Application of Sustainable Design Principles in Residential Areas of Rice Culture Communities

Abstract

This research aims to explain the concept of sustainable design in the vernacular residential area of the rice culture community in Ciptagelar Village, located at Sukabumi Regency, West Java. Its settlement, including its residential area, was built based on the community’s belief in rice, which had been maintained for generations. The behavioral patterns and activities of the community are oriented toward the rituals of the rice cultivation cycle (rice culture). The people of this village always strive to maintain harmony between humans, nature, and the Creator through various rice cultivation rituals. The residential area’s vernacular architecture is also influenced by this culture, which contains a number of sustainable design elements that are employed globally by architects and designers. This study identifies the implementation of nine key sustainable design principles according to Ardiani (2015) that are implemented in the vernacular residential area of the rice culture community. With the qualitative method approach, this research finds that the rice culture communities of Ciptagelar Village have applied nine keys of sustainable design principles to its vernacular residential areas. Even though the principles of sustainable design are still relatively new, they have, in fact, been rooted in people’s lives since long ago.