The Reeds Performance Study on Traditional Architecture as Building Material in Wae Rebo Village

The use of natural materials in traditional architecture has the advantage that the natural resources are owned together by the people living around the resources, the distance is not too far away from the settlement, the extraction resource’s process didn’t spend a lot of energy, and it’s more environmental friendly because easy to decompose and return to nature. Natural material as an element in traditional architecture become important as part of architectural research, not only to preserve the form, but also to pass on local knowledge about the traditional architectural construction process. One of the dominant materials for building’s roof located on small islands along the banks of the Indian Ocean is reed roof. It is derived from tall grassshaped grasses with the latin name Imperata cylindrica. This study aims to explore the material’s potential of reeds as a local identity by tracing local-based techniques/indigeneous utilization of reeds in traditional architecture in Indonesia. By tracing the way the reeds are utilized, we can find technical performance that makes the reeds useful as building materials that survive for hundreds of years which is also known of the life cycle process. The methods were by doing interviews and observation at traditional settlements at Wae Rebo and by measuring the reeds’ performance in each cycle of life cycle so that we could identify the causes of reeds decay. From these methods it would be revealed how humidity influenced at each stage of the life cycle ranging from extraction to maintenance, and to the strength of reeds. The traditional treatment on the process of the reeds maintenance could reduce moisture and extend the life of the reed roof.