In 2020, Indonesian architect Realrich Sjarief completed Piyandeling, a complex of three buildings in the the village of Mekarwangi, north of the city of Bandung on the island of Java, with a residence for the architect and his family, an educational space for village children and a multi-purpose building for the community. The complex is exemplary, both in its use of local human and construction resources and in its adaptation to its geographical context.

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6 February 2025
Yên Bui

Surrounded by a lush tropical forest, the Piyandeling complex comprises three entities: a residence (Sumarah), a hall roof (Kujan) and a single-storey building (Saderhana). It is located in the highlands of West Java, where the hot, humid climate throughout the year enabled the architects to build the entire complex from local bamboo, using traditional Indonesian techniques.

 

Born into a family of builders whose skills have been handed down for three generations, Realrich Sjarief has been deeply influenced by a building culture based on ‘trust, common sense and close relationships between supervisors, craftsmen, clients and collaborators.’ These principles serve as the foundations of his agency, which he set up in 2011 in West Java, and which today has three structures: a design studio (RAW Architecture), a materials fabrication and implementation workshop (DOT Workshop) and a research unit (OMAH Library).

Sumarah, Artisan Residence and Workshop

Sumarah, the architect’s residence, is a three-storey house integrated into a 3 x 3 metre grid that can accommodate one large bedroom, two smaller bedrooms and shared bathrooms. The building envelope, which is completely openable, is made of 300 x 600 mm recycled polycarbonate panels salvaged from a previous project by the agency (Pavillon Sumarah).

Kujang, education hall and meeting spaces

The Kujang hall, with its hyperboloid roof, is built on stone foundations that were already present on the site when it was constructed. The flexibility of bamboo, the main material used in the project, enabled the architects to create the double curvature of the roof. The Kujang Hall is built on existing stone foundations, and its roof is covered with nipah, the leaves of water palms that abound in South-East Asia, covered with a waterproof membrane.

Sederhana, a dental centre and design studio

Sederhana is a single-storey building made of bamboo, set on a base of stone quarried from the site. It will eventually house a dental practice, a design studio and a library. The bamboo roof enabled the architects to use the ‘Talahap’ method, which consists of superimposing layers of bamboo on top of each other and then covering them with a waterproof membrane of nipah.

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Piyandeling Artisan Residence and Workshop, Java occidental, Indonésie

Programme: Construction of three buildings: a home for a family of four (Sumarah), an educational centre for children from the village of Mekarwangi (Kujang) and a community building with a design studio, library, dental surgery and workspace (Saderhana).
Client: Realrich Sjarief
Architects: Realrich Architecture Workshop (Realrich Sjarief, Alifian Kharisma, Vivi Yani Santosa, Regi Kusnadi, Miftahuddin Nurdayat, Jovita Lisyani)
Consultants: Amud, Eddy Bahtiar (artisans), Sudjatmiko (structure)
Photographs : Eric Dinardi
Surface: 400 sq.m
Completion: 2020

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Realrich Sjarief fwas part of the third Biennial of Tropical Architecture, held in November 2024 in Le Port, on the island of Réunion, for three days of conferences, debates and exhibitions on the future of architecture in intertropical geographical zones.