (1) psycho-cosmic concept; (2) Tri Hita Karana; (3) Tri Angga; (4) Kaja-Kelod;(5) Kangin-Kauh; (6) Sanga Mandala; and (7) local knowledge systems (Tri Pramana and TriMasa). The psycho-concept, as it is the core conception, will be elaborated below, for it willprovide the setting of the discussion on the contemporary attempt to create a cosmo-religiouslandscape: a landscape which reflects and transmits cosmological and religious meanings.With this concise background of the Balinese traditional-religious conceptions of space and a

special yet brief elaboration of the core conception, as well as a disposition of a set of Balineseurban design principles proposed by Samadhi (2001a, b) which will be elaborated below, it shouldbe possible to evaluate the landscape design approach taken in the Regency of Badung CivicCenter (Bali, Indonesia) planning project carried out by the Badung Regency Planning Board inconjunction with PT TLU Engineering Consultant (Indonesia) in 1997.

2. The psycho-cosmic concept

The psycho-cosmic concept is a Balinese Hinduism conception, which can be explained throughsymbols of the spiritual world within the sphere of physical world (sekala) and its relation with themetaphysical world (niskala) in a way similar to the relations between the bhuwana alit

(microcosm) and the bhuwana agung (microcosm). As such, the human body is regarded as theworld of microcosm which is differentiated from his immediate environment or universe(macrocosm). The philosophy of Balinese Hindu urges that a man as a bhuwana alit (microcosm)should harmonize himself with the universe as a bhuwana agung (macrocosm), because the humanbody and the universe are originated from the same elements, the element of Panca Mahabhuta orfive basic elements (Puri, 1995), i.e. pertiwi (earth/solid substance), apah (water/fluid substance),teja (fire/light/heat), bayu (air), and akasa (space/ether).7 Thus, with regard to space as in spatialdesign, any kind of settlement and dwelling are essentially the extension of the human being and,therefore, their properties are interdependent.The application of the psycho-cosmic concept in the cultural landscapes of the urban

environments by way of environmental design reflects the cosmic conceptions of both Hinduismand Balinese tradition. Such a claim can be observed from the Balinese environmental design inwhich the Balinese settlement always acts as the symbol of macrocosm. Thus, the Balinese culturallandscapes are necessarily created in accordance with the natural characteristics of Balineseenvironments, traditions and the Hindu conceptions about the universe, because the cultural

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6The hierarchy goes within the sacred–profane continuum, that is from utamaning utama mandala or the most sacred

section (first hierarchy), to utamaning madya mandala or the second most sacred section (second hierarchy), to the last

or ninth hierarchy, nistaning nista mandala or the most profane section. Each section, then, further divided into similar

nine spaces and so on.7For example, brick as one of building materials is made of soil and water, and hardened with the help of fire/heat

which in itself needs air to flame.

T.N. Samadhi / Habitat International 28 (2004) 103–122 105

landscapes are means of adaptation for human beings (microcosm) towards the universe(macrocosm) in order to achieve a harmonious relation among them. In this case the Balinesesettlement, particularly in the form of desa adat,8 is acting as a symbol of macrocosm—anindividual entity, which, together with others composed a bigger cosmos, that is a kuta (town) ornegara (kingdom or country)—whereas its resident is the microcosm, with the balance between thetwo as the ultimate goal. Thus, essentially the main target to be achieved by the Balineseenvironmental design is harmony between man and his surrounding environment within cosmosesinterrelationships.

3. Desa adat: a Balinese-Hindu cosmos

Within the Balinese human settlement, the cosmoses interrelationships can be fully observed inthe existence of a desa adat. This traditional Balinese settlement unit is considered as a distinctivecosmological unit which is composed of a particular territory, or in Geertz’s words (1980, p. 45),‘ythe desa, was a self-contained, cosmologically based organic unity of indigenous Balineseculture’. Formally, the government of Bali Province has decreed a local regulation (Peraturan

Daerah Propinsi Bali), Perda No. 6 (1986) tentang Kedudukan dan Fungsi Desa Adat SebagaiKesatuan Masyarakat Hukum Adat dalam Propinsi Bali or Provincial Regulation No. 6 (1986) onThe Role and Position of Desa Adat as an Adat Legal Society in the Province of Bali, and definesdesa adat as

y desa adat is a unit of an adat bounded community which possesses a tradition and Hinduismbased society values and norms within the boundary of Tri Kahyangan, which has its ownterritory and possessions, and a right to manage its own internal affairs.9

Further legal explanation of the definition reveals that the structure of a desa adat in Bali isconstructed on a common fundamental conception of Tri Hita Karana—the ‘three causes ofgoodness’, which breaks down a desa adat unit into: (1) parahyangan (the God worshippingplaces, that is the Tri Kahyangan temples) being the atma or spirit of the settlement, (2) pawongan

(the desa dwellers) being the prana or energy to enliven the settlement, and (3) palemahan (the desalands or territory) being the sarira or vessel of those two elements. This structure is subsequentlyreinforced with a number of principles as basis of establishment of a desa adat.In general, desa adat possesses spatial structural patterns as shown in Fig. 1. In addition,

membership in a desa adat is defined by the Tri Kahyangan (‘three great temples’) congregation towhich one belongs. These groups of three temples consist of pura puseh (‘navel temple’ or ‘templeof origin’), pura desa (‘village temple’) and pura dalem (‘temple of the dead’), each of whichcomprises an indivisible unit, exist all over Bali.10 Thus, the social and moral unity of the villagedomain is represented conceptually by this triad of temples (Barth, 1993, p. 32).

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8Literally ‘customary village’, is a settlement unit based upon Bali Hindu cosmological teachings and worldviews,

which has its own customary regulation or edict (awig-awig desa adat).9Conceptually, this definition is almost similar to the pre-New Order (before 1967) situation, where adat inspires the

life, dwellers and governmental system of a village. Such a village recognizes by the Dutch colonial as an adat society

(adat gemeenschap) as well as an adat law society (adat rechtsgemeenschap) (see Soemardjan, 2001, pp. 121–127).10However, in some parts of north Bali the Tri Kahyangan consists of somewhat different set of three: pura desa, pura

dalem and pura segara (sea temple) (see Barth, 1993, p. 33).


Every Balinese, including the ones who live outside Bali temporarily as well as permanently,belongs to one and only one Tri Kahyangan congregation, and everyone in the congregationbelongs to the same desa adat. Each desa adat possesses an awig-awig, a body of customarylaws, which defines the social organizations and procedures—including the environmental

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(a) mountinous desa

2

4

4

(b) coastal desa

2 1

4

(d) former kingdom center desa

3

(c) land desa

4

Pura Desa (village temple)

Pura Dalem (temple of the dead)

Pura Puseh (navel temple)

Combined Pura Desa and Pura Puseh

Puri (Palace)

Wantilan (meeting place/pavilion) Or Bale Banjar (neighbourhood meeting hall)

Lapangan (plain grassy open space)

Pasar (marketplace)

1

2

3

4

Fig. 1. Typical desa adat pattern.


management—of the village. Most desa adat holds regular meetings, a sangkep or paruman, whichdecrees desa policies concerning all village affairs.It has been mentioned before that both microcosm and macrocosm share a similar set of

elements: atma (the spirit), prana (the power or energy), and sarira (the body or vessel). This iswhat Balinese Hinduism calls ‘three causes of goodness’ or Tri Hita Karana. However, despite theabove similarity there are a number of contrasts and differences between the two. The first isobviously their size or scale (‘small’ and ‘great’), and the next is their role or function, the bhuwanaalit or microcosm being the content and the bhuwana agung or macrocosm being the container.This is the Rwa Bhineda condition in which one can only function with the presence of the other;thus, it is the perfect harmonious condition. In other Balinese Hinduism concepts, this is alsoknown as manik ring cucupu, literally ‘baby (being the microcosm) in the mother’s womb (beingthe macrocosm)’.Naturally, human beings will not stop or be content with the nature provided vessel—mother’s

womb at first, and then under the tree shelter or cave at the beginning of the civilization.Human beings, then, created houses, banjar (Balinese neighborhood unit or ward), desa

(literally ‘village’ or settlement), town, even country as their vessel in the pursuit of the ultimategoal. The harmonious cosmoses interrelationships as imitated by house and settlement are notonly reflected by their similar elements, but also appears in the division of their physical entities(sarira) (Kaler, 1983). Such a division is called Tri Angga, ‘three-fold spatial division’. Thedivision signifies three levels or qualities of entity—be that an abstract one, such as space, or aphysical one such as house or settlement: utama (sacred), madya (neutral), and nista (profane).Thus, almost everything in the Balinese world contains this tripartite division (Hobart, 1978;Kaler, 1983; Howe, 1976; Megananda, 1990; Helmi and Walker, 1995), as will be demonstrated inTable 1.The cosmological balancing process between desa adat as a settlement unit and its dwellers is

spatially symbolically transformed into a sacred crossroad pattern of the Balinese settlement,pampatan agung, through the concept of Catus Patha, a meeting place of four cardinal directions:the directions to the mountain, sea, sunrise and sunset, which more or less coincide with north,

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Table 1

Tri Angga in various forms/level of cosmos

Tri Angga Utama (highest, sacred

head)

Madya (middle, neutral,

body)

Nista (lowest, profane,

foot)

Universe Swahloka (atmosphere) Bhuwahloka (lithosphere) Bhurloka (hydrosphere)

World/earth Mountain Land Sea

Village/settlement territory

(palemahan desa)

Temples Settlement areas Cemetery (setra)

Temple Jeroan (innermost

courtyard)

Jaba tengah (middle

courtyard)

Jaba sisi (outer area)

Housing compound Sanggah (household

temple)

Working and sleeping

pavillion

Entry gate (lebuh)

House Roof Rooms/walls Floor/sub-structure

Human being Head Body Foot

Time Future (warthamana) Present (nagata) Past (atita)


south, east and west11 (Megananda, 1990, p. 56). Historically, the crossroad as a sacred space is aconcept which was probably adopted from Hindu-Javanese culture.12 In this concept, otherdirections, kangin (east) and kauh (west), are added to the kaja (mountainward) and kelod(seaward) directions. Kangin, being the direction of sunrise, the beginning of the day, is consideredas the symbol of the beginning of life. Thus, it is perceived as possessing the same quality as kaja.Kauh, on the other hand, is perceived to have the same value as kelod. Consequently, the north-east (kaja-kangin) corner of the pampatan agung is the most important quarter.It has been acknowledged that Bali custom and tradition and Hinduism have an enormous

influence on the Balinese. The pampatan agung has a political dimension which reflects theintermeshing of religion and power. The pampatan agung is nonetheless a materialization of thecenter of power (Geertz, 1980). Tambiah (1985) has noted that the creation of a center is literallycentral to the traditional Southeast Asian politics, in which the Balinese politics formed noexception to this principle (Geertz, 1980). The word negara, for instance, means ‘kingdom’ as wellas ‘center’ (Wiryomartono, 1995), and a kingdom could not exist without a center whichembodied the whole. This notion has been proven by Nordholt (1991) when he showed how aBalinese noble man in the colonial period utilized a pampatan agung and its elements—namely atemple, a meeting hall, and a Banyan tree—as a means to accumulate power and followers13 (cf.Fig. 1).Other interesting case is documented by Nas (1995, pp. 168–170) on Denpasar’s central

crossroad:

In colonial times this was marked by a large clock, not far from the most important IndiesHotel, apparently to proclaim the importance of mechanically registered time and of thecolonial supremacy. In 1972 this street clock was replaced by a statue of ‘‘Brahma with fourfaces’’ or Catur Muka (catur: four; muka: face). This image denotes the sacredness of the fourpoints of the windrose and of cosmos. ySince the seventies and eighties through therestoration of the central square and the intersection, the center of Denpasar has once moreregained the symbolic form. yThere has been a re-assessment of Balinese culture, which hasbeen reflected in the spatial structure of the city. yThis crossroad is marked by the statue ofCatur Muka, defining four areas, each with its own particular function. The south-eastern areais formed by an open space, the alun-alun; the north-eastern area is dominated by the palace,the puri; the south-westerly part is earmarked for essential services for the population, like thepasar, and north-westerly sector is used for the temple, the pura desa. The houses of the peoplecluster around these places.

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11This applies to the Southern Bali areas, where the highest—hence, sacred—mountain in the Island of Bali is located

on their north. Consequently, the directions will be different for the Northern Bali areas.12This can be observed from the map of Trowulan, the capital city of Majapahit Kingdom (as constructed by

Stutterheim in 1924, and quoted by Hermanislamet, 1999, p. 121).13The process of accumulating power and followers is too long and complicated to be presented in this section. In

summary, the nobleman built a new crossroad in a village (given to him by the Dutch) that already had one. Around the

new crossroad he constructed a marketplace, a bigger meeting hall, a palace which also acts as a colonial administrative

office, and a temple. Then, he re-regulated the market period (day and place) of that village and its surroundings village,

and created a babad (history) to serve as a legitimation of the sacredness of his new temple. In the end his pampatan

agung became a regional center and established his sovereignty as a ‘king’ (Nordholt, 1991, pp. 137–163).


4. The Balinese urban design principles14

The comprehension of the physical organization of a city form combines four closelyinterrelated, but distinct, functions of access, compatibility, identity and livability (c.f. Lynch,1981; Bentley, Alcock, Murrain, McGlynn, & Smith, 1985; Tibbalds, 1988; Samadhi, 2001a, b).Therefore, the elaboration of the Balinese urban design principles will take advantage of thiscategorization. In its original concept, the principles are aimed at addressing the design process ofan urban area with a characteristic of a desa adat, hence a uniquely Balinese settlement unit(Samadhi, 2001b). In this paper, it will be modified such that it can be utilized in addressing thedesign of a special area such as a civic center.

4.1. Access: design principle no. 1

To create a town form—which is composed by cosmological territorial units (desa adat)—suchthat it will provide an emphasize on the routes and spots of the Balinese Hindu ritual purposeswhile at the same time developing a number of alternative ways through such a territory(Samadhi, 2001a, p. 36).

An important aspect of making places responsive to activities is by providing accessibility toevents, places and facilities (Bentley et al., 1985; Tibbalds, 1988). Thus, the physical form of the site,as a composition of many elements and places, should contribute a force that will assist both theresidents and visitors in traveling through the area and accessing events, places and facilities with aminimum of confusion. The form and structure of the site as a part of a larger area should alsocontribute to an awareness of location in relation to the total form and the whole area structure.In the case of a desa adat—a cosmological territorial unit—as a part of a Balinese town, the

space should be symbolically (e.g. on the basis of the local worldview) ordered rather thangeometrical (e.g. by way of street patterning), although it is possible that the result has ageometrical notion (Samadhi, 2001b). In this respect, any site within a desa adat should bedesigned as a part of this existing cosmological unit.The most effective strategy to achieve a symbolically ordered space is by applying the spatial

zoning principle of Sanga Mandala, and then designating town’s uses and functions in accordanceto the spatial attribute of each mandala or section. Additionally, streets may be laid out to definethe nine sections and increase the accessibility to places within the site.

4.2. Compatibility: design principle no. 2

To provide town places with a cultural and temporal continuity by creating balance betweentraditional-religious and modern spatial uses and activities, hence accommodating the fitbetween residents and their environments (Samadhi, 2001a, pp. 36–37).

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14These urban design principles were developed on the basis of data and information gathered from field studies in

the town of Gianyar, Bali, between 1998 and 1999 (Samadhi, 2001b). Under the presumption that Bali Province is

ethnically significantly homogenous, and so does its towns, these urban design principles should rightly be applied to

any Balinese towns other than Gianyar.


The second design principle is to create the site’s physical form which will accommodate the fitbetween residents’ life style and various activities with their physical settings. Places in the siteshould not accommodate a fixed use related to the Balinese Hindu purposes, but should tolerate avariety of purposes as requested by modern urban life. This quality will make places in the site‘robust’ (Bentley et al., 1985; Tibbalds, 1988). Therefore, the physical form of the site should bedesigned to facilitate a match between place and the whole pattern of behavior of user groupsincluding visitors or tourists (Lynch, 1981).The behavior of the Balinese as the dominant user group is patterned by their religious practices

which ultimately determine their physical settings. A ritual as simple as placing daily personalsmall offerings in the morning and evening to a complex one of spiritually cleansing the desa needsspecial places and furniture. Special places necessitate the adoption of cosmological worldviewinto their design, for example, in the provision of pampatan agung for the annual ritual of desacleansing (Tawur Kesanga) which is carried on the day before Nyepi, when the Balinese new yearbegins. The need for special furniture means the provision of ritual-related means such as smallofferings stage, roadside shrine, kul-kul or drum tower, and so forth. These are elements tosupport the Balinese everyday life that constitute familiar Balinese landscapes.

4.3. Identity: design principle no. 3

To create a town form which is quickly and easily imagined as a mental picture or felt as a senseof place, hence offers physical and non-physical features of cultural and temporal continuity(Samadhi, 2001a, p. 37).

The third design principle has ‘identity’ as its keyword, meaning that this is generated by theinterrelationship between activities, physical settings and meanings (cf. Relph, 1976). Hence theobjective is to create the physical form and structure which is quickly and easily imagined or felteither as a mental picture or a sense of place, while at the same time communicated the intendedmeanings. The site form, events, and intense familiarity, elements of which can be easily organizedinto mental pictures and meanings, should have the quality of ‘imageability’ (Lynch, 1960), ‘visualappropriateness’ (Bentley et al., 1985) and ‘contextualness’ (Tibbalds, 1988). Furthermore, theform should attempt to give the resident the opportunity to comprehend visually the site as a partof a larger area (i.e. town, desa adat, etc.) and identify himself within it as a part of his daily life(cf. Crane, 1962).In the settlement unit uniquely Balinese, the desa adat, the place-self-identity (cf. Prohansky,

Fabian, & Kaminoff, 1983) can be easily achieved. Because within the Balinese cultural-religioussystem, namely the psycho-cosmic conceptions (see the preceding sections), any kind ofsettlement15 and dwelling are essentially the extension of the human being and, therefore, theirproperties including identity are interdependent. Thus, for a person or a site, to belong to a desa

adat, hence to become a sima krama desa (a member of a customary village) or a part ofpalemahan (desa adat territory), is one of the Balinese strategies to establish his or her cultural aswell as locational identity (Samadhi, 2001b).Apart from placing a site as a part of a desa adat as a way to adhere to this principle, an

elaborate design of a particular crossroad to signify its role as a pampatan agung is an effective

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15Particularly which represent an independent cosmological unit such as a desa adat.


way to provide a familiar Balinese environmental cognition cue. Such an elaboration may include,for example, restoration of traditional settlement elements around the crossroad, and designationof a spatial structure which develops around the crossroad as its center. This strategy will alsoenhance the awareness to the Balinese traditional compass and spatial meanings, the kaja-kelod

and kauh-kangin axes, which psycho-cosmically important to the Balinese.

4.4. Livability: design principle no.4

To provide town places with as much opportunity to be personalized as possible, henceallowing any desa adat’s ‘place–time–situation’ dictum (desa–kala–patra) to take place andenhance localism (Samadhi, 2001a, p. 37).

The fourth design principle also generated by the interrelationship between activities, physicalsettings and meanings is to provide the resident or group of residents of the site with a possibilityto personalize places. The site that assists the formation of the whole structure of the area whichembodies it should encourage the residents or groups of residents who use, work and reside in thearea and places to control the use and access to spaces and activities and their creation, repair,modification and management (Lynch, 1981). A personalized place is said to be the only way mostresidents can relate their identity to the environment (Bentley et al., 1985), and in the Balinesecase, such a personalization could mean the adoption of local knowledge system, i.e. the BalineseHindu worldviews and philosophies, awig-awig (customary law), and the like for belonging to acosmological unit (desa adat) is one of the means to establish a Balinese personal identity (see above).This principle aims at giving personal—within a karang or house compound level—as well as

communal—within a banjar and desa level—flexibility of spatial manipulation within theframework of Tri Angga and Sanga Mandala spatial hierarchy attribute. The awig-awig orcustomary law, which is unique for each desa adat throughout Bali, accommodates spatialmanipulation guidelines based upon local adaptation of those traditional-religious conceptions ofspace. Therefore, it is important for a site to be regarded as a part of a desa adat in order to havecosmological references in exercising its flexibility in spatial design.

5. The project

The Regency of Badung is one of eight regencies in the Province of Bali. It is the regency wheresome famous tourist destinations such as Kuta and Nusa Dua are located. In 1996, the localgovernment decided to move its 45-year-old civic center out from Denpasar, the provincial capitalcity, to a new location within the regency administrative territory. The underlying motivation ofsuch a decision was the desire to establish a completely autonomous region, meaning that theregency has to have its own civic center on its own land. In 1996, the Regency of Badung’s LocalPlanning Board set up an urban design project, Proyek Rencana Umum Tata Ruang Kota dengan

Kedalaman Rencana Teknik Ruang Kota Kawasan Pusat Pemerintahan Kabupaten Dati II Badungor Masterplan and Urban Design Guidelines for the Regency of Badung Civic Center.16 This

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16The phrase ‘civic center’ connotes a part of a larger urban setting, whereas actually the civic center will be a ‘stand-

alone’ built-up area surrounded by rural-agricultural areas. The rest of the urban areas around this would-be-civic


project was aimed at providing the plan for laying out the nucleus of the new capital city of theregency. In this respect, this project was the first and is currently still the last project on urbanplanning and design carried out on a completely considerable piece of vacant land. Urbanplanning and design projects in the Province of Bali have always dealt with existing towns andurban areas, hence this project offered different design challenges.In an urban planning sense, there will be problems in the infrastructure provision at the new

location which was in the middle of nowhere some 25 km from Denpasar. Other problem werehow the government officers and their families coped with the movement of their working places.However, that is another story, as the concern here is the site plan and landscape design of the newcivic center, about which the project’s Terms of Reference said:

The new civic center has to reflect the Balinese culture as well as the teachings of the BalineseHindu. As the Provincial Government Regulation No. 2/PD/DPRD/1974 on Spatial Planningfor Development has emphasized, the center should be designed within the framework ofmaintaining the purity of the religion, the originality of cultures, and the beauty of naturalsceneries in order to achieve a balance and harmony between traditional Bali and other culturesso as to benefit the people of Bali Province (Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1996, p. 4).

The location of the new civic center was in the District of Mengwi—some 10 km from the urbanareas of the district—which historically was the former site of the ancient Badung Kingdom—itsarea is presently the Regency of Badung (Fig. 2). Unlike the other ancient Balinese kingdomswhere their kingdom centers have survived to the present day and become modern regency’scapital cities, the center of the Badung Kingdom has destroyed by war and never rebuilt. In thissense, the project was set to capture and relive the glorious stature of the extinct kingdom.Topographically, the site’s 210 ha area was relatively plain (0–8%) with a small river cut-

ting through its north-western corner. There was no major road or other kinds of infrastructureadjacent to the site, and the current land use was agricultural which had a semi-technical irrigation system. Geographically, the site was located in a desa adat or customaryvillage.The project was to house all of the Regency of Badung’s governmental offices and sectoral

institutions, and also the tripartite institutions of the Head of the Regency (Bupati) offices, LocalPeople Assembly (DPRD) buildings and Local Magistrates complexes. Basically, all institutionsfor running the regency will be located at the new civic center along with their supportingfacilities, such as fire station, hospital and a limited amount of housing.

6. The design: cosmo-religious landscapes

The site plan and landscape design concepts proposed by the consultant were based upon theabove-mentioned Balinese traditional-religious conceptions of space which essentially draws fromcosmologic thoughts of Balinese Hindu. As such, cosmic symbols and meanings which are

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(footnote continued)

center will not be planned in a foreseeable future (personal communication with officers from Badung Regency

Planning Board, the owner of this project, July 1996).


familiar to the Balinese cultural landscapes were recreated. Main concepts were formulated asfollows:

1. The site was to be divided into nine spaces according to the Sanga Mandala17 principle, wherethe north-easternmost part of the site being the most sacred area to accommodate the mostsacred functions or land uses of the civic center (Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: III-3) (Fig. 3).

2. The site was to be encircled by a greenbelt which takes the form of a green open space andgarden. The greenbelt was meant to represent a ‘container’ that protects its ‘content’ (the civiccenter) in accordance to the philosophy of manik ring cucupu or ‘baby in the mother’s womb’(Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: III-2). It was also meant to physically separate the site from itssurrounding agricultural areas.

3. The spatial structure of the location of Bupati offices, DPRD (Local People Assembly)buildings and other governmental and sectoral offices was to follow the Kaja-Kelod andKangin-Kauh axes where DPRD as the representation of the regency dwellers, hencedemocratically the ultimate decision-makers and the representation of the ultimate voice: the

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Regency of Badung

Denpasar

Mengwi

Fig. 2. District of Mengwi in the Regency of Badung, Bali, Indonesia.

17Any cosmos is divided into three hierarchical spaces: upper/sacred, middle/neutral and lower/profane as regulates

by Tri Angga (see Section 3) and then further divided into nine hierarchical spaces into sanga mandala (literally ‘nine

spaces’).


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The maincrossroad in the design area. It contains the ‘drum tower’ as the landmark.

Local People AssemblyBuilding

The most profanespace in the design area.Occupied byschools.

School

The most sacred space in the designarea. Occupied bytemple.

Head ofthe RegencyOffice

N

Fig. 3. Regency of Badung Civic Center block plan (Source: Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: IV-4).


God, was designated to be located at the most kaja-kangin18 part of the site (utamaning utama

mandala or the sacred areas) while the Bupati, being the representation of a ‘king’, located inthe middle of the site as what a palace would occupy the center of the kingdom capital desaadat. Consequently, the most kelod-kauh part of the site (nistaning nisata mandala or theprofane areas) was designated to house the Bupati’s assistants in carrying out his day-to-dayoperation, that is the governmental offices and sectoral institutions (Bappeda Kab. Badung,1997a: III-4).

4. The street patterns were to be generated from the core pattern of pampatan agung or ‘greatcrossroad’ which is the physical manifestation of a meeting place between the three worlds, andwill be located more or less in the center of the site, hence occupying the central space of thenine-folded spatial division (Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: III-5) (see Fig. 3).

5. Based upon Lynch’s (1960) spatial cognition—and to a certain extent urban design—elements,a series of urban design concepts was developed (Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: III-6–III-9):

6.1. Landmark

There were three landmarks to be constructed in the site, one was a major landmark and twowere local landmarks. The major one was a bale kul-kul or drum tower, a means ofcommunication in traditional Bali by which some public messages were transmitted (e.g.messages of public gatherings, fire hazards and floods). Since the Bupati offices acted in quite asimilar way, that is conveying messages to mobilize the public within regional developmentframeworks, a bale kul-kul was a germane representation of a civic center’s role (see Fig. 4). Thelocal landmarks consisted of (1) Bima statue, a mythical character in the Balinese folklore whosymbolizes strength and toughness, qualities required for governing the regency; and (2) Saraswati

statue, a Balinese Hindu goddess of science and wisdom, who, in this respect, signifies the otherqualities required by the government.

6.2. Node

Node was meant to be transition spots for spatial structure or movement or a hub of activities,and as such, crossroad patterns were laid out throughout the site to act as nodes.

6.3. Edge19

Edges are two-dimensional linear elements which assume the role of a boundary. A greenbelt inthe form of green open space and garden defines the site as a special place or district with specialactivities.The design project was to be finished in 150 calendar days and involved public consultation on

three occasions. The first was when the Preliminary Report was submitted, the second when thealternative designs were proposed, and the last when the Final Draft Report was submitted. Thepublic consultation was a kind of small meeting with an audience consisting of the Local Planning

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18As the Balinese indigenous wind-rose is determined by relative position to the mountain, when the kaja direction

coincided with north, the most sacred parts will be the ones in the north-easternmost parts of an area.19See also the second point of the proposed main concepts.


Board (Bappeda) as the project owner, representatives of the Local People’s Assembly (DPRD)and a small number of invitees (academicians, informal leaders, etc.). However, minutes of theconsultation meetings revealed that there were disagreements on how the traditional conceptsshould be translated into a ‘modern’ site plan and landscape design idioms (Bappeda Kab.Badung, 1997b).20 In the end, the allocated project time served as a decider, and the above-mentioned concepts were the consensual outcomes. In other words, the design translationwas hastily developed not on a common understanding of centuries-old conceptions of space.The following section will offer some evaluation of the concepts against the precedingbrief elaboration of the Balinese traditional-religious conceptions of space and urban designprinciples.

7. Discussion

The evaluation of the project will be structured in accordance to the project’s proposal of theunderlying urban design concepts to create cosmo-religious landscapes of the regency’s new civiccenter as presented in the preceding section.

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Fig. 4. Bale Kul-kul (the drum tower) at the main crossroad (Source: Bappeda Kab. Badung, 1997a: IV-7).

20Among the main points of disagreement were: (a) which conception(s) addresses spatial design and manipulation—

Samadhi (2001b) noted only seven among many, and (b) how close should the traditional conceptions be adhered to or

modified. On the latter point, for example, some participants regarded the pampatan agung or the main crossroad of a

cosmological territorial settlement unit (i.e. desa adat) as a Balinese cultural identity, and therefore should be adopted in

the design of any kind of built-up area (e.g. from housing estate to hotel). Others clung to the cosmological-symbolic

quality of such crossroad and demanded that the pampatan agung may exist only in a cosmological territorial unit.


7.1. Nine-space site division

Livability is said to be the goal or rationale behind all urban design principles or criteria(Shirvani, 1985), in the context of desa adat as an urban design unit, as the fourth design principleproposes, livability may be achieved by regarding the site as a part of a desa adat in order to havecosmological references. Therefore, the problematic of designing an area in Bali with an aim ofaccommodating traditional-religious spatial conceptions is the predetermination of a cosmolo-gical territorial unit for the purpose of fully applying such conceptions. Such being the case, onlyby adopting an existing cosmological territorial unit and considering the site as part of thiscosmos that one can carry on spatial design tasks (Samadhi, 2001b, c). The discussed project hadthis particular problem, since the site is not by any measure an existing cosmological territorialunit—or even acknowledged to be a part of one21 and had not been intended to be established asone.22 Hence, it can be said that the design approach concentrates more on making possibleanalogies and modifications to achieve the goal of creating cosmo-religious landscapes.The site division, to coincide with the Sanga Mandala principle, was amplified by the street

pattern which clearly demarcated a nine-space area structure. With main local streets crisscrossingsuch that it divides the site into nine spaces, the first design principle was captured quite efficiently,that is making every place within the site equally accessible and, thus, responsive.The grid-like street pattern along with a clear street hierarchy system has always been known as

an easy way to produce a comprehensible area structure, and this can also be recognized in theproposed site plan (see Fig. 3). With the help of landscape furniture such as the bale kul-kul,statues,23 the goal of achieving a site that has physical environmental legibility can be met.However, it should be noted that the second design principle was not fully satisfied since there wasa lack of furniture and places intended to serve the ritual-related purposes to produce familiarlandscapes.The designation of pura (Balinese temple) as the area’s worshipping facility in the most

cosmologically sacred spaces within the site is another way to serve the local populationorientation mechanism, and ultimately added up to the overall legibility. As Moughtin, Cuesta,Sarris, and Signoretta (1999) had argued, legibility is one of the qualities of traditional place ortown which made it ‘easy to read’, and legibility is one of the qualities that should be sought in anurban design project (Lynch, 1981). However, the designation of the most profane space for schoolswas another problematic decision, since there is no religious ground (bhisama)24 to classify ‘schoolland use’ as a profane one.25 Hence, it could potentially weaken the overall legibility of the site.

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21For example, as a part of an existing desa adat. Although geographically the site was located in a desa adat, hence a

cosmological territorial unit, it was not designed as a part of the unit.22 In my opinion, the complexity—and perhaps, controversy—of establishing such a territory had prevented the

project from doing so.23And perhaps, later on, with a conscious architectural design of every building, this objective could be more easily

achieved.24Bhisama is a Bali Hindu religious edict, issued to address a religious-related matter which is not covered by the

operative conceptions.25Samadhi (2001b, c), in the case of the town of Gianyar, Bali, based upon the popular account, concluded that

education facilities should be located at the ‘neutral-sacred’ space, which in Fig. 3, is located to the left of the most

sacred space of the site.


7.2. Greenbelt area: the edge

The original concept of the greenbelt area could be, among others, traced back to EbenezerHoward’s Garden City, in which greenbelt areas are needed to limit the physical growth of adesignated town area. In the discussed project, it is quite clear that the objective was to representthe concept of ‘baby in a womb’, or ‘the content’ protected inside ‘the container’ which manifestedthe cosmoses interrelationships. As such, the design concept was a straightforward attemptto physically materialize the Balinese worldview, and, thus, combined with the site division,conveys the desire to achieve the identity and livability derives from the utilization of familiarvalues.In a real situation, a cosmological territorial unit is an independent unit that has its own

cosmological orientation, which limits the growth of the settlement within the territory of the unit(cf. Sentosa, 1994). Hence, with or without physical boundaries, the physical growth of such a unitwill be limited. As a pseudo-cosmological territorial unit, the designed area should obviouslyutilize physical boundaries to define its territory. This reminds us of two of the city’s imageabilityelements of Lynch (1960), the edge and the district, elements which enable an area or town tocompose its identity.The greenbelt will definitely act as an effective environmental cognition cue, and therefore may

serves as a means of orientation and navigation, and in the end provides a sense of place.Although, as indicated above, the Balinese do not need any physical marker—except temples ofTri Kahyangan—in order to define their desa cosmological territory, the greenbelt may assist themto visualize what were currently abstract boundaries within their mental map. In this respect thethird design principle was partly fulfilled.However, this did not at all address the need to establish intense familiarity of cosmo-religious

landscapes as known by the Balinese. As the third principle suggested, elaborate design of thepampatan agung would be the effective strategy; however, to do so, the design unit has to be a desaadat, for only this unit possesses that particular crossroad. In this case, taking account the fourthdesign principle, the site has to be considered as a part of a cosmological territory, be assigned itsspatial hierarchy attribute, be subjected to the local awig-awig law, and the design would go fromthere.

7.3. The microplanning

The designation of land uses within the site was the consultant’s interpretation of the sacred–profane categorization of land—perhaps, more appropriately, building(s)—uses, which were quitea problematic task. First of all, modern land uses tend to be much more complex than the onesaddressed by the traditional-religious conceptions such as parahyangan–pawongan–palemahan

tripartite which posits temples and sacred sites at one extreme and the cemetery, rubbish dump,etc. at the other extreme, and the housing areas in between. This is where the aspirations of thepublic were helpful as one of the ways to determine or compromise the category of land uses (cf.Samadhi, 2001b, c). A good approach to this matter should contribute to the production of asense of place, since as indicated by Samadhi (2001b), Eiseman (1990), and Nas (1995), theBalinese rely on the construction of their familiarity with the surrounding built form byacknowledging the siting of particular elements as indicators of the sacred–profane axis.

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In this case, what the consultant did was merely utilize the nine-space pattern as the basis forlying out the land uses, and accounting only for the kaja-kangin and puseh (center) as places ofpredetermined uses. Thus, in a way, the resulting physical form of the site has been designed tofacilitate a match between place and the whole pattern of behavior of user groups includingvisitors.

7.4. The crossroad, the landmarks and the nodes

Crossroad or pampatan has a special meaning for the Balinese Hindu.26 It is the physicalmanifestation of a meeting place between the three worlds and all the power from the fourdirections. However, since the site was not a truly cosmological unit, the objective of constructinga grand crossroad (there will be a swastika-shaped pond surrounding a huge bale kul-kul or drumtower in the middle of this structure, see Figs. 3 and 4) is to create a physical form and structurewhich is quickly and easily imagined or felt either as a mental picture or a sense of place. Thisform will be an element which can be easily organized into mental pictures and meanings, and assuch, has the quality of ‘imageability’ (cf. Lynch, 1960) and ‘contextualness’ (cf. Tibbalds, 1988).By characteristics, landmark and node have similar functions that are as environmental cues by

which one structures his/her mental map and spatial cognition, and for area navigation purposes.Landmarks and nodes which take the advantage of a familiar (traditional) Balinese settlementelements27 is to some degree a good strategy to achieve the third and fourth design principles.However, the failure to define a cosmological unit as a precondition for the ‘crossroad’ to performits cosmo-religious duties has certainly prevented its utilization to fully assist the designed arealivability enhancement.

8. Conclusions

Kevin Lynch (1981) once said that cosmo-symbolic forms are attractive ‘because they speak todeep anxiety in people’. He continued that:

They do indeed give us a sense of security, of stability and continuity, of awe and pride. So theycan also be used to express pride and affection for a community, to relate people to it, toreinforce a sense of human continuity, or to reveal the majesty of the universe (p. 81).

Therefore, they have to be taken into account in the normative theory of spatial planning anddesign (Lynch, 1981), and consequently into the realm of actual urban planning and design. Thispaper highlights aspects of planning in Indonesia, a country of hundreds of islands and ethnicgroups and diverse cultures. The project demonstrated that the planning process in Bali Province,following Lynch’s notion, considered the local knowledge system of spatial planning and design in

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26Particularly, the one which is called pampatan agung or ‘the grand crossroad’. Only one of such a place exists in any

desa adat—namely, the cosmological territorial unit. Some important rite de passage has to take place on or involve this

particular crossroad.27The traditional Balinese settlement elements are the ones which accumulated in one place, that is around a

crossroad, and the ones that scattered around the settlement cosmic territory. Among these elements are: crossroad

(pampatan), plain grassy open space (lapangan), market (pasar), palace (puri), and temple (pura).


order to produce a culturally acceptable design. The cosmological worldview must beacknowledged, since it is not the phenomenon or artifact but its meaning to the communitythat ultimately counts. It may be said that this is a spatial planning and design approach mostlyunique to the third world countries (cf. Boden, 1992).The project was aimed at producing a site plan for the Badung Regency Civic Center which

accommodates the Balinese traditional-religious conceptions of space. The result was an attemptof constructing cosmo-religious landscapes in the hope of contextually connecting the urbandesign proposal with its cultural setting. However, the failure to define the site as a cosmologicalunit—or part of an existing cosmological unit—as a precondition for such conceptions to beeffectively utilized in the first place, has certainly prevented the full achievement of the underlyinggoal as stated by the project’s terms of reference. The religious complexity—and perhaps,controversy—of establishing a cosmological unit which possesses its complete triad elements ofparahyangan, pawongan and palemahan had prevented the project to establish the site as one. Hadthe site been analyzed as a part of an existing cosmological unit, the outcome would be different,and the cosmo-religious landscapes could well be achieved.

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Making cosmo-religious landscapes: the design of a Balinese town's civic center (Bali, Indonesia

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