Hybrid Methodologies for Documenting Endangered Wooden Architecture, Preserving Knowledge and Enabling Continuity of Traditions: Insights from Indonesia
Mahyar Hadighi, Joseph Aranha, I. Nyoman Gede Maha Putra & Tjokorda Gede Dalem Suparsa
Abstract
Mahyar Hadighi, Joseph Aranha, I. Nyoman Gede Maha Putra & Tjokorda Gede Dalem Suparsa
Abstract
Documentation of endangered wooden architecture requires methodologies that balance precision, cultural sensitivity, and long-term preservation goals. Vernacular architecture, however, extends beyond material vulnerability: it reflects a living dialogue between people, places, and cultural practices. In the Kamanasa region of West Timor, this dialogue appears in clan-based settlement patterns, symbolic spatial organization, and wooden stilt houses that embody cosmological and social relationships. As modernization reshapes rural environments and traditional construction knowledge recedes, documenting vernacular architecture becomes essential in order to sustain the knowledge systems that give them meaning. This study applies a hybrid documentation workflow in the village of Manlima in Indonesia that integrates three complementary approaches: LiDAR-based scanning using an iPad Pro with Polycam Pro (substituting for an intended Leica BLK360), drone-based photogrammetry, and hand-measured drawings conducted collaboratively with the community members. These methods were deployed simultaneously to capture structural geometry, spatial context, material articulation, and cultural interpretation. Datasets were aligned and synthesized within a unified spatial register, creating a multi-layered representation of the settlement and its architectural logic. The hybrid methodology revealed the coherence of Kamanasa vernacular architecture across structural, spatial, and symbolic dimensions. Digital scans clarified the organizational logic of the “house-as-cosmos,” while aerial imagery illuminated settlement orientation and ritual anchoring. Hand-measured drawings enriched these datasets with cultural insights and local interpretations. Together, they produced a technically rigorous and culturally grounded record demonstrating that documentation can function as a conservation tool and also as a framework for supporting the continuity of vernacular knowledge and informing culturally rooted design adaptations.
Keywords:
Vernacular settlements; Wooden architecture; Hybrid documentation; Laser scanning; Photogrammetry; Hand measurement; Digital heritage; Kamanasa; Timor; Community-engaged conservation.