Architecture, Space, and Society in Post Disaster Built Environments in Indonesia (ASSIP)

The research project ASSIP (Architecture, Space, and Society in Post-Disaster Built Environments in Indonesia) will investigate the relations between architecture and society in the context of reconstruction programs after natural disasters. It will focus particularly on changes and interdependencies between the built environment - individual houses and settlements - and local socio-cultural factors. It will examine the influence of these socio- cultural factors on community participation in reconstruction programs and, ultimately, on the social acceptance and sustainability of these programs. The aim is to develop, on the basis of the research results, a database and software tools that will provide easy access to relevant background information about socio-cultural and architectural particularities in regions affected by a natural disaster. This will accelerate the transfer of knowledge and information especially useful in the rebuilding of homes and settlements, between people who need help, the helpers and researchers working in that area. Southeast Asia is one of the regions most vulnerable and strongly affected by natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. The proposed research will be conducted in two areas of Indonesia, the island of Nias (west of Sumatra) and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Central Java, where between 2004 and 2006 a tsunami and earthquakes killed thousands of people and caused widespread damage to the built environment. Austrian organisations (e.g. Caritas, Red Cross) have been extensively involved in relief and reconstruction programs in the aftermath of these and other natural disasters, like the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year. What they have found is that the management and outcomes of these programs are strongly influenced by the specific historical, cultural and socio-economic conditions in the affected regions. According to the research we have conducted so far, aid organisations need, but often lack, fast and reliable access to relevant information about the areas and societies where relief and long-term reconstruction operations are carried out. Relief agencies are especially pressured by time-constraints and the need to quickly adapt their strategies of operation to local conditions and requirements in different parts of the world. Quick and easy access to substantial multilayered datasets can therefore be an enormous advantage in order to avoid lasting mistakes. Poor knowledge of the particular socio-cultural background or the cultural heritage of a region might result in low degrees of community participation in reconstruction processes. Community involvement and participation, however, strongly influence the long-term development and efficacy of relief and reconstruction programs, as ASSIP will aim to demonstrate with the Indonesian case studies. The proposed project will be based on intensive and long-term field research in Indonesia. A specially adapted GIS program will be used as a primary tool for research and documentation. The project will also draw on recent theoretical concepts and scholarly debates about the interrelations between society, architecture and development. The research will have a strong comparative dimension, which will aim to disclose local and cultural particularities and dynamic processes over time. Based on preliminary research results, new and rebuilt houses and settlements will be compared with previous and older villages in both selected regions. This will involve detailed and in-depth studies of the material, technical and socio-cultural conditions and resources, focusing in particular on the roles and motivations of local actors in shaping and transforming built environments. Apart from the creation of new knowledge in the disciplines involved, the project will generate data providing the basis for developing general recommendations and policies for achieving effective information transfer and cooperation between researchers, aid/development organisations and local populations. The complexities and intertwined technical and socio-cultural aspects of this research require an interdisciplinary approach. The research team of ASSIP will include scientists and scholars from the disciplines of architecture, geodesy, urban planning and social/cultural anthropology. The leading researchers have proven expertise in their professional areas and they have successfully collaborated in previous joint research projects in Indonesia and elsewhere. The Swiss and Indonesian project partners have a profound knowledge of local conditions and requirements, and have many years of research experience in similar fields from which the proposed project will strongly benefit. Several young PhD scholars will also be members of the research team and, together with Indo- nesian students, they will actively participate in data collection and evaluation processes. The research team will thus combine expert knowledge with innovative ideas and cultural sensitivity, enabling the generation of new knowledge of urgent need, social relevance and practical application beyond the academic environment.